Locked On Broncos - Daily Podcast On The Denver Broncos - Sean Payton's Vision for Denver Broncos MATERIALIZES in OTAs

Episode Date: June 2, 2025

Denver Broncos head coach Sean Payton has a newfound confidence that wasn't present during his first two years. Having a foundational roster in place with Bo Nix and 86% roster continuity is a big reason why Payton and the Broncos believe they can win this upcoming season. Plus, we take an in depth look at Jahdae Barron, Pat Bryant, Caleb Lohner and other players going into Week 2 of Broncos OTAs. Cody Roark is a credentialed beat reporter for Mile High Sports and covers the Broncos daily in person. Sayre Bedinger is the site expert for Predominantly Orange. Both bring Broncos Country the most in-depth and objective coverage of the Denver Broncos. WANT MORE DAILY DENVER BRONCOS CONTENT?For all of the latest Denver Broncos news today -- Follow & Subscribe on all Podcast platforms…🎧 https://link.chtbl.com/LOBroncos?sid=YouTube Locked On NFL League-Wide: Every Team, Fantasy, Draft & More🎧 https://linktr.ee/LockedOnNFL Follow on Twitter: @CodyRoarkNFL and @SayreBedingerFollow the show on Twitter: @LockedOnBroncos Support Us By Supporting Our Sponsors!LinkedInPost your job for free at LinkedIn.com/LOCKEDONNFL. Terms and conditions apply. FanDuelRight now, new customers can get TWO HUNDRED DOLLARS in BONUS BETS when your first FIVE DOLLAR BET WINS! Download the app or head to FANDUEL.COM to get started. Bet with FanDuel—Official Partner of the NBA. Monarch MoneyTake control of your finances with Monarch Money. Use code LOCKEDONNFL at monarchmoney.com for 50% off your first year. FANDUEL DISCLAIMER: 21+ in select states. First online real money wager only. Bonus issued as nonwithdrawable free bets that expires in 14 days. Restrictions apply. See terms at sportsbook.fanduel.com. Gambling Problem? Call 1-800-GAMBLER or visit FanDuel.com/RG (CO, IA, MD, MI, NJ, PA, IL, VA, WV), 1-800-NEXT-STEP or text NEXTSTEP to 53342 (AZ), 1-888-789-7777 or visit ccpg.org/chat (CT), 1-800-9-WITH-IT (IN), 1-800-522-4700 (WY, KS) or visit ksgamblinghelp.com (KS), 1-877-770-STOP (LA), 1-877-8-HOPENY or text HOPENY (467369) (NY), TN REDLINE 1-800-889-9789 (TN) Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.

Denver Broncos head coach Sean Payton is walking around this offseason with a little bit of swagger. We'll tell you why this roster is one he believes he can win with this season 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. Broncos country, what's happening? Welcome into another episode, Locked on Broncos, your daily Denver Broncos podcast, part of the Lockdown Podcast Network where you know it is your team every day.

Thank you so much to all the everydayers out there on Broncos country. Thanks for tuning in making us your first listen. However, you choose to do so for all your Broncos news, content coverage analysis, more becoming everydayer by hitting that subscribe or that follow button, wherever you get your podcast or on YouTube. So you never miss out on what's going on with your favorite team. Every single day all year long. I'm Cody Roark, Broncos reporter for Mile High Sports.

And I'm Sarah Bedinger, site expert at predominantly orange.com. And on today's episode, Broncos Country, we're going to get you ready for week two of OTAs. Yes, the Broncos back on the field here once again this week. We got to see them last week. But there are some storylines that are brewing as we get ready for the second week of OTAs. And more importantly, there's a newfound confidence. There's this calmness that we're seeing with Broncos head coach, Sean Peyton.

And we'll tell you why he believes that he can win with this team here in 2025. We'll also go through why the Broncos are in a better position to win more games this season, because they have retained the most players on their roster over any team over the last year. And then we're also going to look ahead of some of the key storelines here for week two of Broncos OTAs. You can get all that on, lock on Broncos. So what that said, Sarah, let's kick it off here. Look, in the last, this is my third year covering Sean Payton, right? And in the first two years, I think year number one, what did he tell us just a year ago during OTAs?

