Locked On Broncos - Daily Podcast On The Denver Broncos - MINICAMP: Denver Broncos' Bo Nix OFFICIALLY Returned, Pass Rush Depth is Loaded

Starting point is 00:00:00 Day one of mandatory minicamp is in the books, and Bo Nix was his confident self as he made his return to the field. 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 Brockos Country? Cody Rourke, Sarah Beniger here for another episode of the show. Today's episode is brought to you by friends over there at O-Doo. Great organizations win because operations matter,

Starting point is 00:00:30 and that's why you should get O-Doo. Try it for free today, O-Doo.com slash lockdown. That's ODOO.com slash locked on as we break down day one of mandatory minicamp. Everything we saw from Tuesday's practice, UFL signing, standing out, making a couple of plays on the football, plus some deeper insights into what we observed at practice. And also the Broncos pass rush, it is not lacking folks. Dandre Tillman, Q, Robinson, and so many other players are getting involved in the mix, opposite of Nick Benito as they are getting after the quarterback here, even without the pads.

Starting point is 00:01:01 But we're going to kick things off by talking about the news. everybody wants to talk about Bo Nicks back on the field for the first time since having ankle surgery and we got some great insight from him. So Sarah, let's dive into it. Great to see, Bo. I mean, the first thing is when we got let through those practice gates, players are starting to stretch or getting ready to go through their whole ordeal. Everyone's looking for number 10.

Starting point is 00:01:20 I'm going to set up my camera to capture footage because that was the hot topic of Tuesday's practice at minicap. And I love it, Cody. I mean, we got to hear from Bo Nix as well. I know you and I kind of entered this week wondering, Are we going to be able to hear from Boe next? Are they going to kind of try to conceal some stuff? No, I think Bo is just out there operating at full confidence.

Starting point is 00:01:41 I mean, that's what it seems to me. That was my major takeaway because obviously I only got to hear him at the podium as well as see some of the highlights from your reports as well as like what the Broncos put out there. And I love it, man. I really do. This is exactly what I think everybody's been wanting to just clear out that dark cloud, you know, over hanging over anything. And Bo obviously was super excited to be back.

Starting point is 00:02:05 You could tell you could just feel like that juice flowing after practice. He was really feeling it at the microphone. And I just, I'm so pumped for him because now he got, he kind of gets to take back control of that narrative, right? That was the whole thing that I think he took real issue with early on in this whole process is, hey, everybody's kind of talking about the timeline for me. Well, now he gets to go back to the podium and kind of start to, you know, real line everybody. You just say, hey, like, I'm still me. I didn't die. It's a broken bone.

Starting point is 00:02:37 Bones heel, you know, so it was great to get to hear from him. Well, and it was nice to see him even throwing the football too. He was a limited participant, didn't do any team specific drills, but he did position drills with the quarterbacks. He worked with the running backs, and he also worked with wide receivers as they went and they threw to the receivers and tight ends down in the end zone during individual period. So it was nice to see there. But we also saw a little bit of sassy Bo Nix. And this is what I like about Bo, too, is, you know, I think a lot in his first couple of the years, there are moments where Bo, you get a peek into his personality and he's got like this, you know, fiery confidence amongst himself. But he was also asked a very important

Starting point is 00:03:15 question about, you know, will he be full go by the end of June? Sean Payton in Tuesday's press conference said that end of June, Bo will be fully clear, ready to rock and roll. We know he's going to be ready to go for training camp even begins. But if it were up to Boe himself, he'd be full go right now. Yeah, I could go full go right now if they want me to. Keep that clip forever, Cody. I mean, we can use that in so many different instances. I really like that. I love it. Like you said, Bo was kind of being sassy. Sometimes when I feel like Bo was feeling at the podium today, I send the, you know, painting fingernails emoji. I'm just like, hey, like, there's no worries right now. And Bo was giving off that vibe very much. So if, for the bluey fans out there, he was cheeky

Starting point is 00:03:58 at the podium definitely answering questions with the utmost confidence but i like to hear that from him as well because ultimately we wanted to know that he wasn't being limited because he was still suffering any setbacks or he was still hurting or in pain or the second operation was lingering for for him to come out and say no i could be a full go right now if they wanted me to bow i think has put wind in the sales of everybody else in broncos country yeah and he was open about his whole surgery process too, right? The first one initially. And then what happened with the second one that ultimately everybody was talking about like, wait, was there a setback? What was happened? Here's what Bo had to say about that. Yeah, so the first one, obviously right after the season, you know, non-weight bearing for a couple

