Locked On Broncos - Daily Podcast On The Denver Broncos - SLEEPER: Denver Broncos Rookie Tyler Onyedim READY To Step Into Big Role on Defense

Starting point is 00:00:00 Denver Broncos rookie defensive lineman Tyler O'Neum has some big shoes to fill after John Franklin Myers left in free agency. What will his usage be like in 2026? You are locked on Broncos. Your daily Denver Broncos podcast. Part of the Locked on podcast network, your team every day. Happy Monday, Broncos country, Cody Rourke. Sarah Beddeter here for another episode, Locked on Broncos as we dive deep into a new series where we're taking a look at the Broncos rookie class of 2026. and we're analyzing what their role might be, starter, rotational player will go through their usage

Starting point is 00:00:39 and we'll also predict what their production may look like in their rookie season here. We're going to start off with Denver's top pick, Tyler O'Neadum. Ser, very much an interesting selection here for Denver. I think the fan base, you know, they ran a million mock draft simulators. They wanted this guy. They wanted that guy. Denver ultimately maybe lost out on a couple of guys due to teams trading up. And then Denver traded back and they landed on Tyler O'Neilleyer.

Starting point is 00:01:04 them who I would say if you look at it, if you look at fan buzz, fans haven't been talking a lot about him. But I'll say this, he was one of those players that when I was at OTAs in minicamp, he had flashes. I'm excited to see when the pads come on. Yeah, I am too, Cody, because ultimately what we heard from his teammates and veterans in that group is that, man, he looks the part, right? Physically, he is NFL ready. And I think that's one of the interesting things about this Broncos defensive line that doesn't really get talked about a ton, but kind of has got. and amplified against the Buffalo Bills the last two years in the playoffs is they don't really have that many guys over 300 pounds who are playing a ton of snaps like DJ Jones is one of them

Starting point is 00:01:43 and then I think I Njoma Uazerike was the other Tyler Oneedam brings that big time size to the table physicality, mod of experience at the college level transferred over to Texas A&M this past year to kind of get that tutelage. I don't we should look up who's the defensive coordinator and defensive line coach at Texas A&M because tons of top process. are transferring over there to that program and getting drafted high. And Oneedem went from Iowa State, where he was once upon a time teammates with Inouazerike, then to finish off his career at Texas A&M with the Aggies where I think that's what the Broncos said. We liked what we saw from him at Iowa State, but then he really took his game to the next level

Starting point is 00:02:24 at Texas A&M. So figuring out what he does as a rookie starts with what Sean Payton said during rookie minicamp and OTAs. I mean, he's in the mix for that role left behind by John Franklin Myers. I know you're an Iowa Hawkeye guy, and so I know there's some Iowa State hate going on there. But, I mean, to be honest with you, Iowa State's defense does not translate well to the NFL level. So that was harder to evaluate.

Starting point is 00:02:48 I think players like Inyo Ma'uazerike or even Tyler Oñettam when he was there, Texas A&M's defense is an NFL style of defense. And you look at the amount of players that have obviously been drafted, have landed on other teams. Denver's got two of them. They've got Tori and York who signed as an undrafted guy. They've got obviously Tyler O'Neatham, who was their top pick in this year's draft. And the thing that stands out, what I like about O'Neatum and his skill set,

Starting point is 00:03:11 and you saw this at A&M is the fact of how fast is. His first step is something that stands out tremendously there. And those are some of the things that when I'm talking about OTAs in minicamp, I'm watching him line up as a three technique, which is the outside shoulder of the offensive guard. I'm seeing him take a stab move up built. and I'm seeing him shoot inside of the A gap, and all of a sudden, now he's making a play in a game for a tackle for a loss. Like those are the types of plays.