He said, you know, last year was, you know, in his first year, he's referencing his first year, was more so of marking, you know, lifting the leg on, you know, a few trees right there. That's what he had told us because he's coming into a situation that was just, I don't even want it. I don't even know what the word is to describe it. Unconventional, there was a culture that was going on here with the Nathaniel Hackett Arrow with everything that was going on in the locker room that was just different than what Sean Payton has ever been accustomed to.

So he had to come in with an iron fist. He did that. We've seen iron fish Sean Payton the last two years. And there's been some moments where it's like, oh, Sean's laid back. Now, walking around Broncos OTA is the one thing I'll say, sir, Sean has this newfound level of confidence. He's got this grin where he just is seemingly happy. Like he feels like deep down, I think there's something special brewing with this team.

And there's obviously there going to be a lot of, you know, time between now and the regular season where he wants to get as much of that out as possible to where it can lead to on-field success for the Broncos. But having an ultra-confident head coach is a, Game changer, I believe. It really is because he's just operating in a different realm, right? I mean, you mentioned when he came to Denver in 2023, it was the peeing on fire hydrants and really trying to instill a culture that is a winning culture as opposed to a culture

that had kind of gotten used to losing, unfortunately. Not that anybody previously wanted to lose in Denver, but you kind of get used to that, and you kind of get used to being the team that loses. And so you need somebody to come in and kind of just harshly change. that. And that's what Sean Payton did, getting this team back to the playoffs last year. And I know that Sean is a big proponent of saying, we don't build off of last year. You start with a clean slate. It's like resetting the game board in the NFL. But I can't help but think there's a little bit of him, Cody, that, you know, even though he's going to continue

to preach what he believes in that you don't build off last year, I can't help but feel like there's a little part of him that really believes that they can build off of what they did. last year and not just starting from scratch. Now, yes, you want to take the mentality of, hey, we're starting from ground zero. We're not starting off this year with 10 wins. You do want to take that mentality on, but in terms of where players were developing late last season, in terms of where Bo Nix was at over the course of last year, I know that Sean, even if it's not building off last year, you want to hit the ground running.

And man, I can't help but think after just seeing the footage that you posted out there, the pictures of him at OTAs. You can't help but feel like, man, he does feel like this team is hitting the ground running already in 2025. Yeah, I would say there's less like stop and walk and talk and teach, you know, and OTAs in comparison to years past. And look,

I understand we're probably going to get people and say, guys, it's OTAs, relax. We're not, we're not trying to get overly excited about anything. I'm just telling you as somebody who has been around Sean Payton for the last three years, there's an evident difference with his demeanor right now. then there was at this time last year or even in his first year. There's a stark difference.

He's a 360 night and day different person. You know, we went from what was it in 2023. We went from latte gate to now all of a sudden, Sean Peyton is just, he's got Zen. Like, remember there were stories coming out about how he had like candles in his office to try to relax? Like, you know,

this is a guy who's just so wound up tight that he just needed to find ways to relax and decrease his stress. Sean Payton doesn't look any bit stressed there. And look, I think even last year with how in the off season, the outlook there of trying to navigate what was the Russell Wilson situation. Okay, we moved on from him. You take on the massive dead cap. The Broncos acknowledged it after the regular season with George Payton. You know, we knew we had to embrace having a young roster this upcoming, you know, this season in 2024.

And then now they're saying, now we're in a place we're flexible. Now, obviously, I agree with your analogy. And Sean is very much on board of saying, you know, what we did last year doesn't matter. But I think foundationally, when you look at like how you build your roster, the pieces you have in place, that is important, right? And that's going to lead into our conversation coming up here and a little bit about continuity. But here's the foundations here. You have your quarterback. You have cornerstone players.

You have, you know, Patrick Sertan the second. You have guys like Zach Allen. You've got emerging guys who are going to be cornerstone guys like Nick Benito here. And you mentioned as well about the culture and about where everything was at. I also think Nick Benito's comments, even just last year, I think we're very telling. Because remember he jumped on the pivot podcast with Channing Crowder, Fred Taylor, and Ryan Clark. And the one thing he said was, my rookie year, we're coming in. And he said, guys are like in the huddle going one, two, three, Cancun.

Like, we're ready for the offseason. He says, that was a shock to me. Those guys are not in the locker room anymore, right? Like, they have completely changed that around. And one thing that Nick Beno said is, it's because of how Sean is. Like, it's not easy, but it's worth it. And I would say that's the comment. message. You talk to guys like Zach Allen who also went on a podcast to talk about Sean Payton.