Starting point is 00:04:41 weeks, get back going, felt pretty good, still having a little bit of an issue with the bone spur. So what we did was, is even though I probably could have gone again, done the whole season again, and it was just aggravated me for too long. So what we did was since I was a little bit ahead, thought it best to go ahead and decompress it a little bit, and then still have plenty of time to get back for the summer. What I heard there, Cody, is that Bo Nix was so healthy. He was like, you know what, I'm going to take care of this other thing right now

Starting point is 00:05:10 while I'm still in process of recovering. I mean, once again, I think just that confidence that he's just brimming with. I know the listeners can hear it, and those who are watching on YouTube can see it. You can feel it from him. Maybe it's because he became a hat guy. I mean, as a fellow hat guy myself, I don't think I've ever seen Bo Nix wear a hat before. He's worn hats every day out there at practice.

Starting point is 00:05:32 I wonder what's going on with that. Like, did he become a hat guy? Nobody talked to him about that. They're asking all these questions about his ankle. What about the hats, man? We need the hard hitting info. I was going to say, that must be a dad thing because he obviously just recently became a father. You know, I agree.

Starting point is 00:05:48 In all my times covering Bowling in the last two years, the only time I've seen him in a ball cap was our first. OTA practice where he was kind of hiding. And then this week. So very, very interesting. Sean going to bring back the visor full time. Is Bo going to become a hat guy? We just now transitioning to true quarterback territory here. All jokes aside, Bo joking as normal too, especially like pre-practice in the stretches. One thing that Sean Payton did outline is that Bo is getting all the walk-through reps in

Starting point is 00:06:15 practice, you know, before practice starts pre-practice stuff. Now, if you attend Broncos training camp, this is usually what happens before they, even go through a stretch they have a pre-practice. And so they walk through everything. The receivers will walk their routes. They'll go through and talk to design. They'll throw what they need to be. The guys will be in coverage.

Starting point is 00:06:34 They go through all of this stuff all the time. So if you ever been to a training camp practice, you've seen this before where it's very snail's pace. So that is obviously a good sign. So he's going to be fully go, fully good to go. No limitations when training camp rolls around here. But we asked Sean Payton last week. I had a chance to bring up year three,

Starting point is 00:06:53 the mobility factor. And Sean said from a mobility standpoint, Bo is going to be completely clean. He's going to do all that stuff. And Bob once again, because after he had the second operation, they removed the bone spur. He said that his doctor said, your ankle is as good as new. He had a very funny comment about his mobility and whether or not there was going to be any concern surrounding his ability to be able to move on the run. Well, my concern is they say it's back healthy as good as new. And I hadn't really been like that in a couple years.

Starting point is 00:07:20 So my concern is may move around a little bit better. I love it. I think that was my favorite quote that he had, Cody. That was the best one. He was really feeling it. I know I've said that before, but like that is also kind of true, right? Because NFL players,

Starting point is 00:07:35 they deal with those dings, the bruises, just kind of the wear and tear on your body year after year. Not that they don't take care of themselves, but ultimately, you know, you get an opportunity where it's like, hey, you have to kind of sit out for a bit. You have to be no, no pressure on that ankle whatsoever for a certain amount.

Starting point is 00:07:52 amount of time and you have to rehab, you have to strengthen it. It just carries a different level of intentionality with the way that you take care of it. And so for Bo, it's kind of just like, all right, we already know like he's registering 20, 21 miles per hour on the in game GPS. Like how much faster can this guy be and how much of an asset can that be to his game? I don't think anybody in Broncos country wants him to be carrying the ball, you know, a hundred times or 200 times a season, obviously, right? But we want to see him be that dual threat and get out on the move.

Starting point is 00:08:22 Like I said before, more throws on the run than any other quarterback in the NFL last year. More throws on the run outside the pocket. So that is part of his game. That is part of what makes him great. What does Sean Payton call it the secret sauce or his superpower or whatever that is? That is true of Bo Nix. Yeah. And it's good that that's not going to change.

