Locked On Broncos - Daily Podcast On The Denver Broncos - MAILBAG: Denver Broncos PIPE DREAM Of Travis Hunter UNREALISTIC

Starting point is 00:00:00 In our latest Denver Broncos mailbag, members of Broncos country want to know if we are willing to risk it all for the Broncos to get Travis Hunter. How realistic or unrealistic would this be in our thoughts on how it would happen? You're going to get that and much more on today's episode, Lockdown Broncos. You are Locked on Broncos, your daily Denver Broncos podcast, part of the Locked on Podcast Network, your team every day. What's happening in Broncos country? Welcome into another episode of Lockdown Broncos, your daily Denver Broncos. podcast part of the locked on podcast network where you know as always it is your team every day thank you so much to all the everydayers out there in broncos country for tuning in

Starting point is 00:00:43 making us your first listen however you choose to do so if you're not yet in every day or it's easy to become one all you have to do is hit that subscribe or that follow button wherever you get your podcast and you will never miss out on anything that's going on with your favorite team that is the denver broncos as always broncos country i'm your host cody rour credential broncos reporter for mile high sports and i'm sarah bedinger side expert over there at predominantly Orange.com. And you get us here every single day all year long. That is our promise to you, the avid listeners out there in Broncos country. And as always, we like to feature you in the show. So today's episode, it is a mailbag. You sent in your mailbag questions to Sarah and myself.

Starting point is 00:01:20 And we answer them. Look, we got a lot of interesting ones, including whether or not the Broncos should risk it all for Travis Hunter by trading into the top five. What would that look like? And also, Broncos Country Western off, Cortland Sutton is overvalued by Denver fans and media. on top of that, what would be the riskiest and safest picks in round number one. We'll break down all those metal bag questions and much more on today's episode of the show. Sarah, obviously, always love when Broncos country can get involved as we're just 24 hours away from the NFL draft from happening. There's a lot of moving pieces that obviously come about that. And obviously, the week of the draft, we know there's a lot of buzz.

Starting point is 00:01:56 And certainly when we woke up on Tuesday, we heard some rumblings. It was being widely reported by Peter Schrager, I think Adam Schaefter, Albert Breer, that the Cleveland Browns and I think also the New York Giants were also maybe looking. They were entertaining calls to potentially trade back. So their spots obviously for their picks were potentially up. Very interesting, though. This has led to Broncos country, I think, sending in the question that comes in from Brian Bezzi. He says, would you risk it all with a godfather offer to be able to select Travis Hunter or Ashton Genty?

Starting point is 00:02:28 Which player would be more valuable to the Broncos first and second round picks in 2025 and 2026 plus a Riley Moss or a Jonah Ellis, where would you draw the line? Considering the rumblings of trading up, this for the Broncos, I think is very unrealistic, but let's play the hypothetical, right? If you were to get that offer, you simply can't refuse to move up. Would you get Travis Hunter or would you get Ashton Genty with the third or fourth overall picks? I think in this scenario, I would rather have Travis Hunter.

Starting point is 00:03:01 He is probably that one guy that I would say is word. moving heaven and earth for in this draft. And I love the question because it creates a fun hypothetical. Like, you know, over the next couple of years here, do you want to deplete your draft capital again? Because why would Cleveland be motivated to do this? Well, they've had their draft capital depleted for the last three years, right? This is the first time. I think they've been back in the first round since the Deshaun Watson trade. And they've really struggled to build that roster around anybody. And they're losing guys now. They had a window there where they felt like they could compete. They won 11 games where they had, you know, 18 different guys at quarterback,

Starting point is 00:03:38 basically. So that roster is now starting to slowly fizzle a little bit. And so you could see why a team like Cleveland would want to move back and potentially still get the quarterback that they want later on, which there's a lot of buzz around a lot of different guys. And I don't think they view that player as worth the second overall pick and then whatever else they could get in a trade back. So might as well start calling around and seeing what teams think. And For Denver, Travis Hunter is the game changer of all game changers in this draft. He's the wide receiver one. He's the cornerback one.

