Locked On Broncos - Daily Podcast On The Denver Broncos - Troy Franklin and Pat Bryant IMPRESS at Denver Broncos Training Camp

Starting point is 00:00:00 Denver Broncos fans were back out there to watch practice, and they were treated to a big performance from a couple of young wide receivers. Troy Franklin and rookie Pat Bryant had big days out there. We got that and much more coming up 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. I guess you can say training camp has officially, officially started for the Denver Broncos.

Starting point is 00:00:35 Broncos because is it really training camp unless there's fans out there cheering the guys on the Denver Broncos. They finished up their two days of ramp up practices and were out there doing football things in front of the best fans in the world and a couple of young guys. Actually, quite a few young guys. Sounds like they showed up. A couple of young wide receivers in particular, Troy Franklin and Pat Bryant had big days. We'll break down some observations from practice regarding those two guys as well as do the Broncos maybe have another. other all-pro specialist in the works with punter Jeremy Croshaw, apparently doing a really great job early on in training camp here. We've got some other important news notes, injury update on

Starting point is 00:01:17 Mike McGlinchy, all that coming up on today's show. But Broncos Country, thanks so much for tuning in and making us your first listen of the day every single day. My name is Sarah Beninger. I'm the co-host here of Lockdown Broncos as well as the site expert at predominantly orange.com where you can find my written work every single day. And I could not be more excited to be talking about Denver Broncos training camp with you on today's episode, which is brought to you by our friends at GameTime. Download the GameTime app, create an account, and use code locked on NFL for $20 off your first purchase. It was a big day on the practice field for a couple of young wide receivers for the Denver Broncos.

Starting point is 00:02:02 notably all eyes this training camp are going to be on potential breakout second year player Troy Franklin. And of course, during the ramp up practices, we're not trying to make any mountains out of mole hills. There's not much to even really observe out there other than guys, you know, looking fresh, looking quick, showing off their physical attributes. But once you start kind of ramping into the actual football work, these guys standing out makes a bigger impression. And Troy Franklin, he was really good on the day of practice,

Starting point is 00:02:37 multiple onlookers, including my man, Cam. He said that Troy Franklin had a great day. He caught a long pass from Jarrett Stidham that just about every Denver Broncos beat reporter and analyst tweeted about it posted on Twitter and saying that it was a 50 plus yard pass from Jared Stidham in which Troy Franklin used his big time deep speed to beat both Demari Mathis. and Devin Key deep down the field. And so after that, catching multiple passes from Bo Nix, getting some work on special teams, just seems like Troy Franklin had a standout day.

Starting point is 00:03:12 And Sean Payton was asked about that after practice. And he said, look like actually Troy has just kind of had a really good offseason program. And yes, he had a good day today. So Sean did acknowledge that Troy had a good day at practice that particular day. And also that his offseason work, it's something that he's been building towards, right? This is something that Troy has been discussed almost ad nauseum this offseason, right? We've been talking all about him because he is so critical to the Denver Broncos potentially taking a big leap forward offensively if Troy Franklin can become what many thought that he could

Starting point is 00:03:47 as a rookie, which even the Denver Broncos had said they had a second round grade on Troy Franklin. They traded up to get him on the early portion of day three of the 2024 NFL draft. he's Bo Nix's college teammate, right? Those two had such a great rapport as Oregon ducks together. And unfortunately, that chemistry was just nowhere to be found when they were rookies. And that included last year's training camp. Remember, most of the reports coming out of training camp last year regarding Troy Franklin were that he was dropping passes.

Starting point is 00:04:22 You know, there was bad timing on the routes. They weren't able to connect on deep balls. And all that kind of stuff carried into the regular season, which was unfortunate to see. But at that time, the Broncos had Josh Reynolds on the roster, who I think they felt could play that role in the interim while Troy developed behind the scenes. Then unfortunately, Josh suffers the injury against the Raiders, has the whole fiasco happen where he, you know, he was shot and thankfully is okay

Starting point is 00:04:48 and was cut from the team later on in the season. That forced Troy Franklin into action potentially sooner than I think even the Broncos expected, but it was valuable experience for him to get those reps and hopefully fail forward. And then this offseason, you had the big jersey number change, right? He switches from number 16 to his college number 11. And he even talked about how, I mean, that may not seem like that big of a deal to everybody, but it boosted his confidence in such a way. And he's been working really hard.