Starting point is 00:08:42 I think that was a concern that maybe a lot of fans had in the back of their minds after he had the first surgery and even after he had the cleanup procedure. But just it goes to show even Beau said it himself, you know, a lot of of people, they'll hear things, they'll get secondhand sources, but they won't know the actual information. And Bo even told the story about, you know, he's at the park, you know, and these little kids are asking, are your ankles crooked? Are they going to be crooked, you know, because they're reading whatever the heck's on social media. By the way, keep your kids off social media, folks. It's a dangerous place out there, especially for misinformation. But, Bo obviously, like, you know, he had a crack out that. And he kind of laughed it off and said, you know,

Starting point is 00:09:18 like, I'm good. It's not the end of the world. It's broken bone. It happens. Bones do. Hill, which is obviously a good sign. And the Broncos and Boe specifically, they have the best medical staff and training staff and equipment that you could possibly have if you're dealing with injuries. So I imagine they're going to be very, very careful when it comes to how they progress bow along. And then they're going to unleash him. And the rest of the NFL, they've got to watch out for that here. But speaking of watching out, the Broncos pass rush might unleash even more this upcoming season as Q Robinson, Dondre Tillman, Nick Benito, and Jonah Ellis are getting after the quarterback, even without the pads. We'll tell you why the

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Starting point is 00:12:20 group, but certainly the talent is there for the Broncos to continue progressing forward toward their ultimate goal, which we know from Zach Allen is to break that all-time NFL sack record. Broncos country, we're going to talk about that and much more from mini camp day one here on today's episode of the show. I want to just let you know, we appreciate every single one of you so, so much for tuning in, making us your first listen of the day every single day right here at Lockdown Broncos. And you can get your daily Denver Broncos fix completely add free by joining the every day or club today. Start a seven-day free trial right now. get closer to your favorite team, the Denver Broncos, without any interruptions.

Starting point is 00:12:54 Check out the link in the show notes or go to lockdown Broncos. Dot supercast.com. Cody, I want to hear from your perspective. I know you mentioned it to me before we started recording the show and in the show open a little bit. Guys like Jonah Ellis and Dondre Tillman and Q Robinson already sort of making their presence felt here this offseason for the Denver Broncos. We know this is a deep, deep group of pass rushers, deep group of edge players. is at the top of the depth chart. But these guys are, I mean, they're proving that the Broncos, when they say you can't have too many pass rushers, they've put that to the test and they have the guys in place to weather any storm that might come this season.

Starting point is 00:13:36 Well, and I feel like the Broncos will probably have to rely on these three guys that we're about to talk about a little bit more of this upcoming season here. Jonah Ellis getting a lot of reps. Obviously, we all know going out to mandatory minicamp, Jonathan Cooper has been excused from team activities. he is not at the building, not at practice. John Payton said after practice that he's going to have to focus on himself for a while. As the NFL and the legal, the local authorities go through the legal process on that, and I'm sure we'll find out more as that information becomes available. From a football standpoint, that means that Jonah Ellis was the next man up opposite of Nick Benito,

Starting point is 00:14:08 getting more reps during Tuesday's practice. And same thing, rotating guys in like Q Robinson, Dandre Tillman, Sarah. And one thing, too, I even brought up to Sean after practice. I asked him about Jonah, Q, and Don Jr., rate, you know, Sean kind of just basically, you know, it's hard for like their positions, what they do to really evaluate that without the pads and understandably so. But what can we evaluate from pass rushers? At least from my perspective, the get off, the timing.

Starting point is 00:14:34 Are they creating penetration off the edge or are they able to shoot inside quickly untouched? Like those are things that we're looking at. Jonah, Nick Benito, Hugh Robinson, Dondray Tillman, if there were pads on, I'm curious to see how it would have translated. But from our observation here today, and they flashed. They were in the backfield. They were getting around tackles very quickly. They were in the path of the quarterback several times,

Starting point is 00:14:58 especially when quarterbacks were trying to scramble. They had nowhere to go. They were getting their hands up, tipping passes. It was a very productive day, not only from Benito, who's at a strong offseason showing, but Jonah Ellis, who's been very good. Q Robinson and Dondrey Tillman together, Sarah. Those guys have been flashing so far in these practices.

