Locked On Broncos - Daily Podcast On The Denver Broncos - RIDICULOUS: Denver Broncos DISRESPECTED Going Into 2026

Starting point is 00:00:00 Despite winning the number one seed in the AFC and the AFC West in 2025, going into 2026, the Denver Broncos, they're being disrespected. You are locked on Broncos, your daily Denver Broncos podcast, part of the Locked On podcast network, your team every day. Hey, hey, hey, happy Friday Broncos country. Welcome into another episode, Lockdown Broncos, your daily Denver Broncos podcast. Part of the Lockdown podcast network, the number one sports podcast network in the country. And that's all thanks to all you every dayers out there. Broncos Country. Thanks for tuning in, making us your first listen, however you choose to do so, all throughout the entire offseason. We still got you covered. Broncos country. There's no off

Starting point is 00:00:43 season for the true fan. But here on today's episode of the show, Sarah and I are going to debate and discuss why we're mad about the Broncos being disrespected going into 2026, despite winning the AFC West in 2025. Plus, we'll go through Broncos Country. They spoke up in a latest poll that we conducted, and they want Breece Hall. And on top of that, we'll also discuss and debate by adding a personality to the Broncos locker room isn't necessarily a bad thing. We'll go through all that here on today's episode of the show. I'm Cody Rourke, Credential Broncos Reporter for Mile High Sports. Join, as always by Sarah Bedinger, site expert over there at predominantly orange.

Starting point is 00:01:20 At predominantly orange.com where you can check out our daily written work there exclusively, my eyesports.com, predominantly orange.com as well. Sarah, my friend, I find it a little crazy, you know, at the end of the season, And once the Super Bowl wraps up, everybody and these odds makers in Vegas all get together and they go through and say, hey, who are our favorites going into next season for the division, for early championship odds? And we won't get into the Broncos on that, but we'll get into the divisional ones where the Broncos are projected or the lines in Vegas suggest that they're going to finish third in the AFC West in 2026, despite the fact that they went 14 and 3. despite the fact that they clinched the number one seed, despite the fact that they swept the Kansas City Chiefs and the Las Vegas Raiders,

Starting point is 00:02:10 and they split a game with the Chargers, but they are now suddenly viewed as back to being in that third place spot where a lot of people had them previously. It's crazy. I don't get it. Do you get it, Cody? I mean, I get from the vantage point of, you know, okay, well, you know, future projected strength of schedule and, you know, the Chargers, they hired Mike McDaniel.

Starting point is 00:02:31 and I, you know what, you can't spell offseason favorites without the letters IF. And we know that the chargers are all about that if word. I mean, John Krasinski, if you need an idea for a sequel for the movie, if, go ahead and just hire the Los Angeles Chargers because whenever anybody's talking about, well, if this happens, then maybe the Chargers, oh, the offseason, if there was an offseason Olympics, the Chargers would get the gold medal every single year. So they've got gold medals for offseason Olympics. Olympics all hanging in their trophy case, whereas the Denver Broncos and the Kansas City

Starting point is 00:03:06 chiefs and even the Las Vegas Raiders, although it's all for the boomers and the Gen Xers, at least they've got Lombardies in the case. The Chargers, they can have the offseason Olympics. They can have the If Olympics, if you will, because they've got If man on their roster. Bo Nix in year two of his NFL career just took the Denver Broncos further than Justin Herbert is ever going to be able to take the Los Angeles Chargers. And so I just think that, look, there's certain teams in professional sports that are what they are, right? I mean, when you think about the NFL, the Cleveland Browns, I mean, they are, just put a red clown nose on every logo that they have because they're the dumpster fire of the NFL.

Starting point is 00:03:48 But the Chargers are the offseason champions continually. Oh, the Chargers are going to drop the best schedule release. I know that it's going to happen. Chargers are going to make a big splash and free agency that's going to get everybody excited. Charter is going to pick that right player in the NFL draft. That's going to be the right fit for them. And what's going to happen, they're going to end up losing in the first round of the playoffs or narrowly missing out, right? That's what happens to the Chargers.

Starting point is 00:04:15 And I'm sure that Chargers fans will hate me if they're able to clip this or, you know, come and find this. But it is what it is because if we're going to, if the Broncos are going to get disrespected, somebody's got to dish it back, right? If you can dish it out, you've got to be able to take it back. And so that's where I'm out with this bull about the Chargers in the offseason and the If Olympics. Give them the gold medal. They win it every year. Well, I was going to say, too, I mean, you summarized it perfectly.