Starting point is 00:04:12 So you're kind of getting two players for one in a way with him. But Cody, I think with what this Broncos team needs right now, a true, legit, elite playmaker at receiver. That is what I view Travis Hunter as. Best ball skills in the draft. It loves the game of football. I just feel like you see that every time he plays. He just, he cares so much about the game and he cares about being excellent at everything that he does. He's that one guy that I would say is worth this kind of an unreasonable, unrealistic trade hall.

Starting point is 00:04:44 Yeah, and look, he's a very fantastic player. You know, it's hard to be able to do what he's been, you know, what he's been able to do. Chant Bailey was able to do it, play a little bit of both ways. Obviously, you know, you look at other guys historically, it's tough. But for Travis to do it in the modern era that is today's college football where, you know, he's playing well over 100 total snaps a game if you combine both offense and defense. It's going to be hard to replicate that at the NFL level, though I do think, you know, teams are going to have a preference for him.

Starting point is 00:05:11 I think whatever that may be, like, for example, if the preference is for him to play cornerback, I still would not be shocked if the, you know, whatever team takes him, says, hey, we are going to give you 10 to 15 offensive snaps per game, but we value you more right now on the defensive side of the ball. Or Travis is going to be the first player, which, you know, he's got the mindset, the work ethic to do it. He's going to be the first player that's going to try to play both ways, in a sense, at the NFL level. Is it sustainable when we talk about the National Football League and obviously the bigger, faster physical defenses, things like that?

Starting point is 00:05:41 I don't know. But I'm not going to sit here and say, like, hey, he can't do it because Travis has also been a guy. A lot of people said, hey, this guy can't do this. He can't do that. And look at him. I mean, he won the Heisman. He's a terrific player. He's a, you know, a once in a lifetime type of guy at that type of position.

Starting point is 00:05:56 That versatility is very special. And I think teams value that there. But for me, I don't know, I feel like I'd have him on defense. You know, you factor him into the mix, you know, especially if you want to put him in the slot at times, you know, like what would that mean for Jake Juan Macmillan? I mean, I think you bring in a guy like Travis Hunter, it would put some things into question a little bit for what your defense does.

Starting point is 00:06:16 So I, as cool as it would be to keep Travis in Colorado, Sarah, I don't think it would be realistic. I don't think the Broncos would try to jump from 20th all the way to third or fourth, or even second. I don't even think that would be the case. I think the hall would be if this year's first round pick, next year's first round pick, probably, you know,

Starting point is 00:06:33 maybe even a couple of mid-round picks or maybe even a player attached to that as well. Would the Broncos want to part with that much capital just to make a move like that? I don't know. As cool as it would be from the Colorado ties and he's even said he'd love to be a Denver Bronco to stay in Colorado, probably just unrealistic in terms of what's going to happen here.

Starting point is 00:06:51 But let's get to another one here. I know you planted your flag on the fact that you would here. Now, I wanted to ask you your question because this is kind of the second part of it. He said first and second round picks in 2025 and 26 plus a Riley Moss or Jonah Ellis to be able to move that way. I don't want to part ways with these young core pieces just to be able to do that. That's another thing there. That would be really tough, especially when you're talking about, hey, we feel like we've built a roster that is ready to contend in the AFC. And then you, you know, like you've mentioned before, you rob Peter to pay Paul in a sort of manner of

Starting point is 00:07:26 speaking right there, right? It's like you're, you're stealing from yourself to help yourself. And that's, that ultimately is not, it's not about having your cake and eating it too. It's about coming together on what's a fair trade, right? And in a trade like this, you would have to be trading from a surplus to realistically be able to pull something off, you know, to add players into the mix. You can't take away guys who are part of the core that you believe is ready to compete, why you would make a trade like this in the first place, right? And so, while I do believe that Hunter is worth moving heaven and earth to go get, at the same time, you have to also think, okay, well, we feel like we have a good enough roster to compete,

Starting point is 00:08:06 but it's adding a piece to that, not taking away other pieces to add a piece. That's, you know, taking two steps back to take one step forward. It's not how it should be, right? So, but if you're the Broncos, are you thinking like, man, our next year's first round pick, that's going to be in the mid to late 20s or even shoot, let's show. let's shoot for the stars 30s right i mean you want to go big or go home if you're thinking that your pick's going to be that late that kind of does add an interesting wrinkle to the discussion internally but at the same time you know george peyton said this is the most prepared he's ever been for a