Starting point is 00:03:37 Okay, maybe while some people may critique his upper body strength or physical strength, he makes up for it with finesse. Not to say that he's not a strong player, but his finesse actually helps him win a lot more. And the strength is the stuff that you can actually work on for him. So when you pair him in this defense at, when we talk to assistant GM Reid Burkhard, he says, he does things that Vance's defense does really well,

Starting point is 00:03:59 looping and attacking at different angles. That's where O'Neum can come in right away and have an impact. And yes, I think we can all sit here and say, man, it's so tough to envision him coming in or anybody for that matter, even say beyond Jones and having the same impact that JFM did, I always think it's unrealistic to kind of put that type of pressure on a young player. Maybe he surprises us and maybe he does. But the Broncos approaches, we might be able to have that same type of production,

Starting point is 00:04:26 but we might be able to get that with two players. We might be able to get that with Oneyetam as a rookie and Savion Jones, who's really kind of had a red shirt ear, his rookie season, and this will be his first opportunity to get more playing time this year. And they get to do it alongside guys like DJ Jones, Malcolm Roach, Zach Allen, Nick Benito, Jonah Ellis, more than likely. To me, that's exciting. That's where this guy, he can come in and he doesn't have pressure,

Starting point is 00:04:47 or I'd say higher unrealistic expectations to be something that he's not. And I think that's what's going to work well. And that's why I think he's going to impress a lot of people in this upcoming season. I do too. And the thing about the Broncos defensive front, setting franchise record in sacks each of the last two seasons is, I mean,

Starting point is 00:05:08 that's kind of a contagious deal. It's been a contagious mentality for everybody who gets out onto that field. I mean, how many guys have we been surprised by over the last couple of years? Like Dandre Toman coming off the edge, nobody saw that coming. I mean, you could name a number of different guys,

Starting point is 00:05:24 whether it's the stars on this team or even Malcolm Roach coming in. It was like, oh, yeah, that's an interesting free agent pickup, like connection to Sean Payton and other former saint. Ha, ha, ha, ha, you know, Sean Peyton loves former saints. And now Malcolm has established himself as one of the key players on this team. So there's something with, you know, the Broncos getting Jamar Kane and keeping him, even though they lose BT Jordan, the pass rush whisperer to the Dallas Cowboys, having Jamar Kane and his ability to develop these guys and that contagious mentality that they have, which starts with Zach Allen. and works its way down.

Starting point is 00:05:59 I mean, Oneedum stands to benefit from that immediately. And like you said, there's not really any pressure on him to come in and be a superstar right away, but to just kind of find his place in this system and make plays when you're given opportunities. And I'm excited to see what he does, Cody. I mean, as the top pick in this year's draft, even as a third round pick, he's the top pick in this class. And that carries something along with it, right?

Starting point is 00:06:22 It's not, well, you're a first rounder, so you've got to go start immediately. but he is a top pick who's entering a situation where that starting job is kind of up for grabs. As far as like we know from the outside looking in, right, when you lose a starter and free agency and there's nobody that's directly taking his place. I mean, that job would seemingly be open going into the offseason program. So when the pads come on at training camp, O'Nietam really has a chance, especially going up against a veteran offensive line. I assume Cody, he's going to be lined up against, you know, Quinn Miners a lot in practice.

Starting point is 00:06:56 That is going to be such a great test for him to really help him quickly acclimate to the NFL. And I'd say that benefits this pass rush unit so much. Like they do get a go up against a very good offensive line. Like that is the epitome. Like Denver's O line versus Denver's D line is the epitome of iron sharpens iron between that because they're getting valuable work. And, you know, Denver's going to face some really good defenses and pass rush, you know, opponents that should include like Miles Garrett.

Starting point is 00:07:22 Well, having a defense that's as aggressive and attacking is that what Denver's has, that's going to be good for those guys to kind of get that. And that's going to be good for, I would say, On Yedem's development. And if I were on Yeddeme, I would be, I'd be kind of mad. I'd be having a little chip on my shoulder considering like, hey, I was the top pick. No one's talking about me. Everyone was talking about Jonah Coleman, which, rightfully so, Jonah is exciting. We'll talk about him on tomorrow's episode of the show and project his role and his production and stuff like that.

Starting point is 00:07:45 But like for Oneedem, it'd be like, man, I'm kind of like the forgotten guy here. And maybe that's actually a good thing because now he's in a place where he can put his head down. He can work. He doesn't have to deal with like, oh, you know, where are the expectations? Are you being the top pick in this year's class for this Broncos team? It just allows him to fly a little bit more under the radar in comparison of the other guys that probably generate a little bit more hype right now. There's nothing wrong with that.