Starting point is 00:04:42 I don't know what more I could add to that. It's social media championship banners or something are hanging up now in SoFi Stadium for them. And look, I think the Chargers, they have some really good players. I think Justin Herbert is a good quarterback. but what we have seen over the course of the Chargers tenure with him is that they just can't get over the hump. Justin Herbert has to do so much for that team in the regular season that by the time the playoffs comes around,

Starting point is 00:05:06 I mean, he's limping, he's banged up, he's trying his hardest, but nobody else is stepping up to the plate. Or, for example, what was it last year? He had four interceptions against the Houston Texans in that round that they had in the playoffs done for. They lost to the New England Patriots this year where they couldn't really muster up anything offensively, as Herbert was getting hit left and right.

Starting point is 00:05:25 So the idea that all of a sudden, just because they hire Mike McDaniel, all of a sudden that means that they're going to be the favorites to win the division. Yes, you know what? There are a couple of games off from being able to do that last year. They should have taken care of business against the Houston Texans at home. They couldn't do that.

Starting point is 00:05:42 And I led to the Broncos clinching to AFC West because they couldn't get the job done. So for them to come into 2026 where everybody's saying, hey, they're going to be the favorites to win the AFC West. I always think it's just, once again, the disrespect for the Broncos is at an all-time high. But what I take issue with here is a lot of these people also saying the Kansas City Chiefs, at least are going to finish second in the AFC West. Now, I think the argument, you brought this up, they're saying, well, you know,

Starting point is 00:06:06 because they're facing the lowest strength of schedule because of how they finished last season. You know, they're going to have that third place schedule. But at the end of the day, Sarah, we get into these conversations about strength of schedule. Going into another year, it really doesn't matter. Sure, are you going to play good teams from last year? Yeah. Does that mean that that team that was good last year is going to be good this year? Not necessarily.

Starting point is 00:06:26 That's not a guarantee. When some of these big matchups happen, are there injuries that maybe impact the overall stature of what that matchup would have been like on paper in the off season? It's the if games, the if Olympics, as you pointed out right there, the idea that the charters and the chiefs who are just so old and banged up, you got Patrick Mahomes coming off of a major knee injury. Come on. And they're going to run it back with Travis Kelsey, who isn't the guy he used to be. Yes, see, I still think he can have an impact.

Starting point is 00:06:52 But really? Like the time for Kansas City is up. That clock has already rung. The alarm is going off. It is now the Broncos time to run the AFC West. I just think that the disrespect for them to be placed as third and potential finishings or rankings here for the AFCS going 2026. To me, it is silly because people don't pay attention to Denver.

Starting point is 00:07:14 It's clear. And you can tell by when these things come out. I think it's a great thing for the Broncos to have in their back pocket. this off season, right? I think it's awesome to be able to say, hey, like we just won 14 games, right? We're not that far removed.

Starting point is 00:07:30 I should be able to have that information right off the top of my head. But we've just won the playoffs. Yeah, we just won 15 total games this past season. And they think we're going to finish third place. Like, that's, that is great motivation for this team. And I think it's funny that the chiefs are projected to finish second.

Starting point is 00:07:49 Because like you mentioned, obviously the Patrick Mahalo, home's injury plays a huge factor in this. Like everybody's just assuming that, oh, Patrick's going to be able to come back and be Superman for the chiefs again. Oh, Rashon Slater's just going to come back.

Starting point is 00:08:04 It's like there's not going to be any complications from these injuries. There's not going to be any fallout from the fact that they have nearly 60 million in, you know, they're in the hole in the salary cap that there's going to be, there's no, no fallout from that. They'll be able to restructure some deals. Like are,

Starting point is 00:08:21 our ring chasing? free agents still going to go to the Kansas City Chiefs? Is Eric B. Enemy going to be the straw to stir the drink for that team? I know that, you know, five years ago, they played great when he was on the staff. But then we've seen at Washington and UCLA and pretty much anywhere else that he's actually tried to call plays that he ain't that dude. So like, what are you trying to do? Are you trying to recapture the magic?

