Locked On Broncos - Daily Podcast On The Denver Broncos - PLAN: Why John Franklin-Myers Potential DEPARTURE Creates Questions for Denver Broncos

Starting point is 00:00:00 With the Denver Broncos trending towards not bringing back John Franklin Myers this offseason, I'll tell you why replacing him isn't going to be as easy as people think. 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? Welcome to another episode with Locked on Broncos. I'm Cody Rourke and here on today's bonus show. We're going to talk about John Franklin Myers as everything seems to be aligning towards him

Starting point is 00:00:32 departing in NFL free agency. We'll talk about what it looks like in terms of the plan at that position to replace his production and also dive into why it's not going to be as easy. That's a lot of people are making it out to be. We'll go through all that here on today's bonus episode of the show here. Let's talk about it. Obviously with John Franklin Myers, the NFL franchise tag window, as we discussed early on this week here on the show, it is open.

Starting point is 00:00:55 The Broncos are not expected to use it because if they place the franchise tag on JPM, who in my opinion would be their top. in-house free agent option that I would like them to resign, that would cost $27 million to place the franchise tag on him. So that's not going to happen. And Denver hasn't really used the franchise tag in the last four or five seasons. So unlikely that trend begins now. But the best bet would be for them to try to figure out what JFM is looking for on the market if they were to bring him back. But right now with the early indications being that they didn't talk to him at all during the season, they didn't talk to him at the end of the year about any potential extensions

Starting point is 00:01:30 or negotiations, everything seems to align to be that he's going to depart in free agency. He will sign with another team and likely get paid a pretty good money deal to probably go play for a very good team, maybe a team in the AFC like the Jacksonville Jaguars here. But let's take a look here at what the Broncos are losing if JFM does in fact depart to another team here this upcoming offseason. Last year, it was a career year for him in terms of sacks. And I would say impact here for the Broncos. he played 49% of the team's defensive snaps.

Starting point is 00:02:01 That was 517 total snaps alongside Zach Allen next to DJ Jones, Malcolm Roach. I mean, you talk about that pass rush that was able to set a franchise record for the second consecutive season with 68. JFM, career high year for him, seven and a half sacks this past season, 15 quarterback hits and 23 pressures on just 49% of the defensive snaps. That is an impact player. are losing that, that is not necessarily going to be replaced if you let him walk in free agency. Now, I think the hope is, is that from a roster building and developmental standpoint, yes, maybe you can get some production there. But I think it's going to be a lot more difficult for Denver to replace the impact that

Starting point is 00:02:45 JFM had here. And look, it's not just the seven and a half sacks, the 15 quarterback hits. It's the 23 pressures. It's the impact of what he did for other players next to him on the defensive side of the ball. Zach Allen over seven sacks for him this season. Nick Benito, Jonathan Cooper, over seven sacks for them this season as well. Where Zach Allen comes into the mix here,

Starting point is 00:03:06 playing opposite of him is the fact that when JFM and Zach Allen are on the field at the same time, one of those guys is getting double team. And Zach Allen said it and his end of the year press conference to us, hey, I'm going to have a beach house one day. I'm going to name it the JFM houses because he's going to be the one who allowed me to get that because of what he was able to do. they mutually benefited off of one another.

Starting point is 00:03:28 When JFM was double-teamed, Zach Allen was getting one-on-ones and winning those. When Zach Allen was getting double-teamed, JFM was getting one-on-ones, and he was winning those. Same thing with Jonathan Cooper, Nick Benito. It really made the Broncos pass rush, one of the most elite units in the NFL

Starting point is 00:03:43 in terms of overall QB hits collectively, pressures on QBs, and leading the NFL two consecutive seasons in overall Sachs produced 63 last year, 68, this past. season. They were a few off from that record set by the Chicago Bears' 1984 defense. So you are losing a guy who I think can be an anchor against the run. But more importantly, I think in today's NFL, we've seen how important a pass rush is. It's premium in today's game, especially with how

Starting point is 00:04:11 offenses are playing, especially with the rules that are designed to favor how offenses perform and produce. Defenses are handcuffed quite a bit. So when you have a great pass rush, it kind of balances out the equation there. And losing JFM, you are. losing essentially a really big piece of that pie here. And all signs point to him hitting free agency and testing the waters elsewhere because the Broncos simply haven't reached out to his agent. Now, that could always change. But right now, the Broncos need to figure out what their plan is at defensive line.

