Locked On Broncos - Daily Podcast On The Denver Broncos - Malcolm Roach, Dre Greenlaw TONE SETTERS at Denver Broncos Training Camp

Starting point is 00:00:00 The Denver Broncos defense set the tone led by Malcolm Roach and Drey Greenlaw on day three of padded practice at training camp. We'll talk about standouts on defense and how the offense responded here on today's episode, Locked on Broncos. 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? Welcome into another episode of Lockdown Broncos, your daily Denver Broncos podcast, part of the Lockdown Podcast Network. We know it's your team every day for all your Broncos news, content coverage analysis, and more. This is the place to be every single day all year long. Special shout out to all the everydayers out there.

Starting point is 00:00:44 Thanks for tuning in and making us your first listen. However, you choose to do so make sure you hit the subscribe to that follow button. So you never miss out on what's going on with your favorite team. I'm Cody Rourke. Broncos reporter from all high sports. Join, as always by Sarah Bedinger, the longtime site expert over there at predominantly orange.com, the man, the myth, the legend here. As we continue to recap, Broncos,

Starting point is 00:01:04 Broncos training camp. The third day in pads is Malcolm Roach and Dre Greenlawn. The pass rush for the Broncos really set the tone for the days. The Broncos focused on third down. Also, the running back position could have another wrenching it after Blake Watson had himself for an impressive day. We'll highlight his performance. And then we'll go through other guys stacking performances like Lavelle Bailey,

Starting point is 00:01:25 Troy Franklin, and Riley Moss emphasizing he wants to get stronger. He gets all that and much more on today's episode of the show. Sare. I mean, once again, you know, I felt like as the pads came on for the Broncos earlier on in the week, right, you get that first day. It's not crazy, right? Because it's your first day in pads. Day two, as we saw yesterday, was a little lighter in terms of the tone, the time on the field.

Starting point is 00:01:49 Wednesday's practice, day three in the pads. It was the most intense practice that we've seen so far here, this offseason program, and it lived up to the hype. Well, one of the things that Sean Payton has talked about, Cody, is how anytime that you show up to the facility or on the practice field, he's like, you can hear Malcolm Roach wherever you're at, basically, right? And I love that Malcolm Roach is a tone center, excuse me,

Starting point is 00:02:11 a tone center in that way, that he's just kind of that trash talker out there, he'd get under some skin. And I love that he's making the impact off the field as well. He sent a very choice emoji towards Marvin Mims after Marvin kind of threw him under the bus to the media. So kind of some funny stuff there for Broncos Country to do some digging into it. these guys, they love each other.

Starting point is 00:02:31 They're having fun and they're messing around with each other. But when it gets competitive like that out there at practice, I think it's so important that you're channeling that energy towards making each other better instead of getting so frustrated that you get into those practice fights that we've heard so much about or we've seen so much through the years. And it sounds like defense was having their way sort of in the third and short situational work that they were doing. And Malcolm Roach is busting stuff up out there.

Starting point is 00:02:57 Yeah, that was the emphasis for the day. Third down. and third and short, third and long a little bit later in that final team period. We'll talk about that here. But you are right about Malcolm Roach here because like that chippiness, like it's good chippiness. It's not, it's nothing toxic. It's nothing where guys are shoving each other after a play or throwing punches or anything like that.

Starting point is 00:03:15 You haven't seen that. But it's, it's funny competitive trash talk. And I don't, and I, unfortunately, I'm not allowed to ever tell you guys what Malcolm Roach or anybody says in terms of the funny trash talk to they have. But let's just say that it, he's naturally hilarious. And he makes a lot of great points when dishing it out. I feel like it'd be hard to try to get into like a roasting contest with Malcolm Roach. He's fantastic.

Starting point is 00:03:38 But, I mean, really it started off, Sarah. You know, you get into the competitive periods before you get into that first team period here. The Broncos, they did nine on seven. It's the linebackers. It's, you know, some of the safeties. And then it's the defensive linemen against the offensive line, fullback, running back, a run emphasis there. Malcolm Roach. I mean, really, he had two plays in a row.