Starting point is 00:08:46 Because if that's the case, Cody, I'm way more signed up for the idea that Scrubs is going to have a great reboot this year later in the month of February, as opposed to the Kansas City Chiefs having a great reboot. It's not how the NFL works. All their best players are north of the age of 30. And if they're not, they're projected free agents or they're now salary cap casualty candidates. I just, I mean, the disrespect of the Broncos, it's all it does is gives me an opportunity to take a look and say, okay, that's what you think. That's what you think of the Broncos. Let me now put together a list. And I can think of 100 reasons why the Chargers ain't finishing first place. I can think of 100 reasons why the Chiefs ain't finishing in first

Starting point is 00:09:31 place. We had our time in the third and fourth place. We had our time in the dumps. That ain't happening again. No, not with Sean Payton as well. And look, here's the thing, the Chiefs, the Chargers, they're still going to have to play the NFC West. They're still going to have to play the AFC East. Teams that Denver has to play. Just some of the other games, like the other division, not divisional conference games and non-conference games. They'll play a couple of third place teams from those other divisions. The Chargers will play a couple of second place teams. But to say like Kansas City and the Chargers are going to have easy schedules,

Starting point is 00:10:02 that's not the case. The AFC West is going to face a tough slate of opponents this year. And you know what? They all have to play a lot of the same common opponents, which is what the Chiefs and the Chargers simply couldn't take advantage of this past season when they had their opportunities to do that. Broncos country, make sure you let's know your thoughts here on the Broncos was being projected to finish third in the AFC West here in 2026.

Starting point is 00:10:24 But coming up next, Sarah and I are going to get into your poll questions that you guys put together. You all voted on it. And Broncos Country said they want Breece Hall. We'll look at the poll and so much more on today's episode of the show. Broncos Country, today's episode is brought to our friends over there at Indeed, if you've ever hired someone who looked good on paper but wasn't the right fit. Well, you know how important that is. And when you want candidates who truly match what you're looking for, you need to trust Indeed,

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Starting point is 00:11:24 Just go to Indeed.com slash locked on NFL right now and support the show by saying you heard about Indeed on this podcast. Terms of Conditions apply. Hiring. Do it the right way with Indeed. Broncos country has spoken. Who do we want? We want Breast Hall in the Mile High City.

Starting point is 00:11:42 We're going to respond to that as well as some of your other poll question comments and responses on today's episode, Lockdown Broncos. That's just a great reminder for Cody and I to always say like we always do on this show. Man, we appreciate you so much, the everydayers out there who listen and lock in to Locked on Broncos every single day. And if that is you, we want to invite you also to check out the All Access Club for Every Dayers. And what you're going to get from that is you're going to get an ad-free episode of the show, which is already worth the price of admission anyway. But Cody just put out a Brees Hall free agency preview, film review, and it's really, really great stuff.

Starting point is 00:12:19 So encourage you to check out the link in the show notes for the Everydayer All Access Club. And there's a couple of tears there. But it's a great way for you, the everydayers, to show support to the show. And we appreciate you so much for doing that. Cody, let's talk about this idea of Breeze Hall. Speaking of our listeners, just I think, you know what? If we could collectively get one opportunity, give us a meeting, George Payton, give us and the everydayers of Lockdown Broncos a meeting.

Starting point is 00:12:46 And just let us give, let's have a state of the union. meeting with some of the most knowledgeable fans in the fan base because I think you and I agree. We both put it on our ideal off seasons that acquiring Breece Hall and free agency is kind of a no-brainer for this team. What he brings to the table, his age. I mean, the guy said he wants to play in big games. You're going to be able to do that in Denver. Yeah, and especially we talked about the Broncos being disrespected.

Starting point is 00:13:13 You know, you come to a chance to, you know, go play for the winners of the AFC West this past season of the number one seed who, everybody knows and believes if, hey, Bo Nix didn't get hurt. More than likely, they probably would have beaten the New England Patriots. If they had a run game, they probably would have beaten the New England Patriots probably would have went a lot further. They could have gone undefeated, maybe last season,

Starting point is 00:13:32 if that were the case in those two games that they lost against the Chargers, and certainly the Colts there in weeks two and weeks three back to back. But Denver is a place I think where free agents want to go, right? So we conducted a poll over on YouTube here. There's a community tab where Broncos country can always go and vote and interact with the polls that we have. The poll question really asked Broncos country if they wanted like to prioritize a top weapon for Bow Nixon the Broncos offense. What would it be? The three options were trade for a premier wide receiver like AJ Brown, George Pickens or Jalen Wattle, sign Breeze Hall as running back one,

