Locked On Broncos - Daily Podcast On The Denver Broncos - Troy Franklin Takes MASSIVE LEAP In Denver Broncos Preseason Win vs. Arizona Cardinals

Starting point is 00:00:00 When it comes to the second year leap for Denver Broncos wide receiver, Troy Franklin, Broncos country, you don't have to wait. It's here. We break that down and more here on today's episode, Locked on Broncos. You are Locked on Broncos, your daily Denver Broncos podcast, part of the Locked on Podcast Network, your team every day. What's up, Broncos country? Welcome into another episode, Locked on Broncos, your daily Denver Broncos podcast, part of the

Starting point is 00:00:31 Locked on podcast network where you know it's your team every day. Thank you so much to all the everydayers out there for tuning in and making us your first listen. However, you choose to do so if you're not yet in every day, what are you waiting for Broncos country? Hit that subscriber with that follow button so you never miss out. What's going on with your favorite team for all your postgame coverage, news notes, everything leading up to kickoff all year long. We got you covered.

Starting point is 00:00:53 I'm Cody Roak, Broncos reporter for Mile High. Sports joined, as always, by Sarah Beninger, site expert over there predominantly orange.com of the Broncos victorious week two of the preseason against the Arizona Cardinals, dominant fashion air as we saw Troy Franklin and his huge preseason and offseason continue there will highlight his performance. Pat Bryant's big time rise and why Jonah Ellis on the defensive side of the ball continues to dominate and make Broncos country excited. And then we're also going to dive into the running back battle, which seems all but

Starting point is 00:01:22 solidified at this point. Week two of the preseason gave us a lot of indicators as to how that one's going. We'll break it all down here today. Sarah, my friend, great to catch up with here on the post game podcast, a little bit a late night for both of us as we're recording this. But the Broncos, a dominant victory over the Arizona Cardinals, 27 to 7 here. And the story I think that we can kind of highlight here is that the Broncos offense in this game in particular, they got off to a hot start.

Starting point is 00:01:50 Jared Stiddam slinging the rock a little bit. But really the story is Troy Franklin's huge day helps the Broncos get a big lead and maintain that. We are seeing that second year leap here from Troy Franklin. And man, I tell you what, it's a welcome. the seat. It is so welcome. I mean, the confidence that he is showing out there and the demonstrated ability, as Sean Peyton always puts it, Cody. I mean, it's there in spades for Troy Franklin, four catches, 67 yards, two touchdowns, including one that was wide open, another one that, man, he ran a really good play on the ball, showing his hands laid on a design, looked like a fade.

Starting point is 00:02:27 Jarrett Sitem perfectly placed ball. And we'll talk more about Jared Sidham as the week progresses. but man, he's given these guys such a great look out there. And Troy Franklin is, I mean, ultimately one of the biggest benefactors of that because he stood to, I mean, this was a huge offseason competition, the wide receiver position, the Broncos passing on all the veterans, et cetera, et cetera. It feels like that moment against the Buffalo Bills, Cody, was that sort of before and after moment for Troy Franklin right there where all of a sudden everything clicked, everything shifted. He maybe realized in that moment, like, shoot, I can do this.

Starting point is 00:03:06 Like, I can go out there against other NFL guys and be that dude that I was at Oregon. So I think what we're seeing in the preseason, what we've heard all throughout OTAs, training camp, now seeing it in games. Man, it's so encouraging to see. And shoot, I hope Franklin continues to rise up the death chart, at least in terms of this pecking order, because the way that he's playing right now, we want to see those targets going to him in the regular season. Yeah, and it very much seems like he's going to be such a big piece here of this offense for Sean Payton.

Starting point is 00:03:37 And look, we'll dive into some wide receiver questions coming out of this here in just a tiny bit. But you mentioned his production that he had. I mean, that one catch last year, I think everyone in Brant in the stadium was holding their breath a little bit. They saw the ball and they were like, oh, it's a deep ball. Troy hauls it in perfectly. And then the one where he mosses the defender. I mean, Sarah, I don't know if Troy has the confidence last year to make those types of plays,

Starting point is 00:03:59 but he's making them right now. He's made them all throughout training camp. He did it last week in the preseason game as well in terms of hard focus, being able to haul in a tough catch on fourth down, high pointing it. This is a confidence changer here. And look, Sean Payton said it after the game at the press conference where he had a chance to catch up with him. He said that we are seeing that second year leap here with Troy.