Starting point is 00:05:21 He's been making an impression on the coaching staff, obviously. And it's manifesting now in a lot of really strong. field reps where just yesterday we were talking about the fact that it seems like based on the way practices have been going that maybe Devon Valet is establishing himself clearly as the wide receiver two in Denver. But what we're going to be discussing on today's show and specifically with a guy like Franklin is that it may not matter necessarily who's number two on the depth chart behind Cortland Sutton or I guess opposite Cortland Sutton on the field, right?

Starting point is 00:05:57 what's going to ultimately matter is who's going to be building the most trust for this staff. And how are these guys going to be out there in different personnel packages? How are the Broncos going to incorporate all of these playmakers? Because one of the guys that gets least talked about is Marvin Mims. And we expect him to play. He barely played 27% of the snaps last season. So we're talking about a substantially different rotation this year with the added wrinkle of guy like Evan Ingram coming in and providing you with a huge target share option at the

Starting point is 00:06:34 tight end position. So not only do all these wide receivers need to find their place in the offense, but you also have to figure out how are we going to incorporate them in what we're doing along with Evan Ingram getting him involved. And you hope and expect the running backs to continue to be involved in the passing game as well. That to me is what's going to be the most fascinating thing. But for a guy like Troy Franklin, there are clear ways that he can upgrade this Denver Broncos offense. And certainly limiting the drops is going to be one big way that he can do that from what we saw last year. But obviously, he's got that top end speed to not only be able to take the top off of a defense, but to win after the catch. And that was something that Sean Payton

Starting point is 00:07:18 talked about earlier this offseason as sort of a weapon that Troy has at his disposal that really we didn't get to see a ton of last year. We saw the Broncos try to get him going with the quick screen passes, getting him the ball in space quickly. And a lot of folks out there in the NFL media world are actually kind of blaming Bo Nix and his quote unquote inability to push the ball downfield for just ways that the Broncos were trying to deliberately incorporate guys like Franklin and Marvin Mims into the offense.

Starting point is 00:07:50 And that is what the case was. There was no running game really to speak of, especially late in the year. So the team was trying to get creative with getting some of their most dynamic playmakers, the ball in space to try and create, even if it was just four, five, six yards. They were willing to swing the ball out quickly to a guy like Troy Franklin and just see, can we get his speed out there and get him in a one-on-one situation where you make one guy miss? You never know what can happen, right?

Starting point is 00:08:19 This year, we're going to see a much more complete overall game from, Troy Franklin in my opinion. And I think we're going to see the chemistry on those deep shots between he and Bo Nix be on point. And already we're seeing that at training camp. I know Jared Sid him through him the long pass, but there were reports of multiple connections between Troy Franklin and Bo Nix as well. And I think they're going to continue to build on that as training camp goes along. But not to be out done was rookie wide receiver, Pat Bryant, who all this guy has done is stand out since rookie mini camp. We're going to tell you about Pat Bryant's big day and what his role in the offense could be coming up next on today's

Starting point is 00:08:58 episode, Lockdown Broncos. Today's episode of Lockdown Broncos is brought to you by game time. Have you ever decided at the last minute to head to a ballgame with friends or family? Maybe it's game day and you suddenly realize that you want to be in the stands and not watching on TV. Well, that's exactly where game time comes in. It's the easiest way to grab last minute tickets without the stress. And with the money that you save on tickets, maybe you can go splurge on some food or drink.

