Locked On Broncos - Daily Podcast On The Denver Broncos - TEST: Denver Broncos 2026 Opponents REVEALED
Episode Date: January 8, 2026The Denver Broncos face a tough test of opponents in 2026 after it was announced on Sunday who they would face. Hopefully the Broncos will be coming off of a Super Bowl, but they'll be facing five pla...yoff teams in home matchups next season including showdowns with the Buffalo Bills, Seattle Seahawks, and Los Angeles Rams. They'll have 9 road games in 2025 including trips to play the San Francisco 49ers and New England Patriots. Plus, which Broncos players will we see selected as All-Pro's on Friday? 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 Everydayer Club If you never miss an episode, it’s time to make it official. Join the Locked On Everydayer Club and get ad-free audio, access to our members-only Discord, and more — all built for our most loyal fans.Click here to join -- https://lockedonbroncos.supercast.com/ Support Us By Supporting Our Sponsors! Rocket MoneyLet Rocket Money help you reach your financial goals faster. Join at http://RocketMoney.com/LOCKEDON BetterhelpThis episode is sponsored by BetterHelp. BetterHelp makes it easy to get matched online with a qualified therapist. Sign up and get 10% off at http://BetterHelp.com/LOCKEDON. DripDropRight now, DripDrop is offering podcast listeners 20% off your first order. Go to http://dripdrop.com and use promo code lockedonnfl. Ultimate QBUltimate QB is totally free to play, has no ads, and works 100% offline — perfect for when you want to sneak in a quick game or two on the go. Just head over to http://ULTIMATE-QB.COM. FanDuelToday's episode is brought to you by FanDuel. So before tip-off, check the FanDuel app and see what’s dropping during NBA Happy Hour — every Friday from 6 to 7:30 PM Eastern. A little basketball, a little action, and a whole lot of Friday energy. PrizePicksDownload the PrizePicks app today and use code LOCKEDONNFL to get $50 in lineups after you play your first $5 lineup.Click Here: https://prizepicks.onelink.me/LME0/LOCKEDONNFL GametimeDownload the Gametime app, create an account, and use code LOCKEDONNFL for $20 off your first purchase. Terms apply. Download Gametime today. What time is it? Gametime. ZocdocStop putting off your doctor’s appointments and get the care you need.Go to http://Zocdoc.com/lockedonnfl to find and instantly book a top-rated doctor today. 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.
Transcript
Discussion (0)
Folks want the Denver Broncos to have a tougher schedule.
Well, guess what?
In 2026, they'll have the toughest schedule they've had in the last handful of years.
You are Locked on Broncos, your daily Denver Broncos podcast, part of the Locked on Podcasts
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making us your first listen, however you want to do so.
The Broncos, they won 14 games in 2025.
They have a chance to continue to extend that as they go through the NFL playoffs
as they'll play in the division round, hopefully the AFC championship,
and then hopefully a Super Bowl.
But a lot of people are trying to diminish the Broncos record saying they didn't play anybody.
Won 20, 26.
We know who the Broncos opponents are.
And we'll tell you this, they're playing a lot of people.
We'll go through that and tell you about the Broncos' tough eight games at home
against five different playoff teams that they're going to be facing.
We'll also dive deep into the Broncos set to play nine road games,
has become road warriors here in 2026.
And on top of that,
we're going to take a guess at who we think will be named to the NFL's All-Pro list
that will be announced on Friday here as members of the Denver Broncos.
You get all that on today's episode of the show brought to you by our friends over there
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lineup. I'm Cody Rourke. Credentialed reporter for Mile High Sports.
Jordan is always by Sarah Benninger. Site expert of their predominantly orange.com.
Sarah, look, one of the things about the NFL regular season wrapping up is it kind of ties up
those back end loose ends to who you're going to be playing the next season.
A lot of that is based on how the divisions finish.
Well, the Denver Broncos, they're going to have eight home games in 2026 where they had nine
this season, obviously, that we're still in here. And I think it's interesting enough.
You know, everyone's like, oh, the Broncos, they got to play.
They didn't play anybody.
Well, five of their eight home games at 2026, they're going to be against playoff teams.