Starting point is 00:03:59 we'll talk about where he blew into the backfield, wrapped up J.K. Dobbins twice for it would have been a tackle for a loss, right? But I would say the play of the day came from Drey Greenlaw. It was the very first play of this nine on seven period where J.K. Dobbins was in a running back. He gets the handoff. He's going inside. Dreed Greenlaw cleared just the perfect lane right there. And he smacked J.K. Dod was like, laid the hammer on him. To me, it's got me excited about that because you have, obviously,

Starting point is 00:04:29 see that dynamic of the linebacker that the Broncos simply haven't had in quite some time with the tone setters of a guy like Malcolm Roach, who's, Sarah, he's not even a starter. Like that's the thing I think that doesn't get talked about enough is he's having an impact in a role where he's not even the primary guy coming out on the field. That's DJ Jones. So, and this is a good problem to have here for the Broncos. They got a lot of talented players, and it's fitting into the identity of a very aggressive Vance Joseph defense.

Starting point is 00:04:55 And George Payton talked earlier in the offseason about how Malcolm was, kind of quietly, maybe their most important free agent signing last year. I think when you look at the most successful teams in the NFL, they bring waves of pass rush. They have guys that can come in and keep your defensive line playing at a high level. And you and I talked about that when Malcolm was signed that it's, okay, you see the statistics and the numbers of how he played so well against the run and what he brings in terms of that physicality and just having that depth on the defensive front. And him being that tone setter up there, the Broncos really have the luxury of being.

Starting point is 00:05:29 able to rotate different guys in all throughout the course of a game. And maybe that speaks to the idea of, hey, how are we going to figure out if the problem is Zach Allen is playing too much, how are we going to solve that problem with the great players that we already have on the roster? So could we see Malcolm playing a little bit, you know, different positions or something like that on the D line? I'm just kind of throwing stuff out there. But, you know, I think ultimately having that depth on the defensive line and having guys

Starting point is 00:05:55 like that, like this guy is so physical. He's a bully out there and he's going to help get under the other team's skin. I think that's another, that is an important thing. You know, you need to have like that throughout the course of a season that, like you said, if you try to get into a roasting contest with this guy, he's just going to be like, your mom, you know, like something like that. He'll get the last word. Like Malcolm Roach is always going to have the last word out there.

Starting point is 00:06:20 And I love that about him. It brings that competitive level and guys feed off that energy. Well, and it just, once again, these guys, you could see it on the defensive line. on the pass rush. It's going to be a massive problem for opposing offenses this upcoming year. And I was talking with Andrew Mason, we're sitting there watching. I just couldn't help but think to myself just watching it. I was like, man, if Cam Ward has to go against these guys in week one, like, welcome to the NFL

Starting point is 00:06:42 rookie. Now, hopefully he doesn't, you know, suddenly just put on a Superman cape and just light things up. But it's a tough task going against this Broncos defense. And that was really the theme of the day in the third down periods, right? Third and short. And then the Broncos were working from different down distances, whether that'd be third and second. third and three, third and one, and even third and five. That's kind of that realm of where they're at.

Starting point is 00:07:02 The defense was everywhere, the pass rush, with Jonathan Cooper with Nick Benito, Zach Allen. I mean, they would have had a, Nick Benito had a sack in what would have been a real game situation. Jonathan Cooper did that. He also had a strip sack on Jared Stidham in a real game situation. And then Zach Allen, obviously coming in and cleaning things up

Starting point is 00:07:20 alongside the run-stopping ability of guys like Malcolm Roach, DJ Jones, and even John Franklin Myers, like, these guys were creating havoc, Sarah. And I just couldn't help but think to myself, like, hey, this unit stays healthy once again. Like, they could very well lead the NFL once again in sacks. Don't want to get too far ahead of ourselves here. But the mentality of this defense, it starts with those guys in the trenches. And I tell you what, the guys at linebacker, we talk about Dre Greenlaw, he has that same level of emphasis to him.

Starting point is 00:07:47 Lavelle Bailey. Those two guys, Greenlaw and Bailey were wrecking balls, right? And I think one thing you and I said in yesterday's show, okay, Sean Payton brought up Lavel Bailey and talked about him. Can he stack days? Oh, he stacked it already. He was the most impressive player, I'd say out of anybody. I'd say he and Malcolm Roach and Drey Greenlaw probably take the cake for the top three players of the day for Wednesday's practice. Lavelle Bailey, impressive.

Starting point is 00:08:10 Now, granted, it's two practices in a row. Our question now is can he stack it tomorrow? And then you want to carry that 10 days from now against San Francisco. It's great. And other guys are thriving off of it for this defense, including, you know, Jonathan Cooper, Nick Benito. But once again, another stacker, Jonah Ellis. Yeah, when the pads came on, Jonah Ellis started to make his presence felt. I think with him, it's the, you know, what's the shoulder injury going to have him looking like out there?