Starting point is 00:08:08 I'm excited about that. I think he's going to shine in that role. He carries himself very, very well. I've had a chance to talk to him. Very nice young man. I'm excited to see how that switch flips here at training camp when the pads come on here. But Broncos country, one thing is Sarah and I are going to dive deep into now when it comes to Tyler O'Needem.

Starting point is 00:08:25 How will he impact Denver's defensive line? What could the rotation look like? Where could he potentially line up? There's a multitude of places. And we'll dive deep with that here on today's episode of the show. Indeed is the sponsor of today's episode, Lockdown Broncos, workplace chaos. It can show up fast.

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Starting point is 00:09:05 who they think has a skill set. They're relying on maybe even other contributors like Savion Jones as he goes into year number two as they look to build the right team at the defensive line position here going forward. And indeed, make sure that you spend less time searching and more time actually interviewing canns who check all your boxes with less stress. less time and more results. When you need the right person to cut through the chaos, this is a job for Indeed sponsored jobs and listeners of this show.

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Starting point is 00:09:58 He's joining one of the top five defenses in the league and he's got a chance to play a lot of snaps. What will his impact look like, though, on the field this coming season for the Denver Broncos. We're going to talk about that on today's episode, Lockdown Broncos and Broncos country. Thanks so much for tuning in every single day here at Lockdown Broncos. We appreciate you so, so much. If you want Lockdown Broncos uninterrupted, check out the Every Day or Club because you're going to get an ad-free episode of the show every single day. And you can even start a seven-day free trial right now to get your daily Denver Broncos fix, completely uninterrupted with ads.

Starting point is 00:10:29 So check that out, lockdownbroncos. Dot supercast.com. And the link will be in the show notes for you as well. Cody, let's talk about the how. What does One Yetam's game look like in terms of, I know it's been a while since we kind of broke down the pick from a,

Starting point is 00:10:45 you know, scheme standpoint, a obviously he's a scheme fit to the Broncos determined after watching him play at Texas A&M. So like, What position, I mean, defensive end, yes, what will that practically look like on the field? And do you see him playing more of a versatile role or do you see him kind of settling in at one of these techniques and kind of just, hey, pin your ears back, go make plays behind the line of scrimmage? I'm going to say both them, both them, D&D tackle. He's a versatile player.

Starting point is 00:11:12 One of the first things that we learned from him when we spoke to him, we asked him like, where do you see yourself playing? Like, have you had conversations with the Broncos as to where they envision you playing? and he said, I play anywhere. I could play left side, right side, interior. Like, I truly think that they're going to use him in a similar build, like from a matchup standpoint. You know, we've seen DJ Jones Malcolm Roach, when DJ's on the field, right, Malcolm is off.

Starting point is 00:11:35 But when DJ needs a breather, we see Malcolm come in. I think there are situations where you're going to see him alongside those guys at times this upcoming season and they're going to play well off of each other. To the point where it's like there might be times, and I said this, I've seen him line up as a three technique, which is the outside shoulder of the offensive guard. I've seen him line up as a five technique, which is directly on the outside shoulder of the offensive tackle. And then he can play anywhere.

Starting point is 00:11:59 He can play outside the offensive tackle, head up on the tackle, inside, a four eye on the tackle. And then I've seen him play the one technique as well where he's on the shoulder of the offensive guard. He can be in every gap player here for Denver defensively. Those are things, I think, once they get the pads on, they're going to start moving him around a little bit to these different places. And you're going to see the production probably pick up for him. There. But his versatility is the one thing I think is going to benefit him. Do they see that in Savian Jones?

Starting point is 00:12:27 I'm not sure. I think they view Savian as a defensive end. Whereas I think on Yenem, because of his speed and his athleticism, I do think that he'll impact the defensive line. They could be selective with where they want to get him. Let's say there's a specific matchup against what they believe is a slower guard. They might be able to utilize his speed, his first step to do that because of what Denver does defensively, where they loop.

