Locked On Broncos - Daily Podcast On The Denver Broncos - MAILBAG: How Denver Broncos Plan To ATTACK Defensive Line Rotation

Starting point is 00:00:00 The Denver Broncos haven't addressed the departure of John Franklin Myers yet, but how will they approach the defensive line rotation in 2026? We'll break it down here on today's episode of the show. You are Locked on Broncos, your daily Denver Broncos podcast. Part of the Locked on podcast network, your team every day. What's up, Broncos Country? I'm Cody Roark. Today's bonus episode of the show, we're going to discuss whether or not Jada Baron

Starting point is 00:00:30 will be in a position to overtake Riley Moss for the starting job at cornerbacks this upcoming season. or if he will stay as a role player inside of Vince Joseph's defense. We're going to kick things off by talking about whether or not the Broncos defensive line approach this season will remain the same or if the Broncos will go out there and add a piece here. Let's get into it. This is a special bonus episode. It's a mailbag feature where Broncos country sent in some of their questions.

Starting point is 00:00:54 We're going to kick things off with a question sent in by Rob Dickison. He says, what do you think the plan is on the defensive line for the Broncos? Is it having Zach Allen, DJ Jones, and Malcolm Roads start? or will they keep Malcolm Rocha defensive tackle and get another end to rotate with Savian Jones and Inoma Uwazareke? Rob, I think this is a great question here, especially considering the fact that Broncos have not yet addressed the departure of John Franklin Myers. Losing JFM, as I've said, until they find a piece or until there's production from somebody else, is going to be the biggest hole right now for the team going into the season, a biggest question mark for a position where they had a lot of impact last season in terms of their pass rush. 68 sacks setting a new franchise record for the Broncos pass rush unit as a whole.

Starting point is 00:01:40 Not only did they lose JFM, but they lost BT Jordan, who was this pass rush specialist, kind of the ghost rider behind the scenes. They lost him to the Dallas Cowboys. But for the Broncos, I don't see their approach being starting Zach Allen, DJ Jones, and Malcolm Roach, where the Broncos have used DJ Jones in the past. They've used him at defensive end, but they've found more value in having Malcolm Roach and DJ Jones. kind of rotate at that defensive tackle position,

Starting point is 00:02:07 really kind of being an anchor in the A and the B gaps here for Denver's defense, which has created more one-on-one opportunities for John Franklin Myers, for Zach Allen. And when those guys get double-teamed, it creates more one-on-one opportunities for Jonathan Cooper and Nick Benito on the outside while anchoring the interior, which the Bronco was one of the best run defenses in the NFL last season because of that approach. And I don't think it's going to work if they start Zach Allen,

Starting point is 00:02:32 DJ Jones, and Malcolm Roach, exclusively on that in the 3-4 scheme there and then having Cooper and Benito on the outside. They like that. Now, I think they could do it. But when you look at the overall snaps that DJ Jones and Malcolm Roach have kind of played, they've split defensive snaps together because they're big body guys and they play well off of one another. So when DJ Jones, let's say he starts the game.

Starting point is 00:02:55 When he comes out, Malcolm Roach comes in, you're not getting a drop off. You're not getting that level of fall off in the A and the B gaps. It's the same type of reduction in it. impact, which is why the Broncos brought both of those guys back last season, Roach and DJ, both getting extensions. So they're going to keep those guys the same. Zach Allen, as we know, he's the high impact player. So right now, as it seems that the Broncos do not add any pieces here, Rob, more than likely, it's going to be either Inoma Uazerrique or Savion Jones. Now, here's the thing with Inyoma. Inyoma is this D&D tackle hybrid

Starting point is 00:03:28 type of player. If they really wanted to, they could shift DJ Jones or Malcolm Roach over, or they could put Enochina a defensive end. I just think the best bet for Denver right now is going to be Savion Jones in the in-house option, right? You trade it up to get him at the back end around three in last year's NFL draft. You have to see what he can do, get him some reps and some opportunities underratedly as well. They also have Jordan Jackson who could compete for a starting job. And he's got an impact. The Broncos, I know internally really like him. So if the Broncos do not address by adding a guy like Cameron Jordan or anybody else or a Callais Campbell at this point, they are going to go the in-house approach.