Starting point is 00:08:41 draft you'd be wasting that right you'd say hey let's wipe these picks off the board you're getting Travis hunter and then maybe a couple of day three picks or you'd you keep maybe your third round pick or something like that who knows but i don't know you'd you'd you'd be wasting a little bit of that preparedness in a way. Yeah, and I think what? Right now the Broncos have seven picks going into the draft. Essentially, you know, right now the roster is at 71,

Starting point is 00:09:04 though they did receive a international player designation exemption for Thomas Yasmin for the second consecutive year. So even though they have 71 players on their roster right now, they're bringing in a long snapper, Zach Triner to compete with Mitchell forbony. I know some other Broncos are sprinkled into here. They're still essentially at 70. So it's like, if seven picks, okay, that puts you at 77, then probably the rest of that would be undrafted rookie free agents and maybe a couple of veterans

Starting point is 00:09:28 and maybe impressed during a trial that you bring on to your 90 man training camp roster. So a lot of moving pieces. I don't know if you want to sacrifice some of that young capital there because, you know, in mind, you're really trying to nail this draft like, yes, you want to get good players. But also, Debra might be in a position next year where it's like, hey, we're going to have more money and free agency. We're going to load up even more. But then we're, you know, our draft is going to be probably more so focused on continuing to just add depth at that point.

Starting point is 00:09:52 or if there's a player who is on his way out the door, like can you bring in an eventual replacement? That's the dilemma. That's the challenge here. But always fun to jump into these hypotheticals here. Broncos country, thank you so much for sending in your mailbag questions. We have a lot more to throw your way here on today's episode of the show.

Starting point is 00:10:08 One Broncos listener, Lockdown Broncos every day or ask the question. Is Cortland Sutton, overvalued by Denver media and fans? We'll dive deeper to this and much more on today's episode, Lockdown Broncos. Today's episode, Lockdown Broncos, is brought to you by friends over there at Fandu. And as you all know, at Fandu, they are America's number one sportsbook. And right now is the perfect time to get in on the action because the NBA playoffs are here. And Fandul is giving new customers an incredible way to get in on the action. Because right now, when you join Fandul and you place your first $5 bet on any of the NBA playoff games or anything for that matter, you'll get $250 in bonus bets if your bet wins.

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Starting point is 00:11:29 although there might be a chance that he is a bit of one of those overrated guys by the fans and media. We're going to talk about that today from one of the questions that you sent in for our Denver Broncos mailbag here as we approach the 2025 NFL draft. We are just one day away Broncos country from seeing some new players added to the team. We think at least the Broncos, you never know, could trade out of the first round as much as we talk about the idea of trading up. But, Cody, one of the most interesting pieces of this roster right now is wide receiver, Cortland Sutton, who has said recently that he's pleased with the way things are going in terms of his new contract. It was expected that right before or right after the draft, he would get a contract extension. can't help but wonder how much the moving market after the increase in the salary cap really

Starting point is 00:12:19 changed the way the Broncos are approaching this. But it doesn't sound like any sort of negative by any means. We had a question sent into us from Josh on Twitter. He gave actually a hot take and then asked a question. I'm going to share his hot take with you. And I want to have your response to that. The Broncos trade during the draft is his hot take. And that's why there's no new deal.

Starting point is 00:12:42 deal just yet. So you get the 20th pick and next year's first to be able to move up to five, right? So you acquire extra capital from trading Cortland Sutton and then you trade assets to move into the top five. What do you think of that take? Do you think that there's even a remote chance that Sutton is going to get traded at this point? No, I don't think so. And look, even if that was the case, I don't think, you know, a team would necessarily just take Denver's 20th pick and Corlin Sutton and then swap to five. I think it would require way much more capital. than that to do it. No, look, here's the thing. The reason why there is no new deal yet for Cortland Sutton is because the Broncos focus has been on the NFL draft because there's still

Starting point is 00:13:22 some moving pieces. And as we know, they're still figuring out, okay, hey, we need to figure out what our plan for the draft is going to be. After they do that, they're going to work on their rookie contracts. And obviously, undrafted free agents, they're going to figure out the signing bonuses for some of those guys who gets the highest. And then after that, it's now we can sit here because we have this time before we get into OTAs and many kids. camp and training camp. The goal is by training camp to come to terms of Cortland on a new deal, which is something that obviously I think conversations between both parties have been taking place. And from what I understand, conversations from both sides have gone extremely well.