Starting point is 00:14:07 or to just stand pat and develop the current roster. And Broncos country, you spoke up in a big way. The results were astounding over a thousand plus votes on that. And the 64% of Broncos country said sign Breeze Hall as running back one here to pair alongside RJ Harvey and Bo Nix here inside of this offense. 34% wanted them to trade for a wide receiver like AJ Brown, Jalen Waddle, or George Pickens, and then 6% wanted them to just stand pat and develop roster. So the common consensus here, Sarah, is that this fan base, Broncos country, wants them to upgrade skill player position here in Denver.

Starting point is 00:14:45 And that top option would be Breece Hall. 100% and for good reason, right? As you outlined in your film review, he does so many different things well, running between the tackles, staying patient, catching passes, creating.

Starting point is 00:14:59 I mean, he's explosive. He's a big back as well. And he's got a lot of experience. He's coming off of a thousand yard season, the first of his career. And like you mentioned, Cody in the past,

Starting point is 00:15:09 I mean, to do that behind the offensive line, that which is, you know, injured and, you know, not exactly the best offensive line in the NFL.

Starting point is 00:15:17 And certainly when you have a quarterback situation like the Jets had this past season, where Justin Fields, I mean, we saw it firsthand in that London game struggling to even get the ball downfield at all. But then at the end of the season with what somebody named Brady Cook out there, I'll do respect to the work that Brady Cook has put in to get to this point. But you catch my drift. I mean, to run for a thousand yards with those guys as your quarterbacks and injured offensive line, this guy needs to come to Denver. There's no question about it.

Starting point is 00:15:48 The Broncos need Breece Hall. They need his skill set. They need his desire to play in big games. Because when you get into these free agency discussions, Cody, what has been the common theme for everybody that Sean Payton has brought in? Mike McGlinchie, Ben Powers, even to a degree Evan Ingram before he went to the Jacksonville Jaguars, right? Obviously, you look at Dre Greenlaw, Talaoa Hufanga, Malcolm Roach, John Franklin Myers, all these guys, their desire. to play in big games or prior experience playing in big games, Breeze Hall's desire to be on that stage and to make plays at the highest of levels

Starting point is 00:16:27 and to be that safety valve for Bo Nix, to be somebody that you can truly trust. Because that's to me, do you, and I want to know your thoughts on this, the trust factor for the running game, this past season, this past few seasons with Sean Payton,

Starting point is 00:16:42 I think that hasn't been there. I don't know that he's been able to just say, I trust the running backs. I trust them. I trust them. I trust them to work. That's why we haven't seen the balance. Yeah.

Starting point is 00:16:53 No, I agree with you. I being around the team and just seeing the flow and talking to guys all throughout, you know, the last couple of seasons, they want to be a team that runs the football more. The offensive line wants to run the football more. They want to be able to physically impose their will. I think that there's a combination. I think the scheme, the run game scheme is a little bit of a problem. And I think that Sean Payton kind of hinted at that when asked about that as any of your press

Starting point is 00:17:15 conference about what he wants to do philosophically and maybe where they're at in terms of the blocking scheme. The things that they were asking the offensive line to do this year was a lot different than what we saw in 2024. You implemented a brand new blocking scheme, the outside zone scheme, which is all predicated on landmarks. It's not just saying, hey, I got this guy in front of me. I'm just going to physically dominate him. It's, hey, I got to chip this guy. And then I've got to get to this spot to seal off the pursuit, especially if we're trying to go outside or if he's at a certain leverage, I've got to kick him out. So the run running back and make one cut and getting north-south, being able to just say,

Starting point is 00:17:50 hey, that's what we want to do. The Broncos weren't able to do that consistently enough. I agree with you. And I don't think Sean trusted the run game because of that. And look, even when J.K. Dobbins was on a really great pace before his injury in week 10, Sarah, what have we done? I guarantee you there's probably 15, 20 episodes that we've done in this show in 2025 where we are talking about the run game.