Yeah, no question about it.
It's going to be a tough way to get back to the Super Bowl, hopefully, is that is going to be the storyline that we talk about all offseason, right?
That's the ultimate goal at this point in time.
But I think when you play the NFC West after a season like they just had out there, I mean, where the Seahawks, the Rams, the 49ers, all those team look elite, right?
I think the one thing that you look at is where are those matchups being played.
And not that those teams don't all have strong home field advantage, Cody,
but who's the one team in the NFC West that you would rather play in Denver than have to travel to their house?
I think it would be for me, the Seattle Seahawks, right?
And they are coming to Denver.
So I think you look at that type of a matchup right there.
I personally think I know you and I're going to talk about the road matchups.
I think the Broncos got a really good draw.
As far as the tougher opponents, 100%, it looks like a tougher slate going into next season than it did going into the 2025 season.
But I will say, I think the Broncos got a little fortunate with who they got at home this year as compared to on the road.
Yeah.
And look, once again, like eight of your home games, you know, you're going to play three essentially against division rivals.
That's the chiefs, the chargers, the Raiders.
Only one playoff team in your division besides yourself, and that is the Chargers.
So we count them into the playoff team formula here.
But you look at it as well.
The Broncos, five of their eight home games against playoff teams,
the Buffalo Bills,
who Denver could end up very well facing in the NFL playoffs coming up here.
We talked about the charters,
but then a rematch with the Jacksonville Jaguars.
You don't play the AFC South this year,
but you play one of those teams in that division based on where you finish
because the Jacksonville Jaguars won the AFC South.
You play them at home.
And so another matchup against the Jags,
which we could also see that matchup here in the playoffs.
Three of these games essentially here next year,
there could be playoff matchups that we eventually see at some point here in 2025
for Denver, which is exciting.
But then you have home games as well against the Los Angeles Rams.
And as you mentioned the Seattle Seahawks, my question too is like,
all right, that's exciting.
Denver's going to be playing some really good teams.
I wonder what the storylines for some of these teams are going to be.
I think Seattle will still be in the same spot of being a really good team that you
really have to worry about.
But the Los Angeles Rams are a team that I wonder.
about like it could 2025 this year that we're currently in well now it's officially
2026 but the 2025 season could this be the last year for matthew stafford will we get that
bow nicks versus matthew stafford matchup could that be a potential super bowl rematch so to
speak like if things kind of play out that way like there's a lot of interesting dynamics here
when you look at who Denver is going to be playing at home and i agree the advantage here you're
playing at m power field at mile high and that's the thing too is that year to year
I think you can always say, well, it looks like a daunting schedule on paper,
but then we don't know, hey, which backups are the Broncos going to play next year?
The Chiefs, they're not amongst that playoff team list that you mentioned there.
So I think the Chiefs, they present a tougher, you know, task than anybody's maybe realizing
based on, well, your strength of schedule next year.
So that even, I kind of raises the bar a little bit for you.
But which of those teams that were good this year are not going to be good next year or vice versa?
Like the Jaguars, they won the,
the AFC South this year. I mean, they were trading up in the draft in the top five last year to
pick Travis Hunter. They were a top five bad team the year prior to this one. So who's going to be
those teams? Like the things change so often in the NFL that it's difficult to kind of get a
grasp. I think what you can see, though, is the schedule which teams are building, which teams are
tearing down or kind of restarting. And it's rare, I think, for situations like we saw with Jacksonville,
where they go from being a tear it down, new GM, new head coach,
let's restart everything, and then win the division.
Yeah.
You know, teams like the Dolphins, for example, are on the Broncos home schedule.
They fired their general manager.
There seems to be some toying with the idea of, you know,
I've heard there maybe looking at John Harbaugh,
but they still have Mike McDaniel as the head coach.
Like, what's going to happen there?
So there's a lot of different factors here that could play into what is the actual strength of schedule.
I think if you had to play all these teams this year and run it back, fully healthy,
this looks like a brutal schedule for the Broncos.
Yeah, but it's also an opportunity, right, for, you know, people say,
oh, they didn't play anybody.