Starting point is 00:13:56 And the idea is that Cortland will finish his career as a member of the Broncos. I don't see him being traded on draft day. Look, the Broncos, I'll be very clear to this. Sarah, you and I probably discussed this hundreds of times on the show. But Cortland, I mean, the Broncos have had so many opportunities to trade away Cortland Sutton if they wanted to in the time since Sean Peyton has been here and they have never pulled the trigger they have never once entertained that even though teams have made some pretty good offers for Cortland. John Payton values what his size and what his explosive ability can bring to the table. I know 33rd team just put something out there earlier in a week where I think his explosive

Starting point is 00:14:31 play percentage, I think it was around 37%. It was the top of the NFL and then below him was Justin Jefferson. So when you look at those explosive play percentage, right, can that amplify even more? Like the fact that he was the primary target and teams knew that and he was still producing there is exciting, which to me it's like when you add weapons around him, now it creates more opportunities for him to go out there and just be that, that guy that I think we've always known that he can be.

Starting point is 00:14:57 And I'll rest on my hot take in which I've said this before. I still think Cortland Sutton, the next two to three years is going to play his best football of his career. And I still think he's got a lot of good football left and think, but his best is going to be these next two to three years, better than what we've seen so far, which could be. be a hot take in and of itself considering the last two years, 18 touchdowns combined in the last two seasons. So, uh, no, I, I don't agree with the hot take. I don't see that happening, my friend.

Starting point is 00:15:20 So let's vamp off that for a minute, because the follow up to that was, was Josh's question here. He says, Cortland Sutton is a very good receiver. Why do Broncos fans in media think he's so much better than he is? Is it because they have nothing else? I know you mentioned that you think that we could yet see his best football ahead of him. So I think to maybe rephrase this question a little bit to kind of fit what I think he's saying here. And I agree. I think that there's a lot of times where it seems like Cortland gets talked about as like

Starting point is 00:15:51 a bona fide wide receiver one. But like you said, if his best football is yet to come, what's missing do you think? What do you notice on a week to week basis? You're just like, ah, it's just not quite there with something. Like there's this margin that we're not hitting. Like there's the point to which, you know, you say there's a ceiling for guys, right? Or like he could reach his full potential or whatever it is. What do you view as that missing thing for Sutton, the disconnect between him being perceived as a true wide receiver won by a lot of fans and media?

Starting point is 00:16:23 And that not necessarily being the case on a week-to-week basis. I think complimentary pieces around him. I mean, Sarah, how many times did we always go through and say like, wow, we'd really love to see a year where Cortland Sutton, Tim Packer, Patrick, KJ Hamler, Jerry, Judy, all these guys could just stay healthy and, like, play, like, together, where they're all healthy, where they're all in the rotation. The reality of Cortland's career is not only has he gone through a handful of different head coaches, offensive coordinators, quarterbacks, but the receiver room has kind of been up and down to the pieces around him haven't necessarily been the strongest. I'd say maybe you had the argument there where he and Tim Patrick were probably the Broncos' best wide receiver doing that they've had in quite some time since D.T. and Emmanuel Sanders, and even then, their production never matched anything close to what we saw for.

Starting point is 00:17:06 from DT and Emmanuel. Those guys put up special numbers. But for Cortland, I do feel like with despite the quarterback, no matter who's been throwing the ball, I felt like he's always been able to produce. I think he's kind of been a quarterback proof type of player. And I've always felt like they've needed a little bit more around him. I don't think we've seen the best of Cortland yet in a couple of categories, right?

Starting point is 00:17:27 We know he can be that deep ball guy. We know he's going to make those contested improbable catches. They're going to elevate next gen stats, you know, numbers there. But the thing I would love to see more in this. offense there from Cortland and from Broncos coaches is to utilize him on slants. Like I want to see more slants. I want to see more in-breaking routes. Cortland is big.