Starting point is 00:08:35 Is he going to be fully recovered? Can't even tell. You can't even tell. Yeah, he said, I'm fully recovered, right? And he's been stacking days like we're talking about with a lot of different guys on today's show. This is kind of the who's stacking days already show for lockdown Broncos. And Jonah Ellis, since the pads came on, it sounds like he's just been explosive out there. can't help a wonder, is he going to be a reason why the team, you know, if they, I think they'll

Starting point is 00:08:59 still sign Nick Benito. I do. That's kind of where my head is leaning right now, Cody, that they'll re-sign Nick Panito. Does Jonah Ellis give you some leverage at the negotiating table at the very least to say, you know what, we've got this guy. He's coming up through the wings. You want to have, obviously, those, that depth in the past rush department. You want to have depth off the edge, but a guy like that can give you some confidence to know that we can stick to our And I love that the Broncos have the depth that they do right now because I think Jonah Ellis is going to be one of the most underrated second year guys in the NFL as a pass rusher where he was already in the top five in his class last season. If John Elway was still the general manager of the team, I would say probably, right? You worry about that being a factor that maybe prohibits you from signing Benito with George Payton, with Sean Payton.

Starting point is 00:09:48 I mean, Nick Benito is George's guy. Like, you go back to the day they drafts. like, he cursed. He's like, wow, we got Nick Benito. That's that's George's guy. I don't see this impacting things at all. I think that very much you're going to see this, this change in Denver of where it is this emphasis on getting guys signed. Like George Payton has had that. That's been that's been his forte. That's been his promising he's upheld since coming in. Nick Benito is going to get that extension. When that's the biggest question here. And hopefully it's soon for he and And obviously guys like Zach Allen as well.

Starting point is 00:10:23 But Broncos country, well, the Broncos defense was ramping these up and generating pressure. The running back positions, another room that falls under the microscope every day at practice. And a new name, threw his name in the hat a little bit. Blake Watson will talk about maybe his standout day and does it change, maybe the perception of the running back room going forward. We'll debate and discuss that here on today's episode, Lockdown Broncos. This episode is presented by Yahoo Fantasy. And Fantasy football is back.

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Starting point is 00:11:10 millionth league under your fantasy football names like Steel Team Nix, Big Nix energy, Mary Nixmas, the list adds up. Well, and look, I've been using the Yahoo Fantasy. app since 2008, Cody, back when I was drafting guys like Adrian Peterson, who was a young player at the time. Like, I've been using this app forever because it's easy setup. It's a great app to use for SmackTalk, all the different things that we love about fantasy football, but especially the draft day experience. And to celebrate 28 years of fantasy greatness, Yahoo Fantasy is dropping 28 big new features over 28 days, giving you more ways to play,

Starting point is 00:11:46 more ways to draft, and more ways to win. It all begins August 4th. Stay tuned and get started by creating or joining a Yahoo Fantasy Football League at Yahoo! Fantasy.com slash lockdown NFL. That's Yahoo Fantasy.com slash lockdown NFL. And let's make this fantasy season the best one yet. Blake Watson is throwing his name into the hat. You know what if the Broncos are going to have an open competition there at running back, might as well have the second year player step up into the ring and show what he can do.

Starting point is 00:12:17 And he's throwing some counter punches after it sounded like basically a done deal for the top two at the position. and we'll talk about Blake Watson's nice day at Denver Broncos training camp of Broncos country. Once again, thank you so much for making us part of your day, however you choose to do so. If you're not already, subscribe, wherever you listen to podcasts as well as on YouTube. Cody, Blake Watson is a guy that really you and I kind of decided, I think, over the course of the off season, before the Broncos added anybody to say, who could potentially even be the Joker in Sean Peyton's offense? It's already on the team. I think that it was just kind of easy to look at the roster that was and say, well,

Starting point is 00:12:51 nobody. But Blake Watson, as a former wide receiver at playing the running back position, kind of fits that mold, really love what he brought to the table in the short glimpses we got last season. He's been kind of written off a little bit, I think, as we approach, you know, the first preseason game of the year. What did you see from Blake Watson out there today? Because I know a lot of folks were talking about him having a great day at practice. Yeah. I mean, you saw him catching some passes out of the backfield. There was one play, for instance where, I mean, it was not a negative play by him. It was just a negative play for the offense.