Starting point is 00:15:16 They're relentless, that high effort motor that we're seeing. And once again, just I charted on my notebook several times, Q Robinson pressure, Dondred pressure, Jonah pressure, Nick pressure, like those guys were getting in the backfield often. And that to me, if they can translate that over into when the pads come on, the Broncos pass rush is going to be something I think a lot of teams around the NFL at the outside back position are going to be envying and wanting. But Denver, it's going to be a massive strength of theirs, I believe. I think so too. And I'm really, I know the circumstances are obviously not what we want, but I like that there's more pressure on Jonah Ellis to become a full-time player. I think that that's going to bring out the best in him.

Starting point is 00:15:57 We know that over his first two years in the NFL, kind of been battling a little bit of the injury bug, right? I mean, he came into the NFL with the shoulder issue. I can't remember all what he was dealing with last season, Cody, but it was not, it was a sporadic. Yeah, he was dealing with the shoulder, a groin and a rib injury. Like he played through some. fractured ribs. He had a shoulder injury, you know, once again. And then he had a groin injury that

Starting point is 00:16:21 was kind of impacting. No, it was a hamstring growing in the hamstring that he was kind of dealing with as well. So just last year, it was kind of a circumstance of just like a snowball effect of this popping up, this popping up. But he played through a lot of it as well. And I think that you could kind of tell watching him play that he was dealing with some stuff, right? I mean, it was still explosive. He was still physical, but maybe not quite the exact same guy that we saw in his rookie season where he made the all rookie team, you know, coming off the edge. And that was why I think there was a bit of surprise when there was talk of him, potentially changing positions is like, hey, this guy was an all rookie team performer

Starting point is 00:16:58 off the edge. But now you're going into year three. This is right about the sweet spot where some of these guys can really start to take that huge jump. I mean, we talk about it all the time with the quarterback position. I think we've talked about it with guys like Troy Franklin. I mean, plenty of players entering their third year. you kind of feel like, all right, this is a, it's a huge year because at the end of this season,

Starting point is 00:17:19 you become contract eligible, right? And so this is where I think Jonah has an opportunity to really entrench himself. And I don't, I don't want to say like, well, you know, screw the whole Jonathan Cooper situation. That doesn't matter. Like he's, he's a really good player. So like that's, you're, you're potentially missing out on a really good player there, depending on what happens in his situation. But either way, Jonah Ellis stepping in. gives the Broncos a top-tier talent that I think has been sort of buried beneath the surface because of the guys ahead of him on the dev chart. I mean, not for his lack of talent, but because those other guys have so much of it.

Starting point is 00:18:00 And look, I think if I had to predict here today, I think you're going to see a lot of Jonah Ellis this upcoming season. And I think you're going to see him probably opposite of Nick Benito. We'll just, once again, we'll see how things play out here. But that's my anticipation. I think that's where the forecast is heading here for this. Broncos team, but that also means that you're going to see that combination of Q and Dondre coming off the bench together when Benito and Ellis more than likely in that

Starting point is 00:18:23 situation. If that does play out that way, those guys get upset. But I also think you're going to see it maybe even the Broncos rotating those guys in. Like you may see Benito and Jonah, but you may also see Bonito and Q like in certain packages, certain situations. They like the traits that these guys had not only from a physical standpoint, but an athleticism standpoint as well. And I think it's just situationally. They may like a matchup with Benito against a certain tackle or Q against a certain tackle or Jonah. And there might be times where the Broncos get very creative with what they put out there defensively. Having these guys in their pass rush and this got to bring up another guy to Johnny Walker, Jr.

Starting point is 00:19:03 Once again, another guy who's showing up and has flashed in three consecutive weeks of practice that we've been able to see. We'll see if you can care that over here today and day two and then I'll see tomorrow into day three. but it's been so nice to see the depth collectively that they have. And these guys are going to get plenty of reps this summer in training camp and also in the preseason. And then you still have guys like Drew Sanders, Deshaun McCullough as well in the back end. You know, they haven't necessarily made a lot of plays just yet. But they're going to get their opportunities to, especially when the pads come on. And I think for Drew Sanders specifically, can he have an impact on special teams?