Starting point is 00:12:49 Like, for example, Jonah Ellis, Nick Benito, those guys are always going to be stand up on the outside, right? But you can loop him to the outside, bring Benito Ellis inside, and vice versa. You can get very creative with what you want to do on the outside and your interior gaps. That's, I think, what we will see from Oneedum in terms of his rotation on the defensive line. In your opinion, when knowing that, like, what do you want to see used from him specifically? Like, where do you want to see him play? Who do you want to see him play alongside the most? Well, I mean, any of these guys, like you said, Cody,

Starting point is 00:13:24 both them, all of them, you know, that's where I'm at with it. It's like one of the biggest things that stood out to me when I watched him is just his length, right? I mean, I think he has 34 inch arms and those are at such a huge advantage for a defensive alignment when it comes to positional versatility because you know that if you have great length, you already have a major advantage over a lot of guys who get kicked to the inside at the NFL level for the number one reason being short arms, right? That's why guys get kicked inside to guard typically. So you're not really going to be going up against anybody on a week to week basis that

Starting point is 00:14:00 you can't first get your hands on. So when it comes to all the games and stunts that the Broncos like to run, One Yetam gives you such an advantage, no matter if he's lined up over the guard's face, no matter if he's shaded to the outside of the guard, or if he's shaded to the inside of the guard, whatever it may be, he gives you an advantage in that way. and he's a smart player with how he uses that length and quickness. When you have quickness plus length, you are able to get hands on first.

Starting point is 00:14:26 And when you get hands on first, you control the pace of that play and you control the line of scrimmage. That's what the Broncos want to do. And I'm not trying to make a mountain out of a molehill with what Oneedem can bring to the table. But let's just, for example, you could have him and Savion Jones. Like Savian, remember when he was drafted,

Starting point is 00:14:45 the ticker on the screen, you and I were sitting here getting ready to record our show already and the Broncos surprisingly traded up. And the ticker on the TV that I'm sitting next to right now said, Savion Jones, Edge, LSU. And we were like, wait, the Broncos drafted an edge, like another edge. Like, why would they do that? Well, what we come to find out is, like you said, he's probably going to be playing typically the five technique or even maybe a little bit inside, maybe the four, maybe a little bit more outside though, maybe outside the five technique lined up outside of the tackle. So you could have Savian Jones lined up outside of the tackle. So you could have Savian Jones lined up

Starting point is 00:15:17 outside of the tackle and Tyler O'Nettem inside, you know, shaded over the guard, whatever it may be. And you can mix and match personnel and you can have players out there that, man, they just, their quickness is the first number one thing that's going to blow offensive lines away. But Ongedum specifically can create opportunities for himself and others, whether it's Savion Jones next to him, whether it's Nick Bonito, whether it's Jonah Ellis, it doesn't matter, that length is going to allow the Broncos to have so many different possibilities

Starting point is 00:15:49 with their defensive front of this season. You brought up the arm length here of Oneedom, and there might be certain fans that wonder like why that matters. And I'll explain it to you because long arms, the ability to reach, right? Like, you know, you're in your down stance. You're in your three point stance. The first thing you're doing, you don't want to as a defensive lineman or even as an offensive lineman, the number one thing you don't want to do in the trenches, you don't

Starting point is 00:16:10 want a body catch. You want to be able to shoot and extend your arms and grab the chest piece, like right where the breasts are, essentially, inside the frame of the shoulders. You want to be able to grab that because when you can strike and you can extend, and let's say you have a lower center of gravity, we always talk about lower man wins, the ability to anchor, right? Having that ability right there, you can control your gap. You're not getting pushed back. It's about being able to have the leverage in that situation. The long arms combined with the speed that on the other than has allows him to attack, strike, and extend and to hold his ground, if he has to be a guy who has to anchor inside the A or the B gap, he's not going to get

Starting point is 00:16:46 pushed back because he's got the speed, he's got the leverage and the length. It also allows him as he gets stronger physically. Well, now he could become one of these physically dominant interior rushers where not, you don't just have to rely on your speed. Now you can rely on the physicality. That's an area of his that's going to grow. The length that he has, the arm length, that's going to help him thrive a lot more early on in his NFL career.