Starting point is 00:13:25 Pressure coming up by the Broncos defense. I think it was Sam Ellinger had to throw it to try to float it up. So he went to go jump to catch it. He catches at midair, but somebody catches him in midair. And so it would not have been a really good play. It would not have felt good for Blake Watson in a real game situation, if that were the case. But now what we saw from Blake, you know, obviously getting involved in the passing game, that's one emphasis that is very important for Sean Payton and the running back position is guys

Starting point is 00:13:48 who can contribute and catch out of the backfield. J.K. Dobbins is a guy who also says that's an area of his game that he feels like people don't talk about enough. So that'll be a fun wrinkle here. But just with Blake, he's just got explosiveness. I mean, he's also a north-south runner where you see him just get vertical. And then he sees just a seam and he's going to take it, right? And it's going to be a positive chunk yardage, four or five yards there.

Starting point is 00:14:11 He had two back-to-back runs during one of the team periods on Wednesday where he was able to cut back inside and then get away from the last. backers and outrun the safeties for what we've been a really big play on the ground. But, but Sarah, this is this is the hard part about, I would say, this position group is that I feel like we already know the top two guys, right, JK. Dobbins and R.J. Harvey. Those guys are the solidified locks right now. Jalil, I believe is a lock at this point. But the question is, does Denver carry four?

Starting point is 00:14:41 And I'm starting to find a little bit more comfort level with saying, I think that they, they do, but who's it going to be, right? when you look at the situation, can you get away with maybe releasing or waving Blake Watson and or Tyler Bidde and bringing those guys back on waivers? Possibly, right? But that's where you risk losing out on a guy who maybe has a chance to go play for another team after the preseason, right? Teams are always scouring other teams things. Blake Watson is a guy that the Broncos, I felt like really liked last year. They brought him up to the 53 just so some other teams that were sniffing around him because when he's on the practice squad,

Starting point is 00:15:15 they didn't want him to get post. So does that change because you added RJ Harvey or does that maybe amplify now because he is a guy who does, I think, offer a little bit more right now as a runner and also as a past catcher. He can do both of those things early on here. That's where I am really stuck on this whole discussion is I think we really need to see these guys in game reps. And if only we could be a fly on the wall for their kind of like future projecting,

Starting point is 00:15:42 what's the vision for this guy? do we believe that he can achieve it? Because quite frankly, Cody, I think they might have got it wrong with Julelea McLaughlin versus the guy that they had in the same rookie mini camp in Emmanuel Wilson, who went out, ran for over 500 yards, four touchdowns with the Green Bay Packers last year. Like, that's the guy that I think Sean Payton a lot of times is talking about,

Starting point is 00:16:02 not specifically him, but that's the poster, you know, of the guy that when Sean's like, we don't want to have a guy here at camp and let him go. And then all of a sudden he's emerging with another team. team. That's exactly what Emmanuel Wilson has done. And I think we've seen with Jiliel McLaughlin over the last two years. We saw a huge regression from year two compared to year one in terms of efficiency per touch, yards after, you know, contact, yards before contact. All these sorts of things were down. Every metric was down last year. And so maybe that's where I'm a little bit jaded on this whole discussion is that there's this tension between Sean Payton and what he believes about Jaliel McLaughlin or how much he really likes Jalil McLaughlin. and then what we saw last year because to me, I would say, I would, I would hope at least that his spot is up for grabs, not because I don't like Jaliel, not because I don't want him to succeed in the NFL, but because based on last year, I feel like somebody could come in and take that role and

Starting point is 00:17:01 do better with what he was given. So I just think that's the tension right now is, is how much are you, how much faith are you willing to put in Jalil McLaughlin again and let one of these other guys out of the building where like you said, Blake Watson's got the explosiveness. Audric Estimate, he's got the power. Those guys, that would be tough pill to swallow for me if they let one of those two guys go. I just say when you said he's got the powers like, I've got the power. That came to my head there.