Starting point is 00:04:09 And it wouldn't shock me if they maybe on day three add a defensive lineman in the NFL draft, it's always a possibility. But it's a great question here, Rob. But right now the Broncos, they like the rotation with DJ Jones and Malcolm Roach and those rules that those guys specifically have. So it opens up the door for Enjoma and for Sabion Jones this upcoming season. Broncos country coming up next. Our next question is going to highlight whether or not Jada Baron will be in a position to overtake Riley Moss for a starting cornerback job. We're going to answer that here on today's episode of the show. Today's episode is brought to you by our friends over there at Robin Hood.

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Starting point is 00:05:19 Futures and cleared swaps trading involves significant risk and is not appropriate for everyone. Event contracts are offered by Robin Hood derivatives LLC, a registered. Futures Commission merchant and swap firm. Riley Moss was the cornerback, too, for the Broncos last season. And right now it appears that's going to remain the case. But second year cornerback to be shot a baron might have something to say about that. We'll break it all down. Broncos Country, appreciate you for tuning in, making us your first list.

Starting point is 00:05:45 All you every day is out there. It means the world to myself and Sarah that you consume us every single day all year long here. Our next question comes in from Brandon Connell on YouTube. He asked the question, what is the last? likelihood that Jada Baron overtakes Riley Moss as a starting corner for the Broncos versus being used in a rotational or hybrid role and depth. So basically, this is a great question. Denver, they love Riley Moss.

Starting point is 00:06:12 John Payton, that's one of his favorite guys. Riley saw a large volume of targets last season because he played opposite of Pat Sartan. And yes, the past interference calls were a little problematic. You can make an argument. Half of those calls were suspect or tiki tack. And then you can say, hey, clearly on some of them, Riley had to improve on his technique. Down the stretch, it didn't become an issue. But because Jaude was taken in the first round, a lot of people are saying, well,

Starting point is 00:06:36 if he's not going to play in the nickel because you got J-Quann-McMillan, who's got the start there, and he was brought back signed his RFA tender, could get a contract extension. Well, what does that mean for Jadae? I do think going into this season, Brandon, that the Broncos will have a competition for the cornerback position. Look, it's Riley's job, in my opinion, to lose. right now here for the team. But considering that Riley's going into a contract year and considering where they invested first round capital into Jadee, and they also have another cornerback that they really like in Chris Abrams drain, it doesn't hurt the Broncos to go in there and open things up in the

Starting point is 00:07:13 summer for a training camp competition saying, hey, for Riley, we know what Riley can do. We view Riley as a starting caliber corner, but the Broncos, they also view Jadae and they view Chris Abrams drain as a guy who can start for them. And in times where the Broncos went down with the injury, when Riley went down, Chris Abrams drain stepped up. When PS2 went down, Chris Abrams drain stepped up there. They really like him on the outside. But Ja, they can play outside.

Starting point is 00:07:36 He can play inside. He's got this hybrid type of role here. So right now, I'd say to answer your question, Brandon, going into training camp, Denver will more than likely have a training camp battle for that starting cornerback job opposite of PS2. That's just an early speculation right now. I don't think the team is going to come out and say anything.

Starting point is 00:07:53 and I don't know if they're going to come into training camp and they're going to say, hey, there's a competition here. That's probably something that they're going to have a little bit more behind the scenes. But Denver's got two new defensive backs coaches in the mix. The PS2 spot is always going to be unquestioned, right? For Vance, Vance is, that's his number one guy. And Vance likes to challenge Pat, but he also likes to challenge those other guys as well. But when you bring in Robert Livingston, you also bring in Doug Belk as your new secondary coach,

Starting point is 00:08:21 you get a different eye on him. There may be things that Vance wants these guys to do or evolve a little bit more in their game. And for Jardé, I think it is being able to challenge him to play a little bit more outside, considering what we have seen from him at the college level when he played at Texas. He did that. He played outside really well. The NFL, the splits, everything's a little different. But that's what thing, if you go back to rookie minicamp or if you go to the training camp,

Starting point is 00:08:46 one thing Sean Payton highlighted about Jade is where he was getting outside reps at that time was we like his ability to play the alignment. He understands the splits really well, the route concepts. He knows how to attack those. He knows how to keep his leverage. That's a lot of high praise that Sean had for him, though we didn't see that translating to a specific role there on the outside for him last season as a rookie. He had to learn so many different roles. It is a lot to handle inside of this complicated defensive scheme, but Jaadet is the type of guy who can't handle that type of workload. Because of Riley being in a contract year and Riley being in a position where he can earn an extension, there is probably going to be a chance where the Broncos try to challenge him a

Starting point is 00:09:26 little bit because if they're going to award him a contract extension, it's we want you to go out there and prove it, which isn't a bad thing. I mean, I don't think that puts any pressure on Riley. Riley's got the most pressure on him anyways because he plays opposite of PS2. But think about what that does as well for Jaaday. If he were to win, hypothetically, if there were a competition, he were to win that job, there's a lot more pressure on Jaaday in that situation playing opposite of Pat that I know, Pat would probably see less overall tar. I think Riley saw a ton of targets last season, but there's times where Riley could shut guys down. He can run with some of the fastest receivers in the NFL.