Sean Payton is a guy that I think we know goes to war for his players and he's hard on his players. And look, yeah, during times where there's ups and downs and let's say you're on the downward slope of it, Sean Payton's message can be a little hard and can be frustrating sometimes if you're a player. But on the other side of it, you've seen the reward. Like, hey, there's a reason we're going through this. And I always go through that. Do you remember hard knocks? Dan Campbell's for something along the lines, whenever the lions were on it, where they were going through physical contact,

and he's like, guys, I know you don't like this. He says, trust me, I see this. Like, there's a reason for it. That's the same exact way that Sean Payton is kind of going about this whole culture change in the Mile High City. Now, Sean's got his guys that he believes are leaders that they've brought in, that they've drafted, guys that can be homegrown guys that are now emerging as leaders for this team.

That sets the foundation. And that makes it easier for Sean and the coaching staff to not have to worry. about having to do everything themselves. The coaches, they're a branch of the players. The coaches set the standard. The players got to carry that forward. I think that's been very evident from the changes that we've seen here in Dube Valley. That's such a key thing that you just brought up about the homegrown guys because in Sean's

first year in Denver, there's a lot of holdovers, right? You're inheriting a roster. And then kind of in, you know, between year one and year two, you're bringing in, you know, what we've called your guys or Sean Payton's guys, right? to bring those guys in and say, hey, this player knows exactly what Sean Payton expects. They know how to operate within the offense. They know the roles. But they might not be as talented as some of the other guys that you've drafted

to potentially play those roles in the future. Now in year three, you kind of get the impression that as you and I were talking in a previous episode of the show, Cody, about how Sean kind of feels like he's going to be able to mix and match pieces all over this offense and really keep defenses on their heels with his personnel groupings. It feels so much different now than it did two years ago or even a year ago when he's having to throw guys out there into the offense who just, they just know the roles, right? They just know what position, like they know the position.

They know what they're expected to do. And now it's a perfect marriage of, I think, that homegrown talent, the talent that's actually better than what's been there in the past. And Sean being able to just say, all right, I can call the plays. I don't have to do as much, like you said, teaching, and I can start to scheme a little bit more. He's got his scheming mask on, doesn't he? He's not just out there with the teacher hat and saying like, all right, I got to actually, like, come out here and show you what to do or tell you what to do or make sure we repeat this

process because you made a mistake on it one too many times. Now he's out there. He's got his bag of plays. He's got his bag of tricks. And he's kind of just pulling stuff out and being like, ooh, yeah, let's see how this goes. because now the players out there, they're now, it's a combination of talent plus his guys, and they're going to be able to execute at a much higher level. I think it's going to be a stark day-night type difference for Broncos country,

seeing how this team operates with a new level of talent on the roster. Well, speaking of his guys, there's the reason why Sean Payton is excited, and that's because the Broncos roster has continuity all across the board. We'll tell you why that's a formula that has Peyton believing, He can win here with this team in 2025. Here on today's episode, Lockdown Broncos. Today's episode, Lockdown Broncos is brought to our friends over there at LinkedIn Jobs and hey, look, as a small business owner, your work doesn't end when the clock hits five.

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Terms and conditions apply. Roster continuity is pretty rare in all of professional sports, but especially in the NFL. The Denver Broncos, however, they lead the NFL in roster retention rate in 2025. We're going to tell you about one of the most underrated stats that you could possibly have going in to an NFL season. and we're going to look ahead a little bit to week two of Denver Broncos OTAs. But Broncos, thanks so much for rocking with us every day here throughout the offseason at Lockdown Broncos.

You know your boys, Cody and Sarah got you covered here on YouTube as well as your favorite podcast platform. So hit subscribe wherever you listen or watch. And hey, don't miss us if you're, you know, short form content on TikTok and YouTube. We've got little nuggets of Broncos coverage for you every single day as well. But Cody, I think this is a really fun. stat. The creator or the founder of Over the Cap, Jason OTC on Twitter posted a list of the top 10 roster retention rates in the NFL. The Denver Broncos were number one on this list, which if you

look back at kind of the narratives last year, I think it's kind of hilarious because the Broncos were considered to have arguably the worst roster in the NFL. And here they are in 2025. They're pretty much bringing everybody back and you've drafted new guys. You signed a couple of guys. But man, that roster retention rate, I'm interested to know your perspective on this. Do you feel like continuity in the NFL is a big deal? Or do you kind of feel like, man, that's, that's maybe an overrated thing? I don't know.