Starting point is 00:17:28 I redirected there. Those are great points. But I feel like you have to let this play out during the preseason, right? I don't know if this is going to be a question that gets answered during these practices. Though, you know, you can learn a lot. There is a lot of evaluation investment in these practices, but I think it's really the games. But it's also skewed a little bit because who's going to be working with what unit? Like if Jalilil is running with the first team offense and is getting reps with the first team offense and thriving,

Starting point is 00:17:55 and let's say that, you know, a guy like Tyler Badegh or Blake Watson, they're working with that third team offensive line. And maybe that unit's struggling. That kind of skews your evaluation a little bit, like how you get the full picture of this position. And then we also go back to the other guy that you just mentioned. here with Audrick Estimate, who was stacked, I think, two good days in a row back to back. You saw a little bit more in today's practice, just that downhill getting forward because this was a heavy run emphasis day for the Broncos, especially in the nine-on-seven period.

Starting point is 00:18:23 That's all that was. But then the short yardage, it really was a run emphasis period for the Broncos primarily. And I thought Audrey did a really good job. And I think sometimes we all forget, Adrick is the youngest guy in this roster. He was the youngest guy drafted last year. He was the youngest guy in the roster. I think he was 20 when the Broncos drafted him last year. And I think he turned 21 shortly after that.

Starting point is 00:18:46 This is a guy who's still learning, still growing, still going through the whole process of learning what it's like to be a pro. And certainly, you know, you hear the noise from the media. You see it. And you see obviously the team bringing in J.K. Dobbins, drafting RJ Harvey. You have a choice there. Do you let that derail you from ultimately competing or do you use that as motivation? You know, that's where you've got to see the response.

Starting point is 00:19:09 from Estimate. I think early on here in camp, I think we've seen him respond in a pretty good fashion at this point. But the running back position continues to be the biggest mystery right now for this team outside of the two guys that we know are going to be roster locks. Yeah, and Audrey Estimate is another kind of tough discussion because as a former fifth round pick, well, on the surface, it's like, well, it's just a fifth round pick. But like you said, this is a guy that, you know, he's one of the youngest players in the team. And he's somebody that Sean Payton has publicly stated that the team had a third round grade on. So yeah, he was a fifth round pick, but we know now based on what's been stated that he was viewed much more highly in the

Starting point is 00:19:50 eyes of this team. And therefore, it increases the sting when you let a guy like that go. Or if you just, you know, abandoned ship. I think last year was an example of that. Like, and I don't know everything that goes on behind the scenes either, Cody. And I think that that's for them to know and us to maybe never find out. But at the same time, it would have to, in my opinion be a huge conflict of like personalities or the Broncos really believing like, man, we, we thought that the vision was this for estimate and now we just don't see it anymore. If that's the case, that's the only way that I would see him getting cut this off season, right? And if not, trade it.

Starting point is 00:20:27 I mean, maybe the Broncos are going to have such great depth of running back. Teams will come in for joint practices or they'll have joint practices against other teams. Maybe they become trade bait at some point in the rest of this off season. We have a joint practice coming up next week with the San Francisco 49ers who have churned out running backs due to injury left and right. So who knows? Maybe it's an audition for some of these guys. Maybe it's an audition for Tyler Badegh, Blake Watson, potentially here going forward. But Broncos country, we're not done.

Starting point is 00:20:53 We still got a lot to break down here on today's episode of the show. We're going to go through and talk about some injury updates. No Devon Valey or Q Robinson on day three of pads. Is there a reason to be concerned? We'll share our thoughts on that here on today's episode of the show. Today's episode, Lockdown Broncos is brought to you by friends over there at five-hour energy. It's time to fuel up and turn it up with five-hour energy transfusion. It brings the bold grape, ginger, and lime flavor of your favorite golf drink,

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Starting point is 00:22:27 Going through our Broncos training camp news and notes from day three of pads in Dove Valley. some of the other standout players. And we'll go through some injury updates here. Real quick, I want to say thanks once again, everyone in Broncos country. Thank you so much for tuning in, making us your first listen of the day, however you choose to do.

Starting point is 00:22:43 So we appreciate you so much. Really, let's kick things off here with some news and notes. Injury updates, we didn't meet with Sean Payton during Wednesday's practice. It was kind of a day off where, you know, it's like, what more do you have to say that you didn't tell us? You know, you didn't answer us on Tuesday or Monday, right? So a break for him here.

Starting point is 00:23:00 But I did notice yesterday. during day two of pads that Q Robinson, obviously the Broncos rookie draft pick from this year at outside linebacker, he was limping. It was pretty noticeable after practice as he was going into the locker room. And so I didn't want to bring that up or say, you know, because usually we're not supposed to speculate on that.