Starting point is 00:17:07 So that's one thing I'm excited about. And I like the ability as what you mentioned, to be creative. And here's the other thing, too. You got to keep Zach Allen fresh. You got to protect your investment in him. He can't be playing every single snap of the game, even though he physically wants to.

Starting point is 00:17:22 As you get down the line here in the next couple of years, you want to be able to preserve Zach Allen. You want to be able to get whatever you can from a productivity and longevity standpoint out of him because Zach is a physically dominant player. He's a finesse player as well. But as you get older, certain things may not be as great. Not saying that's going to happen with Zach, but what I'm saying is you need to just protect your investment.

Starting point is 00:17:44 Because if Zach Allen is missing games and is unable to play for you, man, that's a bad thing. That's a big problem for the Broncos defense. That's a major blow. There were times last year where he's banged up or he's like, you know, coming off the field after one plane, we're like, uh-oh. Like we're anxious. We're worried.

Starting point is 00:18:01 Zach is that type of player. having guys like Oneelam, Savian Jones, In Yoma, Uazareke, Jordan Jackson still competing in the mix as well, DJ and Malcolm. It is almost kind of a you want to have as good a quality depth as possible. But I'm curious to see what his usage is going to be here this upcoming season. And I think that's going to lead us to a fun little game here. Broncos country coming up next. We want you to play along with us as we go through. We predict his usage in terms of snap count percentage and maybe what his production may be based on

Starting point is 00:18:32 whether or not he's a starter or a rotational player. We'll go through and project that here on today's episode of the show. How will Tyler O'Neum be used in 2026? We're going to take a look at predicting his snap count percentage and what that could mean for the Broncos defense in terms of efficiency and production. I just want to say thanks once again. To everyone in Broncos, for tuning in Rock with us here on the Lockdown Podcast Network, the number one sports podcast network in the country.

Starting point is 00:18:59 Plus, where you know it's your team every day. We appreciate you so much for Rockin with us every day all year long for all your Broncos. Boots on the ground coverage. You're not going to get that anywhere else besides here. We appreciate you so much here. Sarah, let's dive into it here. Now, in order to maybe predict Onehattam's usage inside of Denver's defense, I think we can look at it from maybe rotational.

Starting point is 00:19:18 We can also look at it from a starter standpoint here. I think our best person to reference in this situation would be John Franklin Myers. What was his snap count percentage last year? How was he used? We knew he had seven and a half sacks. So that's kind of like best case scenario here for a guy like Oneedom. Can he get seven and a half sacks? But let's first look at snap counts.

Starting point is 00:19:38 Last year defensively, JFM played 49% of Denver's defensive snaps. That was 517. So let's go through this. Let's play a little bit of an over-under. If Oneedam is a starter here for the Broncos, will he play 49% or more of the stats? Are you going over or are you going under? I'm going to go under, Cody.

Starting point is 00:20:00 I think that the Broncos do want to play One-edem a lot. this year. I think that's the plan. I do believe that. I also believe they want to play Savian Jones a lot. I think that that he was the first piece of this succession plan, right? When we're talking about John Franklin Myers, the Broncos sort of set in motion. We all, we all said the same thing. When Savian Jones was picked, like, oh, great, they're not going to resign John Franklin Myers. Even though we talked ourselves into and out of it all throughout the year, I think we all kind of knew the writing was on the wall there. So I think there's going to be a concerted effort to play both guys, which I believe will bring us to less than that number,

Starting point is 00:20:38 right? Less than a, you know, I think that's still a reasonable amount because when you look at John Franklin Myers, yes, he played over, you know, 500 snaps last year, 517, like you said, DJ Jones only played 431. Like Malcolm Roach, I know he dealt with the injury, but he played 401, Uwazerique, 409. So like, there's different guys who are going to be getting action. And like you mentioned, keeping Zach Allen fresh is of paramount importance, played roughly close to a thousand snaps, I think in 2024, and then 797 last year. So the Broncos said that Sean Payton said in the off season, like, we basically want Zach to play less.