I think you and I kind of agree this, this roster retention rate stat could be a huge advantage in Denver's favor. Well, yeah. I mean, look at, you know, what you would just said last year. Everyone had the Broncos that under five and a half wins is, you know, a lot of people said they had the worst roster, as you mentioned, in all of the National Football League and that they were going to win one game total last year because of all the Russell Wilson contract stuff. But look what happened. This is the Broncos team led by a rookie quarterback, Bo Nex that didn't have a consistent run game. You know, the defense was good. And obviously I think early on when Bo was struggling, the defense's level of play was something I think helped significantly. But then Bo Neck started to really turn it on, find his confidence. And even though the offense, you know, at times was one-sided, one-dimensional. where Bo Nix really was the offense for Denver, they still found a way to win 10 games here.

And we've talked about it almost ad nauseum on this show. And the one score games that the Broncos just couldn't find a way to win. It's crazy when you look back at it, right? The block field goal, that didn't happen. That's 11 wins for this Broncos team. You look at a couple of the other games that were close. I mean, Denver holds on to win against Cincinnati. If they, you know, maintain that or if they go for two to win it,

or, you know, the game against the Chargers where they're up by double digits in the second half, half. We're talking about a team that would have won 13, maybe 14 games in total last season, if they had found a way to avoid some of those little mistakes that kind of plague them last year. For a team that had the expectations of where they are, and I'm glad Bo Nick said this at his press conference after Thursday's OTA practice, he said, you know, that's why we play the games. You know, people said we were going to be this, but, you know, we got to go out there and play and showcase who we are. And no of that stuff matters. The outside noise doesn't matter. Bringing back your roster, 86%. That's great because Denver really did.

didn't lose any starters this offseason outside of what, Giovante Williams. Little Jordan Humphrey started a couple of games for the Broncos, but they didn't really lose anybody. I mean, Cody Barton started games last year, but he wasn't initially going to be a starter for the Broncos defensively. So for me, I look at all the pieces, you know, Denver had the departures, but look at who they added. They added Talenoa Hufonga. They added Dre Greenlaw to the mix. They added some special teams guys, which Sean Payton really kind of emphasizes, you know, hey, we want to improve in the kicking game. We can't just say we want to improve. we have to go out there and get guys that are going to help us improve in that department.

So I look at where they're at. You have your quarterback. You have that biggest question answered here. You have pieces around that quarterback in Cortland Sutton. You know, you have guys in the running back room who you feel like can maybe be, you know, a little bit more evolved this season in that department. But then you add guys like Pat Bryant to, you know, compliment guys like Marvin Mims, Troy Franklin, Devon Bailey.

You add Evan Ingram. So you add to this roster that was already impressive from where it was at last year. and now you have that continuity, it certainly helps a lot. I mean, Sarah, I'm sure we can look at that list that Jason put out there and see the teams that have like the least amount of overall continuity. I imagine those aren't very good teams. I imagine those are teams with a bad record last year or they're consistently bad on a year to year basis. To me, that's important. And I think just as much as we talk about players, I also think coaching staff, like if you're having a turnover of coaches on a year to year basis, that was the issue for the Broncos every year.

they always had a new OC. They always had a new quarterback coach, a new head coach. How can you ever establish a culture of continuity when that is the case? When it very much comes on the roster side, bringing a lot of those key guys back, that's a huge benefit concern that this is a Broncos team that is rising. I think a lot of people are starting to recognize that now. Yeah, when you have roster retention at a high rate like this, it means a couple of things.

It means you're keeping and taking care of guys on your roster, right? And the Broncos did that last year. They had a number of major re-signings in the middle of the season, right before the season. It also means to me that you're drafting well, or at least that you're buying what you're selling, right? You're saying that, hey, we believe in this guy. We're not going to just ditch him after a year or even two. We're going to stick with them. And we're going to try to see it through for the entire duration of the rookie contract and see if we can see the vision come to life for this player.