If Denver goes out in this schedule and obviously wins games and I think so much
would be dependent on like, you know, how far do they go?
Do they make to the Super Bowl?
If they make to the Super Bowl, do they win it, right?
If they win it, then it changes the conversation and the expectation air where the
expectation would be like, hey, like Denver should win these games.
Like, they're proven.
They're a Super Bowl winning team, so to speak here.
I am also very curious.
Like as we mentioned, for those who are tuning in, the Broncos will play the NFC East.
They'll play the NFC East.
They'll play the NFC West.
They'll play the AFC East.
And then they'll also go through and play a wide variety of different opponents based on how they finish.
We mentioned it as well, division winners.
They'll face an AFC North team, Sarah, which will get to that in the road conversation here as well.
We know who obviously won that division.
That's who Denver will face here.
But you look at this as well.
I just think that what better way to kind of set the standard here for this Broncos team going forward?
What additions will this team make in the offseason come free agency come the NFL draft?
You no longer have the Russell Wilson dead money on the books.
So this might be the year, especially if you believe in this team in the window that they have,
or you could go on a run and you can go and upgrade a roster even more.
I'm excited to see how that changes.
And also what other changes take place within the division, you know, in terms of like who the Raiders hire is their next head coach.
You know, what happens with the Chiefs, with Mahomes and his recovery?
What's going to be the story of the Chargers, you know, after the postseason?
Do they get bounced in the wildcard round this weekend against the Patriots?
What does that impact how they approach it?
Like, so many fun storylines.
And we do not know what order in which the Broncos will play these things, right?
The official schedule won't be out to maybe late April, early May, mid-May.
That's when the NFL schedule release will happen.
We just know who the opponents will be.
So I think the overall eight home games that Denver is going to have,
they're going to be tough.
And I would even say the Miami Dolphins, look, they're not a playoff team.
Man, I would say after they made some changes, they started to be a little bit more competitive.
And of course, they lost their regular season finale against the Patriots.
But for a tiny bits there, they were competing against them in that game before it just kind of got away from them.
So Miami's going to be an interesting team.
It's going to have a lot of changes here in the off season as well.
But I'm excited to see about where the Denver Broncos are at here.
In Broncos country, we know eight home games here for Denver.
Five of them against playoff teams in 2020.
But what about the road? The Broncos who have to become road worries because they're going to be playing nine games on the road.
We'll talk about maybe why their road schedule might be a little more favorable to them here on today's episode of the show.
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We talked about who the Denver Broncos will be playing at home in 2026, but what about going on the road?
It was kind of nice to have nine home games plus the international game in 2025, but Broncos country get prepared because there's a possibility of nine road games,
depending on if the Broncos do any international traveling.
We'll find out.
We'll talk about it.
We'll talk about those opponents as well
and why I think the Broncos got a pretty strong draw here
in terms of their future road opponents.
But I want to say thank you to all you every dayers out there
that make Lockdown Broncos your first listen of the day every single day.
Cody and I want to invite you.
If you haven't already done so,
join the Every Day or All Access Club because you know what you're going to get.
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Cody, let's talk about the road opponents for the Denver Broncos here in 2026.
Of course, like you mentioned, I think we have to say,
I mean, we don't know when these games are going to be played.
I almost think that matters even just a little bit more than the fact that, okay, who am I playing on the road?
I think when matters a lot too, because there's a couple things that I look at, and I'm interested for your perspective.
I look at what quarterbacks are on the Broncos schedule, and I look at what's likely to be the weather when they do travel on the road, right?
And so when you see this road list of opponents for 2026, this is why I think it's favorable to the Broncos.
The road teams that you play include the Panthers, the 49ers, the Cardinals, the Jets.
I mean, it's either a bad team or it's a team that plays in a warm weather climate.
Yeah, you want to figure that out.
And look, I think even the Denver, you know, road slate of opponents that they're going to be facing,
I'm curious to see as well, like in the grand scheme, not just road, but away, we didn't talk about this.
I wonder how many nationally televised games to Broncos will have this upcoming season.
If I had to guess early, like right now, way, way, way too early.
I think they'll have the maximum five nationally televised games here, so to speak, going forward.