Starting point is 00:17:45 He's physical. He's explosive. Find a way to get into the ball in space and then see what he can do. You know, you want to respect the deep ball, obviously there. But, you know, Cortland wants to continue to evolve as a route runner.

Starting point is 00:17:55 I think having adequate pieces around him will increase that to allow him to be that better receiver. Is he like a wide receiver one like a Justin Jefferson or Jamar Chase? I don't think he's at that caliber, but I think in his own way, he is a wide receiver one, at least on Denver, and that's okay because he doesn't have to be Calvin Johnson.

Starting point is 00:18:15 He just needs to be Cortland Sutton and other guys around him need to be able to produce because that's what's going to make the Broncos better in the long run. You have a guy who can produce at a high level. You know that with Cortland. Cortland is a proven guy, but can everybody else around him step up? So he's not facing double team or bracket coverage situations on third down. I think the fact that how teams play Cortland,

Starting point is 00:18:35 Cortland is a great sign of respect for just how good he is. I think Cortland, if anything, is probably more underappreciated than he is overvalued. Yeah, I agree. And I think that the pieces around him is going to be a huge thing for the Broncos to address. We expect that to happen, obviously, here in this draft. So I do get the tension and the frustration with Sutton. I mean, last year, the quarterback rating, when targeted, dipped quite significantly from the year previous. In 2023, it was 120.2 when he was targeted in 2024, 86.7, which is average to below

Starting point is 00:19:11 average. And so you want to see him obviously maximizing those targets that he is getting. And last season was the highest volume of targets that we have seen for Cortland Sutton in his NFL career, 135 targets, 81 catches, 1,081 yards, and obviously those eight touchdown grabs. So I do agree with you, Cody. I think that his best football is yet to come. But I also kind of fall in that camp of saying, like, he's left a little bit to be desired out there from what the perception is, especially like with the pay grade that he's about to receive, right?

Starting point is 00:19:47 I mean, if he's going to be getting upwards of $23, $25 million per year, he's got to cut down on the drops. He's got to cut down on the stretches of play where we're like, why is Cortland Sutton not getting the ball? Like, why are we gone so long without him getting a tariff? We need more. We need more from him. And I know that it's, I don't know if it's just more targets or I don't know if it's more of him maximizing the targets.

Starting point is 00:20:10 But I agree with you. Give me the slants. Give me the additional opportunities throughout the game to really see if he can maximize now. If you add some more help at receiver or if your guys develop, get him those opportunities in single coverage and see if he can get back to, I guess, that 2023 form where he was just dominating every time the ball came his way. Need to see more of that. And look, I think your point on the drops is very valid. You just want to see a little more consistency in that regard for him. Higher volume of targets means that you might have more chances for drops

Starting point is 00:20:44 and what constitutes is a drop. Is it a catchable pass? Is it clearly hit his hands and bounced off? I think there's different levels to it. But Cortland has been the most consistent guy. The Broncos have had a wide receiver in a handful of years. And luckily, he's overcome the injury hurdle, the ACL after the 2020 season. and he's been a stable part of them.

Starting point is 00:21:03 In the last couple of years, he's continued to ascend. And now that the Broncos have a QB in place that clearly values him, and says, hey, if I'm not getting you the football, come tell me. Like, come, come let me know. I'll find a way to get it to you. I think that Denver's in a really good position right now. They have a chance to build on that, obviously, in the NFL draft. But great, mailbag question sent in from Josh.

Starting point is 00:21:21 And obviously, Broncos country, want to know your discussion, as always here on today's episode, Lockdown Broncos. We're not done yet. We're going to jump at the fourth quarter action here. One member of Broncos Country asks us. us our opinion, what would be the riskiest or the safest pick for the Broncos in round number one of the NFL draft on Thursday? We'll share our thoughts on that and much more here on today's episode, Lockdown Broncos.