So those are two really key factors right there that you're taking care of guys and you're drafting well. but also like you mentioned, Cody, you are adding very specific pieces to the mix, right? The Broncos didn't lose a ton of starters after last year. So therefore, you go out in free agency and you have the luxury of saying, hey, we're not just out here to fill holes. We actually want to upgrade this roster in ways that we feel can really benefit the team. So you bring back a starter at safety like PJ Locke. He's still on the team, but you maybe upgrade that spot with Talaoa, Hufanga.

and you bring back a starter at tight end, Adam Troutman, but you maybe upgrade that position in free agency by getting Evan Ingram who could be a joker for you. So you have the luxury when you bring guys back and when you've made good free agent signings in the past, how many two-year deals of the Broncos sign with guys who they're coming back this year that maybe a lot of other teams would have only signed them to one-year deals last year.

It upgrades your depth. It upgrades and I think really is important for your locker room culture as well to have guys who are part of getting you back to the playoffs, those guys are still around and they want to continue to see this thing through. So it's really all encompassing of both the tangible and the intangible and player development. And like you said, the coaches on this staff, they've done such a tremendous job of bringing guys who are maybe cast away from other places or maybe late round players and they've

developed them like Nick Benito after his rookie year. You and I had conversations on this show. should he be cut? The coaching staff in Denver envisioned him as, hey, this guy's, I mean, he's the top tier pass rusher. And they got him out there. They got him the reps. They developed him as an all-around edge player. And he was in the mix for defensive MVP last season. So I think that there's just so many different situations like that around this roster to where it could be so easy year to year in the NFL. Your jobs are at stake. Ownership is impatient. Coaches are impatient. General managers are on the cusp of getting five. You just don't know when your last year in the NFL is going to be in terms of holding those positions. So teams act accordingly. They get rid of guys. They shuffle the deck. They're like, all right, let's see if we can just change things up and that will help.

Sean Payton and the Denver Broncos, George Payton, they took a different philosophy. They obviously changed what needed to be changed. But man, having this retention rate, that's one of the biggest reasons I think to have confidence. This team can win 11, 12, maybe more games in 2025. continuity keeps your message the same right when all of your players on this roster if you have 86% players returning those guys understand the message they understand the goal so when you add in these younger pieces whether it be free agency whether you add these guys in the NFL draft those guys come in and they're getting the same message but they're also getting that from where the players can lead and carry over that message versus it having to be the coaching staff I feel like at times when you see organizational dysfunction let's say there's 50% roster retention You got half your guys that are back from last year and then half of your roster coming into it. They're brand new. So there's a mix of like how are the new guys receiving the message versus the guys who are already here.

That right there can lead to some problems. So I think there are a couple teams will keep an eye on like that. I think the Cleveland Browns are a team that we are going to look at this upcoming year with the whole continuity and the maybe the message thing. I think that Cleveland is going to continue to be a disaster there. Whereas the Broncos, I think, you know, hey, the 86%. great number, but you're also going to have those player-led conversations, and it's going to echo what the coaches want. And those guys are going to show those younger guys are the new pieces. Hey, this is how we do it here in Denver, which should lead to an appeal going into next offseason.

We're obviously the Bronco is going to have a ton of salary cap flexibility. The Russell Wilson, dead money is completely off the books. And now they can even entice to where more people may come to Denver because the team facility is expected to be done next year. So there's even that appeal there, too, Broncos country. There's a reason. Sean Payton is excited and rightfully. So we're excited as well for the season to get here. But Broncos Country, one thing that is coming up this week.

Week two of OTAs begins on Tuesday, Wednesday, and Thursday. We're unsure exactly which day yet media will be able to attend. It could be Thursday once again. But we're going to look ahead at OTAs here in week two and some of the storylines about Pat Bryant, Jada Barron, and others. You're going to get that much more here on today's episode, Locked on Broncos. Week two of OTAs is here in Broncos country. There are a few storylines.

We're going to have our eyes up. on this week. And obviously, if there's something you want to know, you want to have your eye on, make sure you let us know. So when we go out to practice, we can keep an eye on it for you here and bring back the discussion here on lockdown Broncos. With that said, Broncos Country, let's get into our week two storylines. Real quick, I want to say thank you once again for making us your first listen, subscribe or follow wherever you get your podcast. So you never miss out on what's going on with your favorite team every single day, all year long. All right, Sarah, we got week one of OTAs in the books. And obviously, Broncos Country.