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Starting point is 00:10:03 Download the GameTime app, create an account and use code locked on NFL for $20 off your first purchase. Terms apply. Again, create an account and redeem code L-O-C-E-D-O-N-FL-N-FL for $20 off. Download the GameTime app today. Last-minute tickets, lowest price, guaranteed. It wasn't just Troy Franklin standing out at Wide. receiver for the Denver Broncos as they officially got underway with training camp football

Starting point is 00:10:33 activities in front of the fans. But rookie Pat Bryant building off of a strong offseason program as well, a breakout from Troy Franklin and a big year from rookie Pat Bryant. That would do wonders for the Denver Broncos offense and quarterback Bo Nix as he enters his second year. Pat Bryant made a big time impression. We're going to tell you about what folks out there at practice saw from him. but Broncos Country, I want to say thank you so much for making us your first listen of the day every single day. We appreciate you so much for tuning in and making us part of your day, however you choose to do so. Here's what I would ask if you take a couple of seconds, hit subscribe.

Starting point is 00:11:12 Wherever you listen to your podcast, as well as on YouTube, we really appreciate you joining the community in that way. Get us at the top of your algorithm. Get us at the top of your 4U page so you don't miss a single update on your favorite team. And let's talk about Pat Bryant because obviously this was maybe the most controversial draft pick the Broncos made in 2025. And the biggest reason for that is obviously because he ran a slower 40-yard dash than people would have really liked to have seen from a top 75 or top 100 pick just in general. I mean, when you draft a guy who ran a 4-6-4-6-1 in the 40-yard dash during the pre-draft process, your immediate reaction is, well, the Broncos took a slow wide receiver. Unfortunately, I think that everything else about Pat Bryant suggests that not only is he not

Starting point is 00:12:00 slow, but they might have gotten themselves a big time steal with this guy because I think, honestly, a lot of other teams were maybe sleeping on him and thinking that his slow 40-yard dash time could potentially allow him to drop around further than he ended up doing. We heard reports that the Jacksonville Jaguars wanted to take him and they were kind of, you know, frustrated that the Broncos did it. It's kind of like when you're you're playing fantasy football, right? And the buddy right in front of you, you know, four or five picks ahead of you, takes the guy that you wanted.

Starting point is 00:12:30 And you're just like, dang, I wish I could have got that guy, waited a little bit too long. That's exactly what the Denver Broncos did in real life, right? They did that with Pat Bryant. And all this guy has done is impressed since he got to rookie OTAs, rookie mini camp. And then obviously building on that for the rest of OTAs and mandatory mini camp, he stands out for a number of different reasons. Obviously, he's got pretty good.

Starting point is 00:12:54 size, right? He's a 6-3 receiver and he's got strong hands. That's something that you notice immediately when you watch him play at Illinois that his hands aren't just strong in the fact that when the ball comes his way, you know, he catches it away from his frame and he's got these big mitts, things like that. No, what it is is at the catch point when he's in contested catch situations, especially he has the ability to quickly adjust to the ball and snatch it out of the air and pull it away from defenders. And that is such a valuable asset at the NFL level where we know that even the most minute amount of separation can be considered open, right? When you're talking about a wide receiver going up against an NFL defensive back. And what that means is that

Starting point is 00:13:40 Pat Bryant is essentially always open because he can come away with these difficult catches. He can make those tough grabs when he's hugging the sideline, when he's in the back of the, the ends. zone, right? He can do all those sorts of things, but he's such a smart player. That was something that Sean Payton noted in his post-practice press availability is that Pat Bryant is a really smart player. And one of the ways that we've already heard about that manifesting on the field is the way that he works his way back to the quarterback or finds his way into open space. That's something that's so huge for a wide receiver in today's NFL. We often have seen over the past handful of years, the Broncos kind of struggle in the scramble drill, right, where a quarterback gets outside of the pocket,

Starting point is 00:14:28 a wide receiver has to kind of abandon the route that he ran and work his way back to the quarterback. I'm not saying that's the only way that Pat Bryant wins, but it is one of those ways that he becomes a major asset because he feels the field so well as a wide receiver. We saw that at Illinois a ton, but not only does he feel the field well, he works his way back to the quarterback and sort of makes himself known. That was something that a number of people observed at this particular practice. And just finding those openings, helping your quarterback. He's like that guy that's like, help me help you, right?