I'm very curious to see about that.
To your point, too, let's take a look.
We know that they're going to travel on the road to take on the Raiders, the Chargers, and the Chiefs by default of the division,
but they will face a division winner, another first place team on the road,
and that is the Pittsburgh Steelers inside the AFC North, who won it after the Baltimore Ravens missed a kick.
And I don't know if you saw the meme on social media.
I thought it was funny, but basically I had a picture of the Phil Gold Post and had to the left of it,
to the right of it and in the middle.
It said fire Harbaugh, fire Harbaugh, and in the middle,
if the Ravens kicker missed it, it would have been Fire Tomlin in terms of like those
predictions here.
But the Steelers still very much could be an opponent the Broncos play in the playoffs,
depending how this weekend's wildcard games go.
You'll face them on the road.
So I think early on, we think is Aaron Rogers still going to be the QB over there?
You are going to have PS2 versus D.K. Metcalf, which obviously is a fun thing to look at on paper.
And then you look at teams like the Carolina Panthers who really kind of won a very weak NFC South Division.
It really kind of fell apart.
I'd say it through a portion of the season, it looked like the buckingiers were going to run away with it.
And unfortunately, they couldn't do that.
The New Orleans Saints have a rise there with Tyler Shuck.
But ultimately, Denver's going to have to face Bryce Young.
And the question for that is, depending on how the playoffs go, will Bryce Young be the quarterback in Carolina next year?
You will probably, unless they make changes, you'll probably face a Giro Evro, your former defensive coordinator there.
but I know that's a road game that the Broncos certainly will have.
So I find that one to be a little bit interesting here.
And then obviously the Arizona Cardinals, Sarah, you look at them right now.
They're going to have a new head coach, could be Vance Joseph potentially that maybe goes there.
But who's going to be their quarterback?
What is that situation going to look like?
These are things that, you know, I think we also pay attention to.
They really are.
You know, when you look at these road opponents, like there's so much change to me that's
possible with all of them, Cody.
I mean, obviously the Patriots, we think they're going to continue building and become one of the elite teams in the AFC.
We know that the Broncos play their AFC West opponents on the road, the 49ers, they're always going to be good.
But you mentioned it.
It's teams like the Panthers, the Steelers, the Cardinals, the Jets, these teams that are in flux that really kind of sort of make you feel, well, I don't know, I don't know how confident everybody in Broncos country really feels about all those games after seeing this team go through one score game after one score game.
Like maybe after 2024, we could sit there and look at the schedule and say,
based on what we saw in 2024, the Broncos,
they're most likely going to beat the brakes off anybody that's just a bad team.
And then they'll have to find their way to winning in the tight games against better teams.
I don't know.
Is the script going to flip once again next year where the Broncos are beating the brakes off of the bad teams?
And then they're playing tighter games.
Is that the next progression?
So I'm interested to see going on the road against the Patriots,
that doesn't carry the same gravity as it once did when it was Tom Brady's and Bill Belichick's Patriots, right?
I think it's still tough environment to play.
Obviously, the Patriots are a very good team.
But I think back in the day, you would have said, hey, that might be, you may pencil that one in as a loss when you're going to New England to play Tom Brady.
But right now, I think it's a little bit different.
The Patriots have a lot to prove here in the postseason.
It could be interesting, too, because I know on social media, there certainly is this rivalry between Drake May fans, Boonex fans.
I think it's stupid.
I think that people should just acknowledge, hey, they're both two really good quarterbacks.
Why tear down one guy to prop your other guy up?
Drake May, I think, has done a fantastic job.
In New England, Bonnix has done a fantastic job in Denver.
But I think the immaturity that we see on social media, you know, you see a lot of idiots spilling off stupid things about that.
But I do think, Sarah, maybe, just maybe.
Like, obviously, we were treated to Brady versus Manning when he was part of the Denver Broncos.
Obviously, Tom Brady was always the Broncos biggest rivalry, so to speak, right?
Could we see Bo Nix versus Drake May become the new Brady Manning, essentially?
And look, this is something that maybe could play out here in the NFL playoffs.
What if Denver faces New England and the AFC championship game?