Starting point is 00:23:19 He was limping. That's all I can say. And maybe we'll see that. But we did not see him during Wednesday's practice. And after he returned after we've seen Devon Valle here at Trinity Camp, we did not see Devon Valey at all on Wednesday. So not sure what's going on with that, but something obviously worth monitoring at this point. I find it interesting because the Broncos also yesterday held tryouts for several wide receivers as well.

Starting point is 00:23:42 So not sure what the real story is going on right here, but something that obviously bears monitoring here for the Broncos. Yeah, with Q Robinson, we know that last year at Alabama, he was injured, but it was nothing to do with that that would cause him to limp, right? He had an elbow injury last year, and he's been back from that. So that's all good. but obviously we'll watch his situation going forward and probably hear from Sean Payton on it pretty soon. With Devon Veilay, it's poor timing and it's also a little concerning based on the fact that he missed time at mandatory minicamp, right? With an undisclosed leg injury, they were very coy about that injury. Cody, I think it wasn't even reported until a couple weeks after the fact by our good friend Mike Cliss that it was a leg injury.

Starting point is 00:24:24 So really with Devon Valet, it's that, I've been with Troy Franklin, stack. in days with Marvin Mims out there playing well. I mean, Pat Bryant looking good and impressing, even some undrafted guys impressing out there too. It's not looking great for, I mean, Devon Bailey could step back on the field and be in pads and be practicing at full speed the next day or whatever and be looking good out there.

Starting point is 00:24:49 We don't have no idea. But for him, I mean, this is kind of bad timing when you got guys competing for snaps, competing for roles in the offense. Yeah, and obviously we hope that he's okay. We'll see if he returns to practice or is at least present for tomorrow's. And if not, you know, maybe we'll get an update from Sean Payton. Obviously, he's set to me with the media once again on Thursday.

Starting point is 00:25:08 But even like Trent Sherfield's making plays, just being consistent, right? And I'm not saying that Trent's coming in and making these, these wowing plays. Like, oh my gosh, how are you going to keep this guy at the 53? I think by default, I think he's going to make the 53 because of his special team's ability. But he's also, from what I have seen so far in the two days of pads, he's been reliable as a pass catcher. He catches everything. He had a really nice play. He caught, you know, when the Broncos went at that third and long period,

Starting point is 00:25:33 that final team period of the day, the Bo Nix and the Broncos offense was front at Trent Sherfield. It was third and 13 caught a nice pass from Bo that moved the chains for a first down. And then Bo found Cortland Sutton for another game on third and 11 to move the chain. So two out of their four attempts, 50% right there, they converted on third and long, which is obviously great. You like to see those numbers here. But, you know, you mentioned other guys like Courtney Jackson, the undrafted guys,

Starting point is 00:25:57 Joaquin Tavis, Gerouan Newton, these guys, they're fast. And they all offer their own unique elements to, you know, maybe contributing or competing a little bit. Kairis Rowan, really good speeds has just really struggled with drops so far throughout training camp. So that's something they're going to continue to work on with him. He's got some traits that are very exciting. And I know that they're going to really emphasize the catching thing.

Starting point is 00:26:19 I think it's more so it could be a focus thing because he's so fast. Like that's the problem with some fast guys, especially when you're trying to run these different routes. Sometimes you're running a little too fast for your own good, and it leads to you not having your hands ready. So it's stuff that the Broncos are working with him on there as well. But, I mean, Sarah, you brought up Troy Franklin. It's two days in a row.

Starting point is 00:26:37 He's made a really tough contested catch. There was one play or one defensive back. This was in one-on-ones was holding him. I mean, it was a blatant hold. He still fought for the football and hauled it in. And, you know, he's lengthy. We know that about Troy, was able to outstretch his arms, haul in a tough catch while being pretty much held in his arm.

Starting point is 00:26:57 arms being brought down there. He's showing that physicality there, which is, which is great. And obviously he's winning matchups in one-on-once. He drew some praise, obviously, from Riley Moss, when Riley talked with the media after practice. And just good news that Troy's continuing to stack days here. And good news for Riley Moss as well, Cody.

Starting point is 00:27:15 I mean, I think he was very specific about how much weight he added and the percentage of body fat that he added as well. Sounds like he added 10 pounds and 0.4% body fat or something like that. I mean, you know a guy's working hard in the gym when he knows exactly the decimal of percentage of body fat that he is adding to his body because that stuff matters. And you know, when you become a professional and you go up against, that was last year was basically his red shirt rookie year, right? And you got an opportunity to go up against a bunch of other guys. Hey, you get bullied by T. Higgins and that's all everybody talks about for an entire off season. You're going to go get in the gym and get Jack.