Starting point is 00:15:04 He's that type of wide receiver out there. So he caught multiple passes from Bo Nix, according to onlookers at practice, rotating in with the ones, which again, we have to reiterate this because it comes up so often, but guys will often work in with the starting unit and other projected starters will rotate out very, very frequently during training camp. And there are so many different methods to that madness, right? I mean, for starters, pun intended. For starters, it's not necessarily always going to be the same 11 guys, especially offensively. We know that Sean Peyton loves, loves to rotate personnel. He never met a, you know, hey, if I can,

Starting point is 00:15:47 could have 65 plays during a game. He might have 65 different personnel groupings amongst those plays. And that's a bit of an exaggeration, but he's that type of guy that he loves to just concoct those sorts of matchup issues for defenses. And so when you hear about guys rotating in with the starting offense, don't be surprised by that in any manner. Don't take that as a, well, he's coming for Cortland Sutton's starting job or he's coming for so-and-so starting job.

Starting point is 00:16:15 All of these guys are going to rotate. in with the first team offense because they're all going to play. Right. That's the deal. Like we've talked about how established this wide receiver group feels for the Denver Broncos in terms of the top six guys, right? Cortland Sutton, Marvin Mims, Devon, Valle, Pat Bryant, Troy Franklin, not necessarily in that order, but then also Trent Sherfield, who plays special teams.

Starting point is 00:16:40 That's a really big deal when you're talking about players at this particular position because they ultimately are all going to play. They are all going to get into the rotation. So again, when you hear about players rotating in with the starting unit on either side of the ball in training camp, teams always prepare for every eventuality, right? You want to see what these guys look like with the starting unit. And you also want to plan on whatever personnel packages we're going to use when the regular season begins, like these guys are going to be part of that.

Starting point is 00:17:11 And so, but I think with Pat Bryant, obviously, it's, different than, you know, if an undrafted guy was getting into the mix, right? If an undrafted guy is working in frequently with the starting unit, that might be something to start paying attention to the deeper we get into training camp. But with Pat Bryant, I think we already know he's going to be part of this team's plans. He is working his way into Bo Nix's and Sean Payton's circle of trust. And he just continually proves that and has been doing so since mandatory mini camp, OTAs, rookie mini camp.

Starting point is 00:17:45 And quite frankly, I think he's earned the trust of this staff since before he was even drafted, right? Because Jim Leonard, who is the defensive backs coach and defensive pass game coordinator, was on the Illinois staff once upon a time and knows Pat Bryant like that. So that's a big, big deal when it comes to being able to trust a guy and football makeup and just that desire to get better every single day. It feels like he's been somebody the Broncos have had highlighted for a really long time as being able to be a contributor. And now we're just kind of seeing it all unfold as he's putting that hard work into something that can actually develop into a role here as a rookie in the NFL. So great to hear that not only is Troy Franklin having a great start to camp after building on that strong offseason that he had,

Starting point is 00:18:32 but Pat Bryant also having a strong day at camp and building on his great offseason so far. The Broncos already have an all pro on special teams. Marvin Mims in back-to-back years has been named an all-pro return specialist. Might they add another all-pro specialist to the mix this year? Jeremy Croshaw booming the ball out there at Denver Broncos training camp. We're going to give you some more recap, player notes, observations, injury updates, and all that you want to know about Broncos training camp coming up next on today's episode, Lockdown Broncos.