Starting point is 00:10:02 Can Jaday do that? We don't know that just yet. So competition isn't bad, but it is Riley Moss's job to lose. And it doesn't hurt as well. Like let's say Riley wins this job, which I would expect him to. I don't think that anyone's going to overtake him in his role. But let's say that were to actually happen, Jade could stay inside the nickel or the dime play certain positions. I think sometimes people forget, like when Denver went in their

Starting point is 00:10:26 dime package, you had Jadae in the slot covering the opposite guy of J-MAC, right? But there were times when the Broncos were in their nickel last year in certain passing situations against the Philadelphia Eagles, they took Justin Sternat off the field and they had him at the linebacker position right next to Alex Singleton. I think the more types of roles that you can play here for Denver defensively, I think it's a better opportunity for Jadae to play versus saying, hey, we're going to pit him in this competition against Riley. If he doesn't win, well, now more than likely, he's probably not going to play much. I would much rather Denver focus on figuring out, hey, this is a role we envision for him right now. Let's play him wherever. And he's going to have to

Starting point is 00:11:08 embrace that. I mean, that's what happens when you get drafted to arguably one of the deeper cornerback rooms in the NFL, one of the better rooms. It's going to be hard to play. It's going to be hard to overtake these guys. And certainly it did put pressure on J. Mack last year, but you know what? It challenged him to play his best year of football. And now he's in a position to get a contract extension because he's one of the better younger nickel corners in today's game. A little bit of pressure on Riley Moss isn't going to be a bad thing. It'll probably raise his level of play this upcoming season. And you can't worry about the officiating. He's just going to have to control his technique, his alignment, and making sure that he just does his job. He can't worry about the outside

Starting point is 00:11:44 noise. I know he doesn't really think about that stuff. He's not worried about what media says. He's not worried about the officiating. He just knows that he's going to go out there and play his game. You don't want to change how a player plays, but you want to coach him up to be smarter in situations. That's why he put the boxing gloves on. And that's why down the stretch, Riley's play was better. He wasn't getting called for pass interference. And that's where I think you have some newfound confidence as well. Going into a contract year, Riley wants to make a bag, but he also wants to contribute and continue to be one of the better young corners in today's NFL. And when you look at the overall targets that he had,

Starting point is 00:12:19 19 passes, defenses past season, it's going to be hard to overtake Riley. Now, if he was getting burnt downfield and giving up massive plays and touchdowns, then I would say it's probably more likely a competition would take place. But Riley had one of the best contested coverage rates in terms of not allowing any separation on receivers. It was very difficult for quarterbacks last season, though the PIs did bail out several drives.

Starting point is 00:12:43 And some of them were valid. some of them were ticky tack, but you can't control that, and especially with the NFL approaching a potential replacement refs theory, this is going to be a very interesting dynamic. They'll have to follow all throughout the entire office. Great question, Brandon. Appreciate you so much. Broncos country, make sure if you ever want your Broncos questions answer,

Starting point is 00:13:00 we're going to do bonus mailbag episodes of the show where you can have your questions answer here on today's episode of show. In the meantime, if you want to support the show, join the everydayer club. It's in the show notes down below we're locked on broncos. Supercast.com. There's two versions. you get an ad-free version in each show. But the All-Axcess Club gets you access to the all-22 film breakdowns,

Starting point is 00:13:19 access to the Discord one-on-one texting, a daily newsletter version of the show. So make sure if you want to support the show, that is the best way to do it. Broncos Country, Sarah and I, we will see you tomorrow for a brand-new episode of the show as we break down George Payton's comments at the NFL owner's meetings.

Locked On Broncos - Daily Podcast On The Denver Broncos - MAILBAG: How Denver Broncos Plan To ATTACK Defensive Line Rotation

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