Starting point is 00:04:41 If JFM is gone in Broncos country, coming up next, I'm going to tell you exactly what that plan right now looks like internally for the Broncos and why it may not produce the results that JFM brought to the table. We'll get that here on today's episode of the show. Today's bonus episode is brought to you by friends over there at Indeed. And look, if you have workplace chaos, you got deadlines stacking up, inbox is overflowing and the one position that you have to feel. It's still sitting open.

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Starting point is 00:08:19 maybe hoping that a guy who's going into a second season can take a massive jump in a rotation role. You're hoping that the Broncos can maybe strike gold with their player development, but that's not always a guarantee. First off, let's start off with the in-house name that maybe could start in place of JFM if he departs in free agency. We're going to take a look at Inoma Uwazerike. Obviously, a former draft pick here for Denver last year. We really saw an elevation in his role. He became a little bit more trusted inside the defensive scheme. And he actually came up big in several big moments, but can he handle the full-on workload that John Franklin Myers certainly had here? We mentioned what Jfm. JFM last season played 517 total snaps defensively,

Starting point is 00:08:59 49% of that. In Yoma-Uazareke, he played 36% of the team's defensive snaps. So, 409 snaps compared to JFM's 517. Now, I want to also preface this by saying Uwazirke did really well, filling in for both Zach Allen and JFM kind of rotating for both of those players. But now if you're stepping into a starting role, you're expected to take a massive leap forward in terms of that. Let's take a look at his numbers. If he becomes the starter, what does that look like? Well, in 2025, Wazerike had three and a half sacks, five quarterback hits, six pressures on 409 snaps compared to JFM. Now, once again, seven to half sacks for JFM, who played 517 snaps and just a little bit over 100 plus snaps more than Uwazerique played last season here,

Starting point is 00:09:47 15 quarterback hits for JFM, five quarterback hits for Uwazirike, 23 pressures on 49% of the snaps for JFM, only six pressures on 36% of the snaps for Uwazerique, right? And maybe the idea is that they're two different players. I think that the Broncos want their defensive linemen to be a combination of guys who have strength that can anchor down against the run, but also can get after the quarterback, right? And using that strength and the size that they have there certainly can equate to that here.

Starting point is 00:10:16 I just don't think from a body type standpoint, Uwazirike is necessarily the, I don't want to say, blueprint of what JFM was, so to speak. I think that's where rookie, soon to be second year player, Savian Jones, kind of fits into the equation here. And I'll talk about him here in a second. But if the Broncos are banking on the fact that, hey, and it kind of a make or break year for Uazerique, it's going to be a contract year for him, so to speak, what are they going to do with him in terms of his role? Is he going to make the jump to become a starter here? I mean, Denver drafted him with the upside and the thought in mind that maybe he could be a starter. Obviously, he missed a year due to the whole gambling situation that was going on. But, man, since he's been back in the building, he has learned a lot from his experience.

Starting point is 00:10:59 He's grown and he's developed as a player. And I want to applaud that. I don't want to make it seem like I'm saying that Wazerike can't do that because I think the jump he's made in the last two years. It has been very impressive. I just have questions as to whether or not he can jump into JFM's role. and be a full-time producer in that sense. Now, granted, full-time doesn't mean he's going to play 100% of the snaps. If JFM only played 49%, Denver's going to probably go with a rotation here once again.