Like, could that be the start of maybe a fun little rivalry here inside the AFC?
I just think that the young crop of quarterbacks in today's game, I think has the future of the NFL an exciting place right now.
I don't know about the other younger guys coming in through the NFL draft if that's going to change things.
But Denver's young group of guys right now, they're kind of faces like premier established faces of the franchise.
I think Drake May is.
I think Bo Nix is.
I think Trevor Lawrence is, so to speak.
You know, obviously there are the Joe Burroughs, the Josh Allen's.
You still have Mahomes.
You have the Herberts.
You have C.J. Stroud, so to speak.
It's in a good spot, I think, going forward when you talk about parody and competitiveness.
I do like that here.
The New York Jets, because you're going to have to travel.
able to face them. You know, the Broncos have seemingly, it feels like every year the Broncos
have played the Jets, so to speak, Sarah. So very interesting to see what that matchup will look like.
Obviously, is Aaron Glenn gets his second season. Former Broncos GM, Darren Mojee is there.
We'll never have Reese Hall on their roster as a running back when they face off against the Jets
next season. I think there's so many different things to look at and to ponder here.
But there is that. And then I think also, you know, a tough one at San Francisco.
I'm very curious to see what San Francisco is going to look like because
They have been an elite team.
Obviously, that division this year, the NFC West, was very good amongst the three teams that they had there, minus the Arizona Cardinals.
But, you know, what happens at the 49ers lose?
Could they part ways with Shanahan?
Could they part ways with John Lynch?
If they lose in the playoffs?
I don't know.
They got Brock Purdy.
They have some talented players here, Christian McCaffrey, obviously.
But I think Denver and their familiarity with San Francisco, obviously, they play them in the preseason quite a bit.
I'm very curious to see if there's a joint practice between these two teams, obviously next season.
Yeah, that'll be put to the test, right?
The Broncos seem to have a pretty good relationship with obviously Shanahan and, you know,
McVeigh and Matt LaFleur, the QB collective, as it were, when it comes to those joint practices that they run.
So I'll be fascinated to find out to what these teams do in the offseason.
Like you said, I mean, anything feels like it's on the table for teams that have had this continuity
and they've been sort of contenders for a long period of time.
And it just feels like teams are getting fed up.
Like we saw that with the Baltimore Ravens,
obviously after what,
18 seasons of John Harbaugh as their head coach
and kind of that bombshell that he was fired.
I know we had discussed it after our squad show on Sunday,
as we were all kind of just watching that game out of the side of our eyes,
just watching the Ravens kind of collapse there.
And I know you threw out this idea.
Like, you know, Tomlin saved his job,
for now, but John Harbaugh could be fired.
And I think everybody was kind of like,
oh, what the heck are you talking about, Cody?
So like, don't write those ideas off, I guess.
If you're listening to this and you're thinking,
hey, it's so far-fetched to think that, you know,
the 49ers could do something crazy like that.
I don't know.
I don't know what's within the realm of possibility and what's not.
I don't know what teams are thinking.
It doesn't seem to be like the strongest head coach market right now
to fire somebody like Kyle Shannon.
But at the same time,
the same applies to John Harbaugh, and it's all about players, friction.
So when you talk about the schedule for the Broncos, these are all storylines that are going to factor into what even version of these teams are we going to see next year?
Well, when you mentioned Harbaugh in 18 years, I thought of that one Kanye West song that was a classic.
He's like 18 years, 18 years.
She got one of your kids, got you for 18 years.
He's out there now.
But that's also, you know, maybe an episode as well,
that we can talk about because I do think Harbaugh's firing,
I think that now makes him the most appealing head coaching candidate for whatever
vacancies out there.
And does that impact Vince Joseph's ability maybe to get a head coaching job, right,
depending on what he's looking for?
I think that's maybe an episode we can do later on as time progresses here.
But Broncos country coming up next,
we know that the NFL is expected to release their list of all pro players on Friday.
We're going to take our shot at predicting who we think will be on that list as all pro
players.
You'll get that here on today's episode of the show.
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Last season, the Denver Broncos had a handful of players selected as NFL All-Pro's,
some deserving, some evidence snubs here.