Starting point is 00:21:15 And he still was second in the lead behind Miles Garrett and quarterback hits. So that effectiveness on a per snap basis didn't go down for Zach. So the Broncos have proof of concept, hey, we can play him less and still thrive with the guys that we have, the depth that we have. But on Yedem, to me, I would say, is going to be hovering closer to the 40%, you know, give or take. You and I talked before the show over under 39.5%.

Starting point is 00:21:41 I would say maybe there's a chance right there that you could split me either way and convince me that he could play more or less than that. You know what's crazy to me when you look at like pro football reference? Because I'm looking at DJ Jones and Malcolm Roach's overall snapcount. So you mentioned the amount of, you know, DJ, he was, the guy. He was the main starter. Malcolm missed some games early on because he suffered a knee injury right before the Tennessee Titans game in week one. Malcolm has 401 snaps last season, which is coming

Starting point is 00:22:11 up as 50%. And then DJ played 431 snaps last season, which is more than what Malcolm played, but yet DJ snaps are listed as 40%. That's interesting. And I wonder if that's because there were times where they put both of those guys on the field together at different positions. maybe that factors in the equation. But I was going to say, can we maybe draw a comparison? Like if it's going to be for Oneedem, if he's going to play under the amount of snaps that JFM played from a percentage standpoint of 49, and if there's going to be a split between he and Savion Jones, so to speak,

Starting point is 00:22:44 well, what does that look like? Does that look like 370 for each of those guys? Or are you teetering somewhere around like each of those guys are going to play 400 snaps, at least for you? And you have the factor in some of those games that never played down the stretch defense was on the field for 80 plus play, 75 plus plays. That's not a good trend. That's something you want to get away from.

Starting point is 00:23:05 But is it going to be something along those lines in your opinion when it comes to O'Neatham? I think you look at maybe, you know, last year, Jadet Barron, right? He played 334 total snaps. I know it's a different position and everything like that. But at the same time, I think that's maybe the number to kind of look at as, okay, he's a part-time player. He's a rotational player.

Starting point is 00:23:25 He's somebody we're actively trying to involve in a group that includes a lot of talented guys that we want to keep fresh. I think that 325 to 350 range early on, like as a very maybe low end estimate. I don't think we're going to see less than that, Cody. I don't. I think that in order for him to truly be a full-time piece in this defense, it's got to be closer to 400, like with Malcolm Roach, where we're kind of seeing him on the field as much as possible when he's able to be out there. So I think that's going to be the case. And I think he's going to float around like the ability to play different positions on the defensive line will help him increase that snap count.

Starting point is 00:24:02 Even if we do see, I think, Uazerike settled into a nice role last year, I don't know that we're going to see a huge uptick from him. Roach, I could see a pretty big uptick, right? I think that he could play. He's hinted at that. He has. And maybe he's a bonus or an episode that we do at some point this off season, talking about dreaming up bigger role for Malcolm Roach, too.

Starting point is 00:24:21 But I could see him getting over 500. So it's tough to know because last year you dealt with some injuries. Now you're replacing 517. snaps from JFM, you have Roach coming back into the mix with a bigger role, Savion Jones as an unknown. It's tough to kind of like piece that all together. But I think if it's a full-time role, 350 to 400 snaps seems to make the most sense to me.

Starting point is 00:24:44 All right. Well, let's get into maybe production from a efficiency standpoint, like how were defensive linemen measured when it comes to production? Well, Sachs is always one of them. I always think as well, too. I think TFLs can also be a metric that you can. look at as well. Now, JFM last year, he had six TFLs the year before. He had eight TFLs quarterback hits or something. Let's start off with sacks first. Okay. So in JFM's first year in Denver, he had seven

Starting point is 00:25:11 sacks. And then last year, he had seven and a half sacks. I feel like for Savion Jones, if we're, I'm not Savion, but if we're talking about Savion and Onietam, splitting time at this position and maybe having those types of reps, a number for me, maybe a prediction for on yet them, three and a half sacks, I feel like is a reason. area to kind of place him. That's exactly the number that I was going to say as well, Cody, because he didn't have a ton of sacks at the college level. Now, Texas A&M, there's a lot of sacks to go around,