Starting point is 00:19:36 Guys like Jonah, guys like Dondray and Q, those guys are already impact special teams players. So that's where other guys are going to have to make their hey, like Johnny Walker, Drew Sanders, and Deshaun McCullough, if they want to go through and have the best chance and maybe earning a roster spot here come August, end of August, going into the regular season. Well, I know Vance Joseph has already been singing the praises of Q Robinson, right? When we got to hear from Vance, I mean, he's saying,

Starting point is 00:20:00 we believe he has future starter traits. And I think that you have, when you have so many young guys like that, who have those abilities, the opportunity to impact the game, you feel comfortable doing what the Broncos, kind of have done over the last couple years is put those guys in those difficult situations. Like there's been times where before a ball is snapped, I'll look around the defensive front and I'll see number 92 out there and I'll see number 52 out there. And I'm like, this is, I'll talk about throughout the Cowboys game last year, for instance.

Starting point is 00:20:32 This is a third down play in your own like side of the field. The Cowboys got over your side of the 50 and you've got Tillman and Ellis out there instead of Cooper and Benito, like your starters, your guys who are supposed to play the Lions share, and then all of a sudden, I mean, a big play happens. So, like, that's just kind of how it feels like these guys have exceeded my expectations, especially Tillman, who came up from the UFL, which I know the Broncos got a couple more guys from that level. And it's kind of fun to think about who could be the next Dandre Tillman, because he's turned

Starting point is 00:21:03 out to be quite, I mean, quite a player, like a rotational edge rusher who sets the edge against the run who can rush the passer. But shoot, I mean, we saw some giddy up when he picked off a couple of passes last year. He's got some skills with the ball in his hand. So it's just a really well-rounded group of players, no matter what way you kind of slice it, even at this point in the off-season. Yeah. And right now, I'd say for what the Broncos are unfortunately having to deal with with

Starting point is 00:21:30 the off-field stuff with Jonathan Cooper, I mean, it's nice to have the depth that you have here. If we're looking at it from a football standpoint, you know, these three guys, I think could each make a case to be a starter. You know, if not for Denver, if for somebody else, and so the Broncos, it's a good problem. And luckily for Denver to have these quality of pass rushers with Nick Benito, there, I don't think the Broncos defense is going to miss a beat.

Starting point is 00:21:56 I think that this is going to be one of the freshest groups you're going to see all year long at outside linebacker here. But Broncos country coming up next, we're going to go through some more observations from day one, a mandatory mini camp. The Broncos had a couple of UFL signings out there. and they both made plays on the day. Plus, a Q&A. Sarah's got some questions that he wants to answer coming out of Mindicamp. Today's episode of the show is brought to you by friends over there at Odu.

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Starting point is 00:22:44 and focus on growing the business instead of managing software. And the best organizations know that success isn't just about talent. It's about having everyone working toward the same goal. And that's true in sports, just like it is in business. The Broncos, they're very much aligned in what they want to do. And that's led to on-field success. And you can look at that by the recent extensions for George Payton and for Sean Payton, keeping that brain trust together as the Broncos navigate into winning territory. Great organizations win because operations matter. And that's why you should get O-D-O-D-O-D-O-com slash locked-on. That's O'D-O-O-O-O-D-O-O-com slash locked-on. The Denver Broncos just signed two players this week from the UFL from the St. Louis battlehawks.

Starting point is 00:23:28 And they both made plays on the day during day one of mandatory minicamp here. Broncos country, thanks for rocking with us. If you want continuous coverage of your Denver Broncos, this is the place to be. Thanks for making us your first listening here at the lockdown podcast. network, the number one sports podcast network in the country. Plus, you know it is your team every day. Sarah, Hakeem Butler, we had a chance to see him for the first time in a Brock who's uniform since coming over from the UFL where he was the UFL offensive player of the year for the battlehawks where he led the league in receiving. I believe he had 600 plus yards on 29 catches. So that's averaging what, 22.1 yards per catch. We got to see him in the orange and blue as he took

Starting point is 00:24:07 the roster spot of Michael Woods the second who was released after impressing initially on a rookie tryout basis just about a month and a half ago here. We got to see him and we got to see fresh making some plays on the football. Yeah, I love it, Cody. I was a big fan of Hakeem Butler coming out of the 2019 NFL draft. And that says something because he's a cyclone. So people listening need to understand like I love my Iowa Hawkeyes. I don't like players who try to beat my Iowa Hawkeyes. So, but Hakeem Butler is kind of undeniable.