Starting point is 00:19:07 This episode is presented by Yahoo Fantasy. Fantasy football is back, so fire up the group chat, get your draft board ready, and buckle up for a season filled with breakouts, busts, and all the overreactions that we live for. It's all going down on Yahoo! Fantasy this year, me, my buddies, we're playing on Yahoo Fantasy, and you know what you should do, whether you're a first timer or a veteran making your millionth league. I've been using Yahoo Fantasy since 2008 when I was drafting Adrian Peterson as a second year guy, right? I've been using this app for a ton of time. It's the best in the business, the easiest to use. And you know what? Smack Talk hits a little bit different on their message boards there because of how long

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Starting point is 00:20:12 That's yahoofantasy.com slash locked on NFL. And let's make this fantasy season the best one yet. How about another all pro specialist for the Denver Broncos? I already got the return man figured out with Marvin Mims. But the punter position has oddly been a difficult one to figure out consistently for the Denver Broncos who have been cycling through guys for the better part of a decade plus in the Mile High City, they might have finally found somebody that can stick around, got some staying power there.

Starting point is 00:20:43 Jeremy Croshaw, looking good to start training camp, but we're going to talk about that. But one and once again, say thank you to all of you that make us your first listen of the day. Every single day, we truly appreciate every single one of you for being part of the show. However you choose to do so, your encouragement means a ton. Your interaction on social media, it means a ton. And obviously, we love to be able to talk Denver Broncos with every single one of you. It's a dream come true. So mile high salute to all of you out of Broncos country.

Starting point is 00:21:11 And one of the reasons why you'll want to subscribe on YouTube is because you get to catch me wearing my Camo Broncos hat. I felt inspired by Evan Ingram who was out there at the podium talking about how he just thought that the Camel Broncos hat that he had on just a fire hat. So I guess Evan Ingram is one of us, right? He loves the fire Broncos hats. And it's exciting to see all these guys out there, Broncos country. So many new additions to this team that are quickly made. making their presence felt. But how about Jeremy Croshaw?

Starting point is 00:21:41 I mean, when you talk about a guy that could make an understated impact on this team, he's got to be at the top of the list, right? Because the punter, they don't, the punters don't really get talked about unless they're doing a bad job. But sometimes, sometimes punters do get talked about when they're doing such a good job that you just literally can't ignore it. And Jeremy Croshaw was one of those guys that folks who went out to the senior bowl said that it sounded like they were at a Bucks game where they fire off cannons after touchdowns, right?

Starting point is 00:22:12 They said it sounded like this guy was just legitimately firing off a cannon ball every time the ball hit his foot. And that type of big leg in the mile high air, I mean, that's the kind of stuff that you, yeah, you want to see Jeremy Crosha out there holding for extra points way more than we see him punting the ball. But when you have a defense that is as good as Denver, you can rely on a guy like this to completely flip the field and field position, winning those hidden yardage game, you know, that hidden yardage game that Sean Payton talks about so frequently, you win that hidden yardage game by having a guy like Jeremy Croshaw and Andrew Mason pointed out that he was just out there booming it, putting on what he said, a punting clinic. And there's reason why the

Starting point is 00:22:59 Broncos made this guy the only punter drafted this year. Obviously a sixth round pick out of Florida, you know, came from Australia and just is another one of these guys. It just has an absolutely booming leg. And for once, maybe the Broncos will have somebody that can take advantage of that mile high air. It always feels like the opposing team's punter comes in and just starts booming the ball all the way across the field, right? That's kind of how it feels like the Broncos have a guy that he'll either shank it or

Starting point is 00:23:28 he's not fully taking advantage of that thin air. It's almost like a placebo effect takes place. for the opposing punters that come in. And it's like the Broncos guys is like they've got this like gravity machine on them because they're the Denver punter. But we need to see a Denver Broncos punter actually be booming the ball out there. And every single kick just being like must see TV. Like give me the our oldest chapman of of punters for the Denver Broncos.