If you missed our conversations on that, you can go back wherever you get your podcast. and check out our recap on OTAs for the last a couple of days. We go through the whole on recap there. One of the storylines, I think we're going to have our eye on here. And I don't think we got any clarity on this. But Patrick Sartan in a second, will we see him on the field here this week? Because he was not in attendance for Thursday's practice, even though all this stuff is voluntary. I'm not sure if he had another obligation, but like I mentioned initially when we were reacting to it,

a source had told me that PS2's been in the building throughout the week. Nothing's going on there. this week we want to see him out there on the field, right? Because we're excited to see Jadae Barron working alongside PS2 on the field. We didn't get to see that, but we got to see Jadae Barron mixing in quite a bit. So, yeah, I mean, let's start off here with PS2 and obviously this cornerback room. Yeah, I'm really excited to see those guys on the field together as well because it's been sort of talked about since Jadae was drafted, right? Like this could be the second coming of the no-fly zone.

And sure enough, it's 10 years after the no-fly zone helped lead this team. to Super Bowl 50 and a victory there. I believe this could be the best secondary in the NFL. I don't think that's a hot take at this point in the off season. But yeah, you want to see these guys out there on the field and figuring out, okay, we believe that Jade can be the, you know, Cooper DeGine of this defense or whatever XYZ, you know, player around the league that's getting moved around the defensive formation,

can float between the slot, can play outside, can play safety, can do all those sorts of different things for you. what does that vision look like sort of unfolding and how do you implement that at OTAs right now? I think that's going to be really interesting to see. Also, because I think a lot of folks are wondering this competition between Jadae and Jekwon Macmillan, we assume, I assume Cody, that there's no real competition for Riley Moss's job in this defense at this point. And I think that that's fair based on what he did last year and based on what this team

believes about him, like he's going to take that next step in 2025. So getting all of these guys out there on the field at the same time and allowing them to form that chemistry as well. You want this starting defense, which you believe can be number one in the NFL. You want those guys to get as much time out there on the field as possible so they can kind of share that dream and share that vision of being the next defense in Denver to help lead this team to a Super Bowl. Yeah, and to your point, I don't think Riley Moss is competition for his spot whatsoever. And I'll say this, like going back into OTS, at least in Thursday's practice that we saw, the Broncos are working in J-Mac and obviously Jadae together. But that's also probably a byproduct of PS2 also not being there.

But there's times where we're seeing J-MAC outside. There's times we're seeing J-MAC play inside the nickel. There's times we're seeing Jadae working outside and also playing in the nickel himself. So, I mean, one of the Broncos, they have flexibility. Like Sean Payton said, they planned to deploy these guys all over the field. I think it's a little too early. for the competition thing here, you know, in terms of evaluation because Jada is still learning the events. Now, we've had some comments.

People like, how come people aren't talking about Barron? Like, that's good news. Like, people aren't talking about it. That's good news. I can tell you this. He's doing, he's doing great. He's doing fantastic. And even a shout out here to Chris Abrams drain.

Chris Abrams drain last week. I thought I had a fantastic pass breakup. Obviously against number 80, Joaquin Davis. There was just a, you know, it was a nice little throw down the sideline. Abrams drain, sticky playing press covers, doing a really good job getting in phase and knocking the football away. I like what I've seen from Chris Abrams drain as well. So that's going to be a storyline of the cornerback room that we're going to keep our eyes on here going forward.

You know, now also I think we should pivot as well. Let's talk about maybe even the wide receiver position a little bit. Broncos fans have been asking a little bit more about Pat Bryant. And I've shared a few clips here. I don't think this is a hot take, Sarah. Look, I think when you look at this roster, people are always talking about route runners and separation creators and things like that. I think a guy like Pat Bryant is probably going to be the best route runner on this team, the most polished route runner, or he is going to create separation.

And he doesn't necessarily need speed to do it, right? You look at Jerry Judy. Jerry's a fast guy and Jerry's a great route runner. He was for Denver. But I think Jada Baron is actually a little, you know, he's crisp. He's fundamentally sound. And he doesn't have the Jerry Judy speed like the 4.640 are dash. That's something nobody really cares about.