Starting point is 00:24:40 And so he was one of those players that kind of felt like the baseball equivalent of what, you know, the 4A type of player, right? He's too good for AAA, not quite good enough for MLB. That's kind of where he's been stuck because he's 30 years old, but he just dominated at the UFL level, right? I mean, like you said, 22.1 yards per reception over the course of his entire season there. And obviously taking home some hardware as the offensive player of the year for that league. I mean, just a big bodied receiver with big hands, really good speed.

Starting point is 00:25:12 I think he ran a 4-4-6 if memory serves me right. So at 6-4-230-something pounds to run that fast is pretty rare. And so I really liked him coming out, Cody. I did. I was hopeful the Broncos would draft him that year. I'm sure I have some tweets I could dig up about that. But I was excited to hear they added him because the success of Dandre Tillman really, really gets your mindset. to thinking like, okay, hey, maybe this guy could be the next version or one of these two guys

Starting point is 00:25:41 could be because Sean Fresh, the cornerback played at Rice, his college ball, right? And he's a punt returner. He was an all-UFL selection as a punt returner. So that kind of is an interesting one because, you know, you get a couple weeks out there on the practice field at OTAs, go pick up a punt returner in a slot corner. So I like it for the Broncos. I think it's always fun to add guys like this to the team because you never know what can happen. But you mentioned they made some plays out there, both of them. Talk about that. And then let's

Starting point is 00:26:11 get into maybe some offensive standouts from this first day of mandatory minicamp other than, you know, Bo Nix, who was out there doing individual stuff. Yeah. Well, I mean, first off, like Hakeem Butler, he moves well for a guy that's got six foot five size to him. You know, there was one play. He ran an out route, caught the pass. The DB was running up to go do a run through. He did a spin move and the DB completely missed him there. So that was a nice play to see. from him. Obviously, you know, Sean Fresh, he had a play on the football in one play where he did a really good job of getting to the hip of the wide receiver on a comeback route, and he brought his ball side hand forward to knock it away incomplete. And then he's working, obviously, in the

Starting point is 00:26:49 special teams periods as well, working gunner work, just getting reps and learning what Darren Rizzi and those guys want to do. He could also play in the nickel for you as well. So there's kind of some flex nickel outside corner that he kind of brings to the table. And the Broncos, obviously, they wave Paul Manning to make way for him to come on to the roster. So it was nice to see kind of the UFL guys making a couple of plays, which for them, you know, these guys, they've been playing football all spring. So now coming into a summer, I think there's a benefit to that. And I'm curious for Sean Payton's thoughts on that.

Starting point is 00:27:18 But if I had to go through maybe some offensive standouts on the day, Broncos country is going to be shocked to hear this one. Adam Prentice had arguably the play of the day. Sarah, the Broncos defense early on, one of the team peers, they were ultra aggressive. They were sending it, you know, all out blitz looks after Sam Ellinger and Jared Stidham. and then the Broncos caught them on that on one play. They leaked Adam Prentice up the scene wide open, and he had like a 70 plus yard catch and run.

Starting point is 00:27:45 No one was able to catch up to him. They caught the Broncos blitz perfectly in that play. So Adam Prentice stood out obviously on the day there. We didn't see a lot of volumes in terms of targets for Evan Ingram in this practice here today. There was one period where the entire team was covering the offense, defensive formation. So we might have missed out on some things. Jonah Coleman, I thought, in a move the ball period,

Starting point is 00:28:04 kind of a red zone period for the Broncos. End of day, had a really good practice. He had caught a pass out in the backfield and was able to run it in for a touchdown untouched, even though there were defenders that were trying to get there. He's got some deceptive speed to him. So that was obviously a nice thing to see. Pat Bryant had a touchdown catch on the day

Starting point is 00:28:20 in one of the team periods as well. Those guys stood out here initially on the offensive side. What about on the defensive side of the ball? I watched your report that you did for Mile High Huddle after practice talking about Jaday Barron, getting some more reps in this particular practice and kind of maybe improving steadily his status. What did you see from the defensive side of the ball really that stood out from this practice? Yeah, I mean, it was good to see Jaday get some team reps for the first time this offseason as he's kind of working his way back from an offseason knee procedure.