Starting point is 00:18:12 And even though that JK had good production, the run game, the balance, the amount of times that, you know, the Broncos are running the ball in the first half compared to throwing, it has been a real issue here. And that's something that Sean Payton has even talked about as well as maybe maybe that's a Sean thing. Maybe that's, I just don't trust these guys. But another thing, too, in this poll, Broncos country comp, Rob Khalifa said drop passes arguably is our biggest problem last year. I say wide receiver. Look, I understand it. We're very much on board with talking about the. drop issue here.

Starting point is 00:18:44 Cortland Sutton and Evan Ingram were tied on the team with eight total drops last season. Okay, that's a lot. But RJ Harvey, Broncos running back, had seven drops last year, Sarah. Seven. Breast Hall last year only had one drop. He caught 36 passes, I think, on 48 targets. One of those being a drop.

Starting point is 00:19:04 The other one, being the quarterback, doesn't know how to throw the dang football and can't get it to the guy out of the backfield. So adding a guy like Breece Hall would automatically, inject a boost of life out of the past catching department with this offense. You could run two back stuff with RJ and with Breece. That's what excites me the most about that. And I feel like that would push the needle a little bit more than the Broncos going out there and trading for a wide receiver.

Starting point is 00:19:28 I would love for them to do both, but that's probably very unrealistic. So if I'd have to choose one or the other, I'm all in on Breece Hall. And it gives the Broncos a very clear vision at the position where we know Sean has said, It's really tough to involve three backs. So don't. That's what I'm saying. So don't. Yes.

Starting point is 00:19:47 Don't give yourself the opportunity to have three backs in the rotation. We don't need a Tyler Badee. No offense to Badee. But when you have somebody like Brees Hall and R.J. Harvey in the one and two spots, you don't need a third back. Like those two guys can handle third down duties. Those two guys can handle and are way more effective in two minutes. drives. Like that is the thing to me that I think is one of the one of the non-negotiable changes that

Starting point is 00:20:17 has to be made this season is, oh, well, you say that it's too difficult to involve three backs. And yet for some reason, you continue to do that, even though it looks like RJ is picking up on the past protection stuff better and better. And even though every time, even with the drops, every time RJ Harvey Harvey was targeted, there was a better opportunity for him to go make a play because of his playmaking abilities than when you dumped the ball off to Tyler Badegh this past season. Or I would have much rather have seen early in the season. Give those opportunities to J.K. Dobbins.

Starting point is 00:20:51 He's one of the only guys creating consistent offense for you. I think that's maybe the other thing too. That's toughest about this is to say, if you go get Brees Hall, you're probably saying goodbye to J.K. Dobbins. Because in what world are those two guys going to agree, along with R.J. Harvey, to be in the same backfield. and just say, oh, yeah, we know injuries happen in the end.

Starting point is 00:21:11 That's not how those guys think. Those guys are thinking, I need to go where I'm going to get 200 plus touches. And that's not happening in that stable. And Madden, it would be fun to theorize that type of thing, right? But, no, Denver, I agree with you. They have to go two backs. You can have three on your active roster, have, you know, have a guy that dresses on game day, but your two guys are touching the football that are getting snaps need to be a

Starting point is 00:21:34 breeze hall and an RJ Harvey Harvey. Nobody else at this standpoint. have the depth there just in case of an injury. But I like the chances of the Broncos run game, staying healthy with Breece Hall, with R.J. Harvey, with both of those guys that bring different elements of explosiveness, physicality to the game. Denver desperately needs that.

Starting point is 00:21:51 And this would, in my opinion, move the needle for the Broncos offense. And Broncos country, want to know your thoughts as well. You guys spoke up. You think Breeze Hall coming to Denver would be the best move to make for the offseason compared to adding or trading for a premier wide receiver. So let us know how you feel about that here on today's episode of the show. But coming up next, Sarah and I are going to tell you why adding a personality to the Broncos locker room isn't necessarily a bad thing and why they have the pieces that can make it work here on today's episode of the show. Fandu is the sponsor of today's episode.

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Starting point is 00:23:00 And then will Fandual, Fandual, play your game. A little personality never hurt nobody is the Denver Broncos approach. the 2026 NFL offseason. There's much debate around Broncos country about some of the names that we have certainly brought up this offseason if the Broncos were to look at trading or signing a wide receiver in NFL free agency. Well, you know what? You might have to deal with the personalities here.