Starting point is 00:11:25 If Owasarrique is the starter, then expect second-year player Savion Jones to probably rotate in. From a body type standpoint, I think Savion Jones is very similar in a sense to a JFM in comparison to Owasarike. I feel like Savian Jones can play a little bit of a five technique. I think he can play a four-eye, which is inside shade. the offensive tackle. Five technique is where he's kind of head up against the offensive tackle. He can play the three technique, whereas I think Uazirike might be best suited as a three tech to a one tech type of player playing inside the A and the B gaps there. That's where I think that maybe his strength is going to be. So I will be curious to see what Jamar Cain

Starting point is 00:12:02 envisions for these guys. But let's talk about say Dion Jones, who we heard from Broncos GM George Payton in the end of the year press conference saying that they really like him. They believe he's got a lot of upside there. He didn't get. get as much time on task this past season just because the Broncos D-Line had the Zach Allen's, the Malcolm Roaches, DJ Jones, JFM, Zazarekes. I mean, you had a pretty consistent rotation of those guys right there that you didn't really need to call up guys. But when Denver faced some heavier run teams, they elevated certain guys.

Starting point is 00:12:32 Savion Jones appeared in three games for the Broncos last season, played 33 defensive snaps. He had a fumble recovery. I think in the Broncos regular season finale against the Chargers after Nick Benito strip sacked, obviously the Chargers quarterback there, and he recovered it. I mean, there's some flashes that we have seen, I would say, with not only he, but also outside linebacker Q Robinson. So, I mean, some potential splashes from Denver's rookie class last year that maybe

Starting point is 00:13:00 will accelerate their roles here going into their second season in the NFL. But you're asking a lot of Wazareke and Jones to make a big leap because I don't know if Denver has one guy between the two guys that I mentioned that can absolutely come in and get seven and half sacks and have the 15 quarterback hits or the 23 pressures overall. I don't know if that's Wazareke's game or even Savian Jones game. It's a big unknown at this point. It would not shock me if the Broncos in this year's draft if they add another defensive lineman here or maybe they sign a veteran defensive lineman in free agency that might be a little bit more cost effective than maybe JFM's market is going to command. But I also wouldn't be shocked if

Starting point is 00:13:41 JFM wants to take a little bit of a lesser deal to stay here in Denver. He loves it. But man, I just, I don't feel very confident right now, Broncos country in Denver, really being able to replace the impact that JFM had, especially in those situations. Can Wazerica or Savion Jones, can those guys command double teams to where it allows those other guys to eat, right? Or if other guys get double team, can he, can these guys win their one-on-ones? This is the mystery right now that we're running into when talking about Denver's future at

Starting point is 00:14:09 defensive line beyond JFM. he does not return to the mix. Now, luckily, Zach Allen, Malcolm Roach, DJ Jones, these guys are all locked in. That's great. You got to find a way to get that other production at the other defensive end position. And I felt like Denver overall defensive line-wise last season with Zach Allen, with JFM, with DJ Jones, Malcolm Roach. That was the best defensive line group collectively, I think, in football last season.

Starting point is 00:14:34 And the numbers, they don't lie. The pressures, the quarterback hits, the 68 sacks, which obviously said another franchise record, leading the NFL twice in that category and back-to-back years. That's impressive right there. And now I'd say the pressure, it mounts a little bit on guys like Huazareke, Savian Jones, and I think on the coaching staff to make sure that these guys can step in and maybe replace that if, in fact, they are viewing this offseason as life without JPM here. Broncos, that'll wrap up today's bonus episode, Lockdown Broncos.

Starting point is 00:15:01 We appreciate you so much. Make sure you stay tuned to tomorrow's episode Lockdown Broncos. Sarah Bedinger, myself, we sit down and we play GM. we talk about the Broncos salary cap where it's at right now, and we also make some moves. We restructure some deals to give the Broncos some adequate space to go all in for Broncos quarterback Bo Nix. Make sure you tune into tomorrow's episode of the show. We'll see you then.

Locked On Broncos - Daily Podcast On The Denver Broncos - PLAN: Why John Franklin-Myers Potential DEPARTURE Creates Questions for Denver Broncos

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