When you watch this guy on the field and how he attacks certain coverages, it's exciting. And I can't wait for Bronco's country to be able to get. their first look at Pat Bryant. This is a guy I think is going to have a very big impact as a rookie this upcoming season in the wide receiver rotation. That's going to be a big thing to watch. I'm also excited to see a little bit more of Caleb Loner. I mean, Sarah, we didn't see him get thrown too much in Thursday's OTA practice,

but there were elements of the run blocking game that has me excited. I can't describe it to Broncos fans because I'm not allowed to report on that. But let's just say the Caleb Loner, I think his athleticism, his IQ as a former basketball out player, I think is going to help him tremendously in the run blocking department. I think the Broncos has some really nice things planned for him. He got a lot of reps with Bowdo Nix and Jarrett Stidham and Sam Ellinger. I'm excited to see a little bit more here of number 84. I am too.

And I think that he's one of those guys that I've said this before, but I think it's worth repeating because he's going to pop up on a lot of people are going to say, hey, is this guy going to make the roster? Cody, I think there's no question he's going to be on this roster. I think that the Broncos drafted him. him to prevent him from getting to any other team. They're not going to risk him going to any other team on waivers. You draft a guy with 56 college snaps or whatever it was because you believe in his

potential long term. And the Broncos are going to see that through. So you can mark him down for a 53 man roster spot barring an injury, which would be the only thing that I think would keep him off the official 53 man roster. So I'm very excited to see as well because if you're on the roster, you might end up having to play. And there's going to be chances for him to make an impact in the red zone. There's going to be chances for him to make an impact on special teams, even as we saw,

man, the dude can really sky up there when it comes to a field goal block formation and go where no Brock Osweiler has ever gone before, which is as high as you can go as a six foot eight human being in field goal block. So I think that definitely he's one to watch. I think also too regarding Pat Bryant, I'm not so sure he doesn't have the best hands on the team. I mean, I know we haven't even got to really see him out there, but the Broncos had a number of guys last year. All of their guys struggle with drops. All of the top four receivers on the depth chart struggle with drops. Maybe Evan Ingram, I shouldn't say Pat Bryan has the best hands on the team.

Evan Ingram caught 114 passes. The dude has strong hands. So let's say maybe second best on the team behind Evan Ingram. But I think at wide receiver, he may have the best hands on the team. And that's going to be fascinating to watch unfold because it's not just, Hey, the dude catches the ball away from his body. He's a hands catcher. It's those focus concentration catches.

That's like you're in contested situations and you have the ability to catch the ball, whatever the angle may be, if it's over the shoulder, if you got to go up over your head, if you got to reach back for it, it doesn't matter. What we've seen from Pat Bryant is that he may have the best hands at receiver on this team. Well, we also saw the NFLPA rookie premiere that one, I don't even know what they call it. That one game that they play, the reaction drill where you're catching those poles. They're dropping from different. He was at the top of the leaderboard.

He had a near perfect score. So that to me is always exciting here. You see it with Pat. You see a guy who's a willing blocker. And I'll even give a shout of here. We need to talk about Devon Veil here for a minute. Veilet looks like he put on some muscle this offseason. He was already six foot five big last year.

But he's got some NFL, like he's got more muscle mass to him this year. I really believe that he and Cortland. are going to be the two mainstays at the wide receiver position. And then everybody else is going to have an established archetype base role, Marvin Mims, Pat Bryant, and even Troy Franklin getting involved in the mix. I think they're going to have different roles and visions for those guys. But I think if we're looking at mainstays, consistent guys, I do think it is going to be Vailay and Cortland Sutton, you know,

based on what I've seen so far. So I'm excited about that. We'll obviously have you covered every step of the way this week here, Broncos country with all the latest news as to what's happening with your favorite team. And obviously we'll have access to one practice, once again this week. Will it be Tuesday? Will it be Wednesday or Thursday?

We're still waiting to find out. So when we know, you'll know, and then you're obviously going to have in-depth coverage here on the Locked-on Broncos podcast. So make sure you stay tuned, stay locked in every single day all week long, wherever you get your podcast or on YouTube. Also stay up to date with us on TikTok as well,

the Locked on Broncos podcast. We have an account on there that post content. We love interacting with you. So make sure you head out that way to see us as well. With that said, Broncos Country, Sarah and I, we're going to return tomorrow for some more superlatives going into week,

of Broncos OTAs. We'll see you then.