But with the Broncos at 14 and 3, it kind of sets up for them to have a chance to maybe dominate the All-Pro list,
on the NFL side of things.
We'll take our shot at who we think will be announced on Friday
as all pros for your favorite team.
I just want to say thank you once again to the everydayers out there in Broncos
country. Thanks for tuning in making us your first listen.
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Sarah,
the all pros are expected to be announced on Friday here for the NFL.
Last year,
the Denver Broncos had a handful of players.
Obviously, Pat Sertan,
Zach Allen, Nick Benito, Quinn Miners.
Those guys were all listed last season as all pro nominations here.
I feel like at 14 and 3, Denver should have more than that.
And I think that there are a handful of players who make a great case.
So if you had to predict who's going to get one, where are you starting off with?
Well, I think you've got to start off with Pat Sartan, right, who has the best reputation of any player on the Denver Broncos roster.
I think there's no question about it.
He's unanimously considered at this point.
I know there was talk about Sauce Gardner there for a bit.
I know there's been talk about other players for a bit, but I think Pat is pretty unanimously now considered the number one, the best cornerback in the NFL.
And I also think that Zach Allen, Cody, with no Aaron Donald on the field anymore in the NFL,
is Zach Allen getting more unanimously considered to be one of the best,
if not the best interior defensive linemen in the game, right?
I mean, we talk about QB hits and you talk about pressures affecting the quarterback.
Nobody's better on the interior defensive line than Zach Allen over the last two seasons.
So maybe the last three even.
We'd have to go back and look, but I know it's been the last two for sure.
and he's just, he's phenomenal.
He really is.
And I think that recognition kind of started to come last year.
So is it one of those things that the recognitions will just start to piggyback off of each other?
But I think those two guys are where you really start for this Denver Broncos team.
Yeah.
No, I agree with Pat or 10.
I don't think there's another cornerback in the league this year that even comes close to him.
Look, obviously Pat, former NFL defensive player of the year,
I think that's probably going to go to Miles Garrett this season.
but when it comes to all pros, yeah, I think Pat Sertan is going to be a kind of a clear cut,
first team, all pro pro selection there.
And I think Zach Allen should be a first team all pro defensive lineman as well, as you mentioned it.
There is not a more dominant interior defender right now in the NFL, according to our friends over there at pro football reference.
He's got 47 quarterback hits so far on the season.
Seven sacks this year, which is down a little bit from the eight and a half he had last year.
But we've seen how much attention he's been facing, how many double teams.
He has created more opportunities for.
guys like Nick Benito in a sense. Like we go back to the Von Miller years, right? And one thing that
Vaughn said was like, hey, when Derek Wolf play, like Derek Wolf is a big reason I was able to
achieve what I did. I look at Zach Allen and how disruptive he's been. And it's led to opportunities
not only for Nick Benito for Jonathan Cooper. But I would also say guys like JFM when Zach Allen's
getting a double team. You know who's not getting a double team in that scenario? JFM. JFM's
obviously had a career year in the past rush department here for Denver as well. I wonder how he maybe
fits into that mix a little bit, right? But I, but I,
I think Zach Allen should be a unanimous first team all pro selection.
I'll go with those two guys that you mentioned.
I agree with you.
Garrett Bulls, who's having a tremendous year, I think is also kind of in the running for the NFL.
What is it?
Protector of the Year award on the offensive line.
Hasn't allowed a single sack here in 2025.
I was very disappointed with our locked on counterparts.
They gave it to Trent Williams as they, as everybody voted for him instead of Garrett Bulls.
I was like, dude, come on.
locked on guys like do we watch ball or not like i was disappointed with that but i think garrett
will be an all pro uh in that conversation in that category and then i would even say like does
talano who funga in your opinion is there does he it doesn't have to be first team but do you think
he gets an all pro nomination here i i feel like he's got a really strong chance i do think so i
know he was hard on himself too when he was asked about the pro bowl and not making it and he was
like well i didn't have any picks so i didn't deserve to make it right
I mean, I think we're always our own biggest critic, aren't we?