Starting point is 00:27:52 So the next time you go up against T. Higgins, you can muscle him up. little bit. I think that's exciting for Riley Moss for for him to be able to go and do that and still maintain his speed because we know he's already physical. So if he's rocked up, I mean, he's going to be knocking some people out this year. I mean, you got a guy who loves to tackle. But I mean, with Riley, you mentioned that he still has his speed. That's evident there. Like he's still just as fast as he was last year, which is pretty fast. I mean, Sarah, we talk about a corner, right? In today's game, he's lined up in press, press alignment. where it's like, all right, he's going to get hands on this guy.

Starting point is 00:28:28 Riley is so good at being able. He could play press without even jamming a guy, right? He's mirroring a guy's movements off the line of scrimmage. And he's turning and running with some of the fastest guys in the NFL, right? That's a benefit. But for him, he even acknowledged. He said, an area he felt like he could, he could, you know, he needed to improve on was his strength.

Starting point is 00:28:46 He wanted to be stronger against some of these bigger, more physical wide receivers. And look, I've seen him have really good reps against Cortland Sutton where he's won those reps. You know, Riley, it all goes back to that Cincinnati game for so many fans. And I just don't understand that the recency bias of all that, they're forgetting that everyone was singing his praises before the injury, right? And Riley wasn't 100% coming back from that injury. You know, he still, I still think he probably had another two weeks there. But the Broncos were in a position, sir, where they wanted to push for the playoffs. Riley's a tough dude.

Starting point is 00:29:17 He's fully healthy. I mean, going from 193 to 203 still maintaining your speed, that's big. That's a big step here for Riley. Very excited for that. And I will say this there because once again, we see it debated on social media all the time. It does not look like in any way, shape, or form that Riley has to worry about his job. He is the outside corner opposite of Pat. And they are mixing in Jadae, but they're also mixing in all these guys.

Starting point is 00:29:41 Jaade is also on the field with Riley at the same time. I can't tell you exactly what that looks like who's all in there. But those two guys, they're also getting a lot of time together in different roles. And he's playing a lot in the nickel. So Riley on the outside, Jaday, J. Mack, inside the nickel. That's the primary, even though Sean Payton told us, we know that Riley can also play inside there. But that's not where he's going to play. Right.

Starting point is 00:30:02 And I think that's the thing is you want to get your best combination out there and get these guys doing what they do best. And that's what Jade Barron did the most last year at Texas, though he did a lot of other things. He plays in the slot. And that's what he does well. He plays safety when needed. He can do a lot of different things for it. You can probably play the dime too. So whatever role the Broncos need these guys to play.

Starting point is 00:30:22 they're going to do it and they're going to maximize, make sure they've got the best 11 out there on the field at all times. And as we know, like, I mean, you can be outside corner, just like Pat Ser 10, you could get matched up on Brock Bowers, regardless of where he's lined up on the field. It doesn't mean that somebody's taking his job on the outside. It just means you're going to be playing inside sometimes in the NFL because teams try to move guys to create matchups.

Starting point is 00:30:45 And so if they move a guy to create a matchup where Riley Moss is the best player to guard that guy, he might end up in the slot every every so often right so i think that's the thing is like a lot of people are under this assumption that his job is going to get taken because of that Cincinnati game it's just not the case and uh it's it's exciting to hear him taking those steps for i think i think there's a message that's being sent just by him going out to the podium cody because sean patent's getting all these questions about riley and the Broncos undoubtedly hear all the stuff that's going on with him and that's where you throw a guy out there to the media and say hey why don't You talk to the guy.

Starting point is 00:31:21 He's a core player on this team. Yeah. Like I said, unquestioned. I think him bulking up is going to help him. I think stay healthy too because really for him, he just got friendly fired. I think a lot of people forget it was friendly fire from Cody Barton on a player right before halftime where he's just trying to make a tackle. And Cody Barton hits his knee and then he has the MCL injury. It's tough to come back from that.

Starting point is 00:31:46 But Riley's in a good position. And I'm excited where this Broncos team. team is heading. And look, the defense set the tone for day three of pads in the Valley. Will the offense set the tone in day four? We'll share all the thoughts and recap tomorrow's practice here on tomorrow's episode. Lockdown Broncos, Broncos country. We'll see you then.

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