Starting point is 00:04:20 Love to see that from him. And look, there was even another thing that I love about Troy that I don't know if anyone in Broncos country is talking about enough. We got our first look at Evan Ingram. and his opportunity, well, he's going to be bringing to the table offensively for Sean Peyton and for Bo Nix. But on that catch, on Evan Ingram's very first catch that he had here underneath, I don't know if you saw it.

Starting point is 00:04:41 I don't see many people talking about it, but Troy Franklin does a great job crossing and getting a hip position, getting his hands up and hip blocking a defensive back to spring Evan Ingram up the sideline. It's those little details right there, right? You block, you're going to get the rock. Troy, if you look at the tape from the first. two weeks of the preseason, Troy has not shot away from engaging in contact, being a willing blocker.

Starting point is 00:05:04 He's embracing it. And you see this in this entire receiving room. And that leads me to my next guy here. And Pat Bryant, I'm starting to call him Mr. Reliable. Now my wife, she calls him PB because when I watched the broadcast at home last week against San Francisco saying, good catch, PB. She's like, all right, PB, I'm going to call Pat Bryant p. Now.

Starting point is 00:05:24 And she's got some really fun notes too this week for everyone. But your thoughts on Pat Brian, I just felt. like anytime you needed a big player, you needed to move the chains, Mr. Reliable came up big here. The Broncos Rookie Wide Receiver. Yeah, he's automatic. I love what we've been seeing from Pat Bryant, especially because of all that. It just feels a little bit sweeter, doesn't it? Because of how he was talked about during the draft and the 40-yard dash time and all that stuff.

Starting point is 00:05:48 I mean, he has been a quarterback's best friend since he got to the Denver Broncos, whether it's moving the chains on third down or being that outlet and scramble drill or just getting open right away. I mean, making plays after the catch, everything that Pat Bryant is doing, Cody, is really everything the Broncos desperately needed from a young wide receiver that they were bringing in this offseason. So regardless of how it was packaged, like where he played his college ball, what his 40-yard dash time was, whether or not he was, you know, 22 or 23, or I mean, there's all sorts of things that people are talking about, right? And so I just love what we're seeing from Pat Bryant. He's got that dog in him. He's so confident, too,

Starting point is 00:06:28 That's a big thing between these two guys. And I'm glad we got to see these two guys play as well, Cody. I was disappointed. We didn't get to see Devon Veil play. But I was glad we got to see these two guys because I feel like they have, they have generated that level of confidence that all of Broncos country so desperately needed to have at the wide receiver position. Because even if we went into the season, just relying on Cortland Sutton, right? That was one thing because Cortland has made plays,

Starting point is 00:06:57 but he needed players to take pressure off of him. He needed other guys to step up and give him the opportunity to do what he does best. Troy Franklin, Pat Bryant, these guys are going to give Cortland Sutton the opportunity to finally and consistently do what he does best on one side of the field because of their ability to step up and make plays like this. Well, and look, I don't want to sound off a crazy hot take, but I really believe this in my heart of hearts about Pat Bryant. I really believe that with Sean Payton, Pat, Pat,

Starting point is 00:07:27 Bryant is going to do everything the Broncos wanted Jerry Judy to initially do here, right, for them initially when they drafted him. I'm not saying Pat Bryant's as fast as Jerry Judy, but man, this is a guy who can create separation, knows how to beat man coverage, finds the soft spots against zone. I mean, we talk about good body adjustment too. This is a guy who knows how to manipulate himself contort to make those tough catches. Scramble drill, he excels in those. He blocks. Like, I'm really loving the returns we're getting here early on on Pat Bryant. and I'm going to stick firm with my guns here on the he is going to be what Jerry Judy should have been for the Broncos.

Starting point is 00:08:00 I don't think it's a hot take. I think that's something that we could see building a lot of steam here. I wanted to go back to something else that you mentioned here. You brought up Devon Bailey. He was obviously the one guy besides Cortland Sutton that did not play or did not dress here. What did you make of that? Because I was even thinking going to this game, okay, who we see in street clothes will probably be on the 53. Do you think that this was more of a valet on a pitch count working his way back from an injury?

Starting point is 00:08:23 or does this, in your opinion, solidify that Sean views him as one of the top placeholders there of this position? I kind of read it more so as he's on the pitch count due to having been injured at certain points this offseason. And I do think, like, we heard about this past week. Like, he had good practices, right? He was out there for the joint practice against the Cardinals. And so that's good news.