Starting point is 00:23:24 But that's not necessarily a bad thing here. And let's talk about the two guys that everybody's discussing, Sarah. Let's talk about George Pickens. Let's talk about AJ Brown. And I think there are a lot of mischaracterizations of some of these guys. I think there's some valid critiques about maybe behavior, attitude, things like that. But I think it's wrong to go and try to attack the character of men that we don't know. Certainly that fans don't really know.

Starting point is 00:23:51 They don't know the full side of the story as to maybe why they are going out, so to speak here. Talent is important, right? And ultimately, adding to the locker room that's going to foster the culture that Sean Payton is built is important. But adding a personality like George Pickens or AJ Brown, like I disagree with a lot of people in Broncos country that say, no, he's a diva, he's a cancer or things like that. I disagree with that. And the reason why is the Broncos have good enough veteran leadership in that locker room, Sarah.

Starting point is 00:24:18 Well, I don't think that stuff would necessarily fly. That stuff will get nipped in the bud very quickly. But ultimately, it's a we over me culture in Denver. And when everybody else is bought in, you know what it does? It makes it easier for everybody else to buy into that as well. Anyone that's coming in from the outside buys into that. because if you don't buy into that and everybody else is, you stand out like a sore thumb and you'll probably feel ostracized.

Starting point is 00:24:42 You'll probably get ostracized in that moment. I don't see any of these two guys being a problem if they were to be added to the locker room. How do you feel about this? I 100% agree. And I think to start off with the discussion with A.J. Brown, I think the whole discussion about him is rooted in the fact that this guy just wants the ball. A wide receiver that wants the ball, you ain't going to find any of them. that are just like, oh, yeah, no, I just like, I'm here to block.

Starting point is 00:25:09 I'm here to, you know, be a decoy for everybody else. Those guys want the ball. And for somebody like AJ Brown, he's in the prime of his career. And if he's not getting targeted at the rate at which he feels is suitable to his skill set to which he can make an impact on the game, he's got the clout and the experience to be able to bring that up. And if the team's not going to do anything about it, then he should demand a trade. I mean, these players, Cody, they get the raw end of the deal when it comes to the perception from the fans because it's, it's just like anybody in any workplace.

Starting point is 00:25:45 If you have a problem with the way things are going and you don't bring it up, that's on you. That's not on your boss. If you have a problem with the way that you're being led and you don't say anything about it, or if you have a problem with, hey, you're asking me to do this job, but then you're literally not giving me the opportunity to do my job. you're doing it for me or you're pulling away opportunities from me. You should go say something to that person. AJ Brown making it public maybe is the issue that people take with it. But that's his leverage as a pro athlete. That's his ability to do that.

Starting point is 00:26:19 And I think the conversation is drastically different for George Pickens because he's a bit more along the lines of, hey, we see when you're off, we can see that in the games. Like we can see your effort in the games. You're your T-Rex arming certain passes. You're not giving all-out effort on a perfectly thrown ball from Dak Prescott. And now we have to have a stupid conversation about effort in a game that we could have won if you would have given effort.

Starting point is 00:26:48 That is a different discussion than somebody saying, I want the ball. So to me, I think there's two very different personalities that we're talking about here or issues that people are taking with their personalities overall. And a lot of this stuff, too, can be massaged. I mean, historically, we have seen it early on in Randy Moss's career. Terrell Owens. Terrell Owens is a great example of everything that we've discussed. You know, people are acting like, you know, personality or being frustrated is this new thing when historically going back. We've seen it.

Starting point is 00:27:19 Heck, the Broncos had one of those guys in Brandon Marshall. Granted, Brandon was going through some other stuff in his life, some personal stuff now that, you know, we know now that we didn't know then about him. But the idea that's a bad thing. I mean, it can be in the wrong locker room, in the wrong type of culture, but it can be a great thing here, right? Because here's the thing. When the AFC championship came on,

Starting point is 00:27:40 and this is what I love about Cortland. Cortland is the humble dude. Cortland's not the guy that's going to jaw or do anything crazy. But, man, don't you want somebody opposite of Cortland? It's just going to be like, you know what? Hey, I have no problem being, you know, I can't say the word here on error. It violates FCC guidelines.