Starting point is 00:23:55 Right. The guy that can hit 105 miles per hour on the on the gun as he's pitching. Like give me that type of guy as a punter. Somebody that comes out there and just every. single time he booms the ball. It's like you're watching that elite closer in baseball that can, you know, set records on the gun, right? That's what you want to see from that punter position is somebody that can go out there and just

Starting point is 00:24:16 boom it. Jeremy Croshaw sounds like he's going to be that guy for the Denver Broncos. And when you talk about the hidden yardage on special teams, being able to flip field position if your offense is struggling, get that number one defense out there with a long field and let them steal you some possessions throughout the course of a game. That's what Jeremy Croshaw is going to do. Other notes from training camp here as the fans were back out there in attendance on day three. Officially, I think day one of just their semantics aside, however anybody's considering this,

Starting point is 00:24:49 we've been covering training camp now for three full days. And so that's what we're going to call it here at lockdown Broncos. But LaVelle Bailey, a linebacker. We've been talking about linebackers quite a bit on the show as of lately. Lavelle Bailey, an undrafted player last year. one of the Broncos priority additions. He had a standout day, had a pass breakup against Lucas Kroll, and then intercepted a pass from Sam Ellinger off of a Lucas Kroll Bobble.

Starting point is 00:25:15 So on the one hand, you've got Lavelle Bailey having a good day. And then on the other hand, you've got bad day for Lucas Kroll at the office. Might not be wanting to see much more of number 56 out there on the field. But Kroll is one of those guys that he really needs to have a big training camp to even be in consideration for the roster. And this is not really a great start for him. So just notable there for those two guys. Rookie fourth round pick,

Starting point is 00:25:41 Q Robinson was a common standout that I saw from those that were in attendance at practice. Somebody who shows off his explosiveness, his spin move, his quickness off the ball. Sounds like that rookie fourth round pick could end up being a big time steal for the Denver Broncos. So that's really exciting, as we've discussed already that that pass rush group is just so good. I mean, Nick Benito and Jonathan Cooper, they've already been making noise early at training

Starting point is 00:26:08 camp, and we kind of expected that at this point. But guys like Hugh Robinson, Dondray Tillman, Jonah Ellis, even Andrew Farmer was thrown out yesterday as a name to watch. Really exciting to hear about the edge depth that the Denver Broncos have. And obviously, you can never have too many of those guys bringing the heat off the edge. right Broncos country. So Q Robinson standing out early on. Mike McGlenshy, an injury note here. Obviously, he missed practice for a second straight day. Sean Payton said after practice that he's expected to be back on the field either Saturday or Monday when the pads are coming on. So good news on

Starting point is 00:26:49 the Mike McGlinchie front. Don't know why he was missing practice out there for the last couple of days. but of course as the Broncos ramp up into sort of their work with pads on and the more football related stuff, you expect guys to get off days, you expect guys to be monitored. And Mike McGlenshy has an injury history in the NFL. And so he might be one of those guys that they monitor a little bit more closely at this time of year. Or maybe he's dealing with something. We just really don't know. But what we do know is that he's expected to be out there on the field for either Saturday's

Starting point is 00:27:20 practice or Monday's practice. And once again, Monday's practice. is going to be a padded practice, the first of training camp. So we'll finally get to hear some really great updates on guys playing the trenches on both sides because at this point, all you're kind of relying on is saying, hey, this guy's looking quick off the snap or he got into the backfield in a hurry on this play or even the running backs, right? We haven't gotten to hear anything about the running backs just yet because like Sean

Starting point is 00:27:47 Peyton said after practice, quite frankly, it's just hard to evaluate those guys when you're not in pads. And he's excited for that. We're all excited for that. And that's kind of exactly where our focus is going to be as training camp rolls along. So Broncos Country will have some bonus coverage for you on Saturday as the team is practicing at 10 a.m. Mountain Time. I'll be monitoring Twitter for all the observations and give you my take on what's going on out there at Denver Broncos training camp here in 2025.

Starting point is 00:28:15 And then, of course, on Monday, we'll be reacting to the first padded practice of the off season. Football is in the air, everybody. We appreciate you so much for tuning in today and every single day. Once again, comment, subscribe, share the show. However you choose to engage, we just appreciate you so much. But Broncos Country, we'll catch you on the next one.

Locked On Broncos - Daily Podcast On The Denver Broncos - Troy Franklin and Pat Bryant IMPRESS at Denver Broncos Training Camp

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