Starting point is 00:08:46 Although at the same time, like when guys don't play in preseason games, like you mentioned, there's only a few reasons that it could be. And I think a third door that we didn't just open right there is a potential of could he be traded. Now, that would have to be if the Broncos were like adamant about only keeping five receivers, right? And Bailey could make some sense because he's got friends in high places elsewhere in the league, right? I mean, obviously Darren Moji with the Jets. And I think they're number two receiver right now is Josh Reynolds. Yeah.

Starting point is 00:09:16 So like they need receiver help. And so you could see something like that. if Sean is going to only keep five receivers because as of right, I'm watching the game. I'm writing my articles after the game. I'm thinking like you've got to have six receivers active on game days because all of these guys can play. And they can all contribute heavily to this offense. So I think there's three doors.

Starting point is 00:09:38 It's either the injury management. It's the he's made the team or maybe he's already made somebody else's team and they don't want him risking any further injury. Pat Bryant is too good to keep off the field. Troy Franklin is too good to keep off the field. is a game day and active here. And I think that Sean Payton believes that in his heart of hearts here. But we're going to hand out a game ball there to Troy Franklin, Jared Stidham, who continues to heat up.

Starting point is 00:10:00 We've got an episode coming up here this week on Stidham that we really want to focus on as well. But Broncos country, let's know your thoughts on Troy Franklin. Pat Bryant, what you saw from the Broncos young receivers in Denver's dominant win, where they put up over 500-something yards of offense in this game. But we're going to talk about the defense coming up next one. Jonah Ellis, he continues to dominate and why the Broncos' debted out. linebacker looks pretty dang good right now. We'll highlight that more here on today's episode, Lockdown Broncos.

Starting point is 00:10:26 This episode is presented by Yahoo! Fantasy. It's the best time of the year because NFL kickoff is almost here, which means that fantasy football, it's back in full swing and you're getting ready for your seasons. Well, guess what? This year, Yahoo Fantasy, they are turning things up a notch with a fantasy football experience like never before. This year, Serbettinger, myself over here, Lockdown Broncos. We are playing on Yahoo Fantasy, and you should too, whether you're a first-timer

Starting point is 00:10:49 or you're a veteran that's making your millionth league. I've used Yahoo Fantasy for years, and the updates that they're rolling out this month are wild in the best way. To celebrate 28 years of fantasy football greatness, Yahoo Fantasy is dropping 28 big new features over 28 days throughout August. To kick it off, they just dropped Yahoo Fantasy Guillotine Leagues, a killer new way to play fantasy football on Yahoo, where the lowest scoring team gets eliminated each week

Starting point is 00:11:15 until there's one team left standing. With the season around the corner, now's the time to get your league together and give this new mode a try. If you're more into the classics, you can still play in head-to-head private leagues or join a public league. Stay tuned for more killer announcements and start playing Yahoo Fantasy football now at Yahoo! Fantasy.com slash locked on NFL. Jonah Ellis continues to be a one-man wrecking crew out there for the Denver Broncos defense here in the preseason. They've got big plans for him. I can only imagine Cody going.

Starting point is 00:11:47 into the regular season with the way this guy is rushing the pastor. We're going to tell you about Jonah Ellis. We're going to tell you about the dominating effort by the Denver Broncos defense as they put together another impressive preseason W, which yeah, it's the preseason. But Broncos country, we're catching those W vibes all we can as much as we can, especially after some of the tough years that we've had. And we appreciate you all for rocking with us through the tough times, through the good times, through the preseason.

Starting point is 00:12:14 Cody, it's really exciting for everybody that's listening out there. And by the way, if you haven't done so already, go ahead, hit subscribe and make sure you do that, both where you listen to podcasts and on YouTube for us. Cody, Jonah Ellis, to me, has been the defensive MVP of the preseason so far. He just looks like he's in a different league and they're kind of just making him earn his stripes a little bit, so to speak, or get him those reps, get him, you want to see guys are in game shape. You're going to maybe ask him to do more this season in terms of the, the overall snap count, right?

Starting point is 00:12:45 So, like, you want to see what he can do out there. And when the Broncos are giving Jonah Ellis more on his plate, man, he's like already finished his plate. It's like when you go to a buffet with your family and somebody sits down first, they've already finished their play before you get back with theirs. You're like, what the heck's this guy doing? You know, like, that's what Jonah Ellis is doing right now. He's like just dominating when he gets out there in every possible way.