Starting point is 00:28:51 That was obviously good to see. In terms of that, like you talk about the pass rushers, those guys certainly did stand out. Zach Allen stood out. Thornton Turner, that linebacker continues to stand out and make some plays specifically in coverage. There was one play. I think he even came away with an interception in the earlier period of team practice. I was during one of those portions where the whole entire offense and defense, you know, the guys that weren't in had their backs to us. So we could not necessarily see a great look at that. But there was one play where there was an interception.

Starting point is 00:29:19 And Jordan Turner was the guy that I saw that had the ball and the defense was celebrating. So that was obviously a stand out there. Tori in New York once again continues to impress in coverage. We're going to get some of the tight ends that Denver has offensively, even some backs out of the backfield. You just see a lot of good work between those guys getting on the field. Didn't necessarily see a lot of standout plays from Red Murdoch. I know everyone's going to ask questions about him. But that's not necessarily a bad thing as well because there were no negative plays

Starting point is 00:29:44 that we could also report on the flip side of that that happened against him. So once again, just everyone collectively getting involved, Riley Moss competing against Jalen Wattle, Cortland Sutton on some plays as well. It was just once again, good work, competitive all across the board. even though there is no contact allowed. Now, question is here on day two, will we see some more seven on seven? Will we see Bo Nix?

Starting point is 00:30:06 If there is seven on seven, throwing because there won't be a pass rush. We didn't see seven on seven during Monday's day, I mean, Tuesday's day one of mandatory mini camps. So there's some things that we're going to see. And in a pass rush, continue to wrap things up here. Obviously, with two days left to practice,

Starting point is 00:30:21 I think there's some storylines we're going to watch here, obviously for today's practice. And it sounded like to bring up a name that folks probably haven't heard, certainly on our show in a long time. Matt Henningson, sound like the big plays of the day. I know he missed all of last year, right,

Starting point is 00:30:37 due to injury. And he's kind of been like, you know, he was one of those sleepers from the 2022 class that kind of had some hope for and then sort of has faded into the background. But the Broncos surprisingly brought him back this off season.

Starting point is 00:30:51 And it sounded like he made a pretty big play there. I don't know if it was at the end of practice or when it was, but it sounded like the team kind of rallied all around him too. Yeah. Yeah, it was one of the earlier team periods. I'm glad you brought it up because I almost forgot it. And I was like, man, so arguably the biggest defensive play of the day. And thanks for reminding me on it.

Starting point is 00:31:07 No, the Broncos were trying to run a screenplay there. And Heddingson did a really good job of reading it. I think pre-snapsed seeing Haller running back, maybe showcase it a little bit. They'll be something they clean up from a coaching standpoint. But he read it. He jumped the path, tipped the ball into the air himself and then caught it and then ran it in untouched there. And obviously, I think the defensive guys were celebrating. You know, when you're dealing with an injury that sidelined him,

Starting point is 00:31:31 that torn Achilles took place in their joint practice against the 49ers last year, and you lose a year of being able to play, the guys are rooting for him, especially guys that are coming off injury. They've been in that rehab room with him. So it's nice to see that. And once again, adding another wrinkle as to like, hey, maybe there is another name we should be paying attention to on the defensive side of the ball here.

Starting point is 00:31:49 On the line specifically, Matt Henningson might have something to say about all of that here. But Broncos Country, thank you so much for Rock with us here. that'll wrap up today's episode of the show. I'll be at day two of mandatory mini camp here once again today. And Sarah and I, we're going to have you completely covered on tomorrow's episode, locked on Broncos with our standouts, key takeaway from the day and so much more. We appreciate you. If you're a brand new viewer, listener, you like the show, do his favor.

Starting point is 00:32:14 Hit that subscribe with that follow button. We just hit 22,000 subscribers on YouTube. That's a massive thanks to all of you out there in Broncos country. We could not do it without you. Thank you so much here. And we'll see it tomorrow for a brand new episode of the show.

Locked On Broncos - Daily Podcast On The Denver Broncos - MINICAMP: Denver Broncos' Bo Nix OFFICIALLY Returned, Pass Rush Depth is Loaded

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