But he had 106 tackles this year, six tackles for loss, 11 passes broken up,
a couple of sacks, three quarterback hits.
So the production was there, 17 games played.
I mean, if there's any underrated storyline that needs to get talked about a little bit more,
it's who Fonga, who was considered one of the biggest injury risks in free agency.
And I know that that's, it's a case-by-case thing for everybody.
But the fact that he's played all 17 games is awesome.
And so I think he does, Cody.
I think that he's played at that high of an impact.
Maybe he hasn't quite made those turnovers and the pick that he should have had against Philadelphia and a couple of other games.
He's dropped like five of them.
He's dropped a lot of them.
So, I mean, the Jugs machine is out there.
I know I'm sure he's been hitting it a little extra hard.
But I think in all pro season for sure in terms of his overall impact on that defense.
So I think him for sure.
There's Garrett Bulls, you mentioned it.
He should be as many people as say, well, Bonix benefits.
much from that offensive line. And it's like, well, then give the guy the award. If you want to
push that narrative, let the guy win the award or at least put him in the all pro team. So I think
Garrett Bulls, he should be in that consideration. Second team, all pro at worst, right? I mean,
one of the top four tackles in the game for sure. So I think second team at worst for him.
What about Will Lutz? Should he be getting consideration? I think that he's one guy that
clutch kicks big time. I know there's been kickers that have made from longer distance.
Cam Little, Brandon Aubrey, probably a bit more well-known at this point.
But I don't know.
I'd throw Will Lutz's name into that hat and see if anybody else would agree with that.
No, he's been clutch.
I mean, what was it?
I think he had a stretch of three game-winning field goals this season for the Broncos.
You know, at one juncture, obviously, the walk-off in Houston, the walk-off against Kansas City early on, so to speak.
And obviously, his percentage is exactly where it needs to be at.
Like, he is probably more consistent.
And I would say over the course of the season, too, like in a late stretch, we've seen
some kickers who are normally very good miss extra points, miss kicks.
Like that would have been a different conversation for the chargers that would have maybe
change the dynamic of that week 18 matchup in Denver had they made extra points and kicks
against the Houston Texans in week 17.
So I think Will Lutz has a great argument.
What about Quinn minors?
I feel like Quinn as well as just from interior offensive line standpoint, because I think
that's how they do it.
I think they do like, that's not just O line, but it's like interior.
obviously your tackle play there.
I think Quinn's got a strong case as well in terms of anybody.
And I'll even say, what about Cortland Sutton, Sarah?
Yeah, I mean, he made the Pro Bowl, didn't he?
So I think you got to consider him.
I think wide receiver was weird this year because some of the best
wide receivers in the NFL didn't have their quarterbacks out there, right?
When we think about the best, we think about Jamar Chase.
Well, Joe Burrow didn't play a large portion of the season.
That affected his production, obviously.
Justin Jefferson of the Vikings, their quarterback situation was
revolving door all throughout the season.
So he didn't quite have the season.
I mean, it's interesting to at least throw that out there.
I don't know that if it was up to me, I would say, I think let's,
Cortland Sutton's got a ways to go to get to all pro level.
I think there's another level that he could reach there to get there.
But I think definitely because he made the Pro Bowl, I mean, it has to be thrown out there.
Well, you'll have guys like Jackson Smith and Jigbo, who obviously I think will probably win
NFL offensive player of the year.
Certainly for Locked On, he won the Lockdown Networks offensive player of the year.
Pooka Nakuwa, obviously is a close second right behind in terms of that.
I think those guys would probably get those all pro nominations ahead of court.
But after that, I am very curious to see maybe where Cortland would fit in in terms of the voter
standpoint and how they do that here.
But we will find out on Friday who the NFL all pro lists are.
And we'll see how many Denver Broncos are selected to that list as well here.
But with that said, Broncos country that'll wrap up today's episode of the show for you.
Every day is tomorrow show.
Sarah and I, we're going to sit down and we're going to talk about the NFL
wild card weekend from the AFC standpoint.
Which team do the Denver Broncos match up the best against?
And why is it that they shouldn't fear anybody in the slate of AFC opponents?
We'll go through all that and more.
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