Starting point is 00:13:07 Yeah, I mean, he's more of the, I'm going to grab three plates and bring him all to the table. And that way, by the time you start eating, I'm going to already be done my second plate there. I just, once again, what do we see from Jonah Ellis that the Broncos drafted him? And our initial reactions were, okay, they got this guy who's very disciplined off the edge. He plays with such a high motor. I mean, and that's the vibe that we got here. But where else are we seeing him make an impact? Edge contains obviously a big part of where the Broncos wanted to be better coming into this upcoming season here. That's where Vance Joseph's

Starting point is 00:13:37 defense can evolve a little bit in terms of those outside guys. If they're not crashing in, make sure you're keeping that contained there. And he blew up Michael Carter for a five-yard loss early on in this game. That really just kind of set the tone here for the Broncos defense. We were telling people earlier here on the show that the Broncos had over $5.62 total yards of offense. Well, guess what they held the Arizona Cardinals to offensively, they held them to 135 net yards in this game, two of 13 on third down.

Starting point is 00:14:07 Like we talked about smothering pressure-filled defense. The Bronco was brought at Jonah Ellis was a huge reason for that early on in this game. And I felt like he set the tone for the rest of the guys defensively. I'm loving the depth that the Broncos have here. And look, we're seeing that depth kind of contribute all across the board defensively outside of Jonah. Was there anybody else that really kind of caught your eye in terms of the standout? Because I feel like there are a couple of names and even an unsung name that probably isn't being talked about really by anybody. I felt like this was a complete dominant performance, not just by Denver's offense, but by their defense as well.

Starting point is 00:14:41 Well, Cody, you and I kind of joked in our shows leading up to this game that, hey, just throw somebody whose name starts with the J out there as your player to watch on defense, and you're probably going to be right because I think about half the roster has a name that starts of the J, especially now that you look at it. But a guy who tied for the team leading tackles had three quarterback hits in this game, Jordan Turner at the linebacker position, a guy who want to try out essentially for the team to get there for Michigan State player. ultimately if you have three quarterback hits in a game, you're going to cause the coaching staff to

Starting point is 00:15:14 go back to their iPads and watch their film or whatever they're doing and be like, all right. So what's this guy doing out there that he got three quarterback hits? Just really explosive on the one sack that he did have or one of the sacks that was his own. I know he shared a sack later in the game. But man, really impressive stuff. And when you're looking for guys to step up and make plays at a position where you don't really have necessarily a solidified group right now or maybe somebody on the practice squad could actually contribute this season. Like Jordan Turner having a big game like this, I feel like that's a pretty big deal.

Starting point is 00:15:48 No, it is. And look, when he's get set on a blitz, he's a piss missile. I'm going to bring the term back here for Broncos country. Somebody even brought it up to me on Twitter. But I loved what we see from him. And he was one of the guys that initially at rookie minicamp caught my eye, got to try out to training camp and has done, I think, a fantastic job here. I feel like with this game, I mean, we were talking about Karen.

Starting point is 00:16:09 read last week, the undrafted linebacker who had an interception, I feel like this week, we're talking about Jordan Turner. So it's like, all right, who's going to maybe is at that third preseason game or someone's going to make the decision who's going to be that fifth linebacker? I feel like they'll carry five on the active roster, considering, you know, the injury history at this position here. All signs kind of indicate that Justin Sternard is really that third guy, that first man up here in the linebacker rotation behind Alex Singleton and obviously behind Drey Greenlaw as well.

Starting point is 00:16:38 and then Lavel Bailey, I feel like those guys played well. You mentioned Jordan Turner, a linebacker. I'm going to go with another Jordan here. The Broncos have three Jordans, I think, on the defensive side of the ball. But I'm going to go with the guy that's not Jordan Jackson. Jordan Jackson, I thought I also had a pretty good game. But I'm going to go with the unsung hero that no one's really talking about there. And that's nose tackle Jordan Miller there.

Starting point is 00:16:58 I thought he did a fantastic job scraping across, creating penetration inside the A gap, where it was hard for the Cardinals to even run. But there was one place specific. where he scraped across the face of the offensive line. And he was really kind of in the back field there and it forced a TFL there. And I just seen constant times where I'm in my binoculars looking down on the field. And you're seeing him number 90 at the bottom of the pile there. So he's not getting pushed back.