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Starting point is 00:23:26 And as we get you ready for the two minute warning, we're going to dive deeper into some of your Broncos, some mailbag questions here on today's episode of the show real quick. I want to say thank you once again to the everydayers out there in Broncos. Thanks for tuning in, making us your first listen. However, you choose to do so, it's a busy week here this week. The NFL draft is coming up. So make sure you stay tuned and locked in to lockdown Broncos. Because we're going to have it covered with every pick, instant analysis, reaction,

Starting point is 00:23:48 what it does to make the Broncos better and much more here wherever you get your podcast. Sarah, we get another question that comes in here from Jolene on Twitter. she asked the question, who would be the riskiest pick in the first round for the Broncos and who would be the safest pick? I feel like this could honestly go a multitude of ways here, depending on how the board falls. I want to start off with you. Let's start off with riskiest pick first.

Starting point is 00:24:14 If you had to go through, if the Broncos were to make a pick at 20 or even trade up to get a player, who would be the riskiest pick in your opinion? I'm taking Walter Nolan, the defensive lineman out of Ole Miss here as my riskiest pick. And I think it's risky on a number of levels, right? This is the former number one recruit in the country, former five-star prospect who had a really good season last year in stretches, right? And that's one of the biggest reasons why I think the Broncos brought him in on a top 30 visit this year is to say, hey, what makes this guy's motor run hot and cold? Why is it not always running hot? Because defensive linemen, especially at Ole Miss last year, where they got about 18 NFL caliber guys, you know,

Starting point is 00:24:56 why are we not maximizing the snaps that we're playing every single game? Why are we not dominating for stretches? We see the physicality. We see the athleticism. You are a five-star guy. Why is it streaky? So I think that makes him risky inherently. But I think also you really risk upsetting the apple cart here with a group of guys on that

Starting point is 00:25:17 defensive line that, well, they all deserve to be paid. Whether or not it's going to happen from the Denver Broncos remains to be seen. But Zach Allen, John Franklin, Myers, Malcolm Roach, those guys are all entering a contract here using a first or second round pick on a guy like Walter Nolan, you risk just one of those guys being like, all right, you drafted my replacement. Get me out of here because I'm going to lose snaps to this guy. I'm going to lose money because I'm losing snaps.

Starting point is 00:25:44 So I just, I feel like there's inherent risk to taking any defensive alignment with that, you know, in mind. But Walter Nolan specifically very much got some boom or bust potential to him. Yeah, no, I agree with you there. I mean, would it be the sexy pick, too, in terms of the eyes of Broncos, you know, they like him, you know, is Derek Harmon? Is he more of a sure thing, you know, a defensive line? If you're going to go to the defensive line guy over a guy like a Walter Nolan,

Starting point is 00:26:08 I think it's a great conversation. It's a great debate here. For me, my riskiest player, Sarah, would be Nick Iman Worry, obviously the safety out of South Carolina. And here's, here's my reasoning beyond that. I'm not trying to diminish him. I don't, like, I think you'd be an impact player, 100%. But for where the organization is at right now, for them already to have Brandon Jones and Talenoa Hufanga,

Starting point is 00:26:28 and they already have another guy who's been a starter on PJ Locke on the roster right now. They got young guys like J.L. Skinner, Devin Key, that they want to see a little bit more out of. For me, the reason it would be risky is because it wouldn't be necessarily a position that you need or that would even be like an instant want right now. Like the Broncos don't need to upgrade at that position right now because they went on there spent money in free agency to be able to do that.

Starting point is 00:26:49 And you want to see, like the Broncos really want to see something out of JL. Skinner this year. So it wouldn't necessarily make sense. Could it be a fail safe, potentially, if J.L. Skinner doesn't show them what they necessarily want, maybe, but J.L. has got this year. He's also got next year left on his contract on his rookie deal here with the Broncos. So for me, I just think the value-wise, it would be like, what are the Broncos doing here? I would much rather them add a player in round one that we know can probably play and rotate in right away as a rookie.