Starting point is 00:25:41 but at the same time, there's not because you've got all these other first round picks, you know, and second round picks around you, getting to the quarterback as well or maybe even cleaning up some of the, you know, the production that you had as a pass rush or yourself. So I think three and a half sounds right. The one stat that I keep looking back at as well, Cody, as I'm looking at John Franklin Myers Pro Football Focus page, he was credited with 18 run stops last year, which I believe, according to their metrics, is like a run stop between zero and one yards or a TFL.

Starting point is 00:26:12 So I think it's like, hey, if you shut it down within zero to one yards of the line of scrimmage or behind the line of scrimmage, that's a run stop according to them. So he had 18 of those last season, which was 56th among interior defensive linemen, Could that be an area where we see Oneedem really help the Broncos in terms of run defense and run stops? I think if JFM had 18 of those last year, I could see Oneedem, even with less snaps, I could see him matching that 18 number or even exceeding that this season. I'm going to look up John Franklin Myers arm length. What is his arm length in comparison?

Starting point is 00:26:51 Just because I want to see something here too. You mentioned the, like the TFLs, but what happened? Yeah, I mean, 32 and 7 eighth inch arms. So O'Neatam has the advantage there. Could he also maybe help the Broncos defense in an area that they used to have a guy that was so great at it. It used to have the best hands in the league. Shelby Harris. Remember, you needed a pass knockdown at the line of scrimmage.

Starting point is 00:27:14 Denver defensively, I can't remember them having much last year. I think there were times Benito had some. I think Cooper and Jonah Ellis had some. but you didn't see that consistently at the rate in which we saw from the Shelby Harris years where guys are getting up and batting passes down to the line. It's like that right there is such an underrated aspect of today's game. It doesn't happen as much. Like a lot of people are talking about how, you know,

Starting point is 00:27:37 Bonix has so many passes batted down to the line of scrimmage. Well, the Broncos defense needs to start doing that to other freaking quarterbacks too. So I'm very, very curious if he can help out with that. I do think the TFL aspect, man, the one thing, and that's what I'd say I saw in OTAs in minicamp was this is without pads. Granted, like that changes everything. Like how you look without pads can sometimes skew your evaluation. If you're doing the same thing when the pads come on,

Starting point is 00:28:03 then I'm going to be excited. We talked about the times where I've seen Oneedem lineup as a three technique, and he's shooting inside the A gap clean, and he's in the backfield where the running back is touching the ball. Now all of a sudden you got a guy in your face. In a game that translates to a TFL, can you do that with the pads? And if that does happen, ooh, I'm excited. I think that there is an element of Oneyetam's game where this is an area,

Starting point is 00:28:26 Sarah, he can probably help him maybe be a little bit more effective than maybe even JFM was at this specific role there at the TFL department here. In Broncos Country, make sure you less know your thoughts, what you think of Tyler Oneedam, what you envision for him in terms of his snap percentage? Are you over under 49% in terms of snaps played this upcoming season? And also we're going to set the line at three and a half sacks. Is he going to go over? Is he going to go under that?

Starting point is 00:28:50 make sure you're less to know here on today's episode of the show. But for all you every day, is tomorrow's episode. Sarah and myself, we're sitting down. We're breaking down, Jonah Coleman. We're going to talk about his projection, how he impacts the Broncos running back room. And more importantly, we're going to predict what his usage and his staff production could look like next season in the orange and blue. If you're brand new viewer or listener of the show, you loved what we talked about here today. Make sure you hit that subscribe with that follow button, wherever you get podcasts or on YouTube.

Starting point is 00:29:14 If you're watching, we appreciate you so much for rocking with us. We got you covered every single day, all your long. Lockdown Broncos, there's never an offseason for the true fan.

Locked On Broncos - Daily Podcast On The Denver Broncos - SLEEPER: Denver Broncos Rookie Tyler Onyedim READY To Step Into Big Role on Defense

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