Starting point is 00:27:56 But I'm going to be that dude. I'm going to be the thorn in your side. I'm going to be a pain in the rear end. I'm going to let a DB have it. I'm going to let a ref have it if I felt like I was being contacted. Like we don't see hardly enough at times there. And this is one of my critiques with the Broncos wide receiver room. We don't see these guys lobbying for PI or contact when it happens.

Starting point is 00:28:19 It's almost kind of like, ah, well, they're not calling it. I'm not going to do anything. I want to see a guy get up after getting PI'd. I want to see him accentuate a little bit to where you're fighting for it, to where you may actually get that call. I felt like there was a handful of plays this season where Broncos receivers were just too nice and no offense. I think that's not a bad thing to have. I don't think it's a bad thing to have nice guys.

Starting point is 00:28:40 But sometimes you need a guy who can just turn it on and be mean. The Broncos don't have that a wide receiver right now. If you would say to me like, hey, every coaching staff or we talked about this, let's give the example with Bo Nix, Sean Peyton and Davis Webb, you've made the analogy of like having a good cop and a bad cop. I think that when it comes to your playmakers or your pass rushers or any sort of position group on your team, you kind of have to have that similar dynamic, right? You have to have somebody who adds that little bit of wild card into the mix. Now, I'm not saying that every professional team in every sport needs like a Dennis Rodman from the late 90s, right?

Starting point is 00:29:23 I'm not saying you need that. I'm not saying you need somebody who's like literally we don't know where this guy is. Oh, he went to Vegas and he didn't show up for the game. Oh, okay. I'm not saying you need that. But what I am saying is that what that type of person brings to the court in Rodman's case or to the field in Pickens case, if you can get the best out of them in situations like the Broncos were in the AFC championship game, like even having George Pickens for that game,

Starting point is 00:29:52 if the Broncos came in and said, hey, get open on hut and we're going to just throw you the ball. I think Pickens would have helped them win the game. Without any knowledge of the offense, just go out there. If they give us man coverage, go beat it. And he could do it. That's the type of receiver the Broncos need desperately. Is this somebody to say, this team thinks that Christian Gonzalez can shut you down?

Starting point is 00:30:15 This team thinks that, you know, Soss Gardner can shut you down. And for that receiver to go out there and say, bet and absolutely just obliterate that corner, that's the type of, and I know that's a lot to ask, but that I think is the type of mentality at receiver this team needs. That's what the Broncos have been missing, you know,

Starting point is 00:30:34 and I like that they have nice, humble dudes the receiver. But like I said, like that has gotten the Broncos far. Just adding somebody else can just be like, you know, make the drink a little bit more sour, get a little more punch to it. I'm happy with that. I think that either of those guys would be great. I know a lot of people in Broncos country are going to disagree with us. But, I mean, who else in free agency adds that type of production or chip on their

Starting point is 00:30:58 shoulder that's available. I mean, Sarah, I'm looking around. I'm not seeing it. And look, fans, I also want to say this as well. We're getting a lot of suggestions. Well, the Broncos should just go trade for Justin Jefferson. Folks, that's not going to happen. Let's talk about realism. AJ Brown being traded is more realistic. George Pickens being franchised tag more likely, which will require a second trading or second round pick essentially for him. That's more realistic right now than going out and trading for a guy like Justin Jefferson who is not available. So I want everyone to keep that in mind here going forward. But with that said Broncos country, let us know your thoughts here on adding a personality to the mix.

Starting point is 00:31:31 Like give us some really good reasons. Like if you're against it, tell us truly why. Like what impact you think it would have on the team. If you're for it, do the same exact thing. We are excited to hear about it here. And also, just a reminder, if you ever want to get involved in these community polls that we're running here for lockdown Broncos all throughout the entire year, well, guess what? It's on the lockdown Broncos YouTube channel. You just go to the YouTube channel.

Starting point is 00:31:52 You go to the post tab. You'll see it there. You can interact with a little Broncos country fan. and you could share your votes as well. So make sure you check it out. Sarah and myself, we're going to be back on Monday next week. The NFL Combine is coming up, folks. And that means we're going to hear from George Payton.

Starting point is 00:32:05 We're going to hear from Sean Payton at some point here in the very near future. Plus, we have some free agency superlatives. We're going to continue to look at various positions. Trade candidates are for other teams. And maybe the Broncos can maybe swipe in and grab, cut candidates that the Broncos could obtain. There's so much coming your way here on lockdown Broncos. We'll see you then.

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