Starting point is 00:27:16 And then where he could possibly do that, especially, you know, maybe the Broncos make a decision on a PJ Lock or Delarian Tourneo. But right now they have so many safeties on the roster, this would not be a move that may. sense to me. It doesn't, you know, while you get an impact player, is it moving the needle for your team right away? I don't think that would be the case here. That's why I think it would be the riskiest here, considering where Denver is at right now. As a matter of fact, I think I'm in War, it would be a perfect candidate to land with the Baltimore Ravens, you know, at this point. You know, get them to Kyle Hamilton's at this point. So that would be my riskiest here. And I'm very curious for a Broncos country would say. But now let's transition to the second

Starting point is 00:27:50 part of her question. Who would be the safest pick, in your opinion, for the Broncos at 20th? Well, I've said before that there's no such thing as a perfect prospect in the NFL draft, right? But I do believe that Travian Henderson out of Ohio State checks every single box when you talk about football character. When you talk about athletic, you know, border, they have those, you know, the thresholds that guys have to meet. Well, he vastly exceeds them far and away. He's somebody who started at Ohio State at a very young age. He 667 touches, one fumble. in his entire college career, and it happened when he was a true freshman.

Starting point is 00:28:28 So pass protects, explosive speed, elusiveness, very much so in the realm of what a Joker should be for Sean Payton's offense. It just feels like situationally and roster-wise for what the Broncos need, football character-wise, for what they always covet. I feel like he's the safest guy. And I know that's not always the sexiest pick in the first round. Last year, how many people hated the idea of Bo Nix at 12? Because he's boring.

Starting point is 00:28:58 He checks the ball down. And they listen to too many people on Twitter. Listen to, don't listen to Twitter all the time, right? I mean, the NFL train chugs along. But look, sometimes the right pick is the boring safe pick. And I don't think Trayvon Henderson's all that boring, to be honest with you. No, I don't either. Look, he was one of the guys I listed as my safest picks as well that I'd be like very

Starting point is 00:29:18 secure, very happy about because he offers you value in three, the most important elements of your offense. That's pass protection. That's the passing game obviously as a receiver and obviously as a runner. I think Trayvion's got it all. And look, I had a chance to watch John Gruden's quarterback class on YouTube. I don't know if you had a chance yet to do that, sir, but I watched it with Will Howard. And, you know, while Will Howard's going through his process with Gruden, you're seeing

Starting point is 00:29:39 Trayvion make a lot of plays and you're seeing Will Howard talk about, you know, hey, pass protection. We know, we got a reliable guy right here that I know is going to pick up a blitz if need be, but, you know, hey, based on this defensive look, I knew Trayvion was going to be the guy I was going to hit out of the backfield here. You get great insight into that. So, I mean, I like that. I would also say Colston Loveland would be a very safe, secure pick.

Starting point is 00:29:59 And I don't think it would be boring in any way, shape, or form because, man, he's got really ridiculous athletic tools to it. And I think a lot of people, you know, we've seen some comments are like, well, if you look at his numbers, they weren't that impressive. People, do people not watch Michigan? Michigan is a run first offense. They ran for over 2,000 yards collectively as a team last season. And so for him to put up the numbers that he did, I think is valuable.

Starting point is 00:30:22 But on top of that, I mean, this is a guy who can block. This is a guy who can be a field stretcher for you. So outside of just looking at the stats, watch the tape, watch things. Don't look at how it's watch the actual games. Watch the tape itself. That to me is the most important thing. I think Colston Loveland would be a secure pick. I think Tyler Warren would fall into that category as well as a very secure pick for the Broncos.

Starting point is 00:30:43 And obviously, Trayvion, Henderson at this point. That opens up. Obviously, our question to you, Broncos country, who do you think we? be the riskiest pick for the Broncos at 20th overall? Who do you think would be the safest pick for them as well? We want to hear your thoughts here on today's episode of Lockdown Broncos. But that'll wrap up today's show in Broncos country. All you every dayers out there tomorrow's episode of the show,

Starting point is 00:31:02 Sarah and myself, we're going to sit down. We're going to share our final predictions on draft day, what we think is going to happen in round one. And obviously we'll see if it happens there. You can expect a bonus episode as well following the Bronco selection in day one on round one 20th overall or if they trade up or trade back you're going to get another episode of lockdown broncos reacting to it as well from sarah and myself broncos country we appreciate

Starting point is 00:31:26 you so much for watching us tuning in however you choose to do so if you're not yet in every day or become on subscribe or follow wherever you get your podcast and we'll catch you tomorrow for a brand new episode of the show

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