Starting point is 00:17:26 He's pushing people back. He's making plays. I felt like for Denver's defensive line depth, he was the one guy that probably stood out the most at the nose tackle position here for me. Is there anyone else that you want to highlight here or, you know, Do you have any thoughts on Jordan Miller? Yeah, I really liked what we saw from him as well. Cody, I put out a tweet about him because it felt like, man, just number 90 was flashing

Starting point is 00:17:47 off the screen a couple of times there. So really liked what we saw from him in this game and kind of made it an interesting twist in the defensive line conversation as you and I were talking about this week, like in Yomo O'Azareke, Jordan Jackson, then you obviously have Savian Jones who came in this draft class. Like Jordan Miller hasn't really been anywhere in our talks, but then he comes out there with the second unit. I mean, no Malcolm Roach, of course. So technically he's that third guy up there.

Starting point is 00:18:13 But shoot, I mean, he kept making plays. Like you said, he's pushing the pile back. He's creating penetration. I felt like he created a pretty great opportunity. At one point, there was maybe a bit of a miss by Justin Sernod, another J name. Justin had a great opportunity to come right behind him on a play that Michael Carter was dead to rights in the backfield because of Jordan Miller's penetration. and he actually kind of took an outside angle there. I don't know what he's being asked to do there. Cody,

Starting point is 00:18:42 it just felt like Jordan Miller made a great play and ultimately it ended up like in a five-yard gain for the Cardinals when it could have been three or four-yard loss. But, man, he was getting that push. And so that's exactly what you want to see at this. The Broncos practice squad is going to be loaded with dudes. Those guys are going to play in the regular season. We know that more often than not,

Starting point is 00:19:02 these practice squad guys will play. and who the Broncos take to their practice squad is probably going to be better than a lot of what, I mean, some teams are taken at the bottom of their 53. Yeah, no, and I want to give a shout out here to Jadet Barron as well. I felt like we got a lot of good looks at him. You know, there were some moments where, you know, he's just getting comfortable and trying to figure everything out

Starting point is 00:19:24 and that nickel rule there. I felt like there was one play where he pressured the quarterback to kind of get it out of his hand a little quickly there. I thought he took good angles in terms of coming up and tackling there. overall, just a complete game here by the Broncos defensively here. And we want to know your standouts. Who are you giving a game ball to Broncos country on the defensive side? Make sure you let us know here on today's episode, Locked on Broncos.

Starting point is 00:19:46 But Broncos country, we're not done yet. Still on this post game report, we're going to go through why we think the running back battle is all but solidified at this point. And there are two front runners to kind of lead the way here with one game remaining. We'll go through that and more here on today's episode, Locked on Broncos. This episode, Lockdown Broncos, is brought to you by BetterHelp. These days, it feels like there's advice for everything. Cold plunges, gratitude journals, screen detoxes, but how do you know what actually works for you? With so much information online about mental health and wellness, it can be overwhelming

Starting point is 00:20:20 to figure out what's true and what will actually help. That's where talking to a licensed therapist through BetterHelp can make all the difference. You get real personalized guidance instead of just guessing. based on something you saw on social media. I've used BetterHelp therapy before in the past. And I've enjoyed it. I had a great experience with it because I got matched with the licensed counselor within minutes. And then I set up my session.

Starting point is 00:20:44 I vived all with my therapist. If you don't vibe, though, with your therapist, you can change therapists at any time at no additional charge. It's easy to fit into your schedule. Just a click to connect. Talk it out with BetterHelp. And our listeners get 10% off their first month at BetterHelp.com slash locked on. That's BetterHelp, H-E-L-P-com. slash locked on.

Starting point is 00:21:05 The Denver Broncos have two players at the running back position who seem to be running away with those potential final two spots here with roster cuts looming in just about a week and a half here. Broncos country, we're going to go through the running back battle as we saw it from Saturday's preseason win against the Arizona Cardinals. Real quick, I want to say thank you once again for tuning in making us your first listen, however you choose to do so. Sarah, the running back battle, I think this was something that we obviously highlighted

Starting point is 00:21:31 all the guys there and our players to watch coming into this game. This was probably the biggest thing that we wanted to focus on initially before the game even began. And we're hoping it was going to be the biggest story. Instead, it really kind of took a backseat to everything else in terms of Troy Franklin, the defense's dominant performance. The running back battle, though, on Saturday's game against the Cardinals, I felt like it might be coming to an end a little bit if there are four perceived spots on the 53-man roster.

Starting point is 00:21:59 We've got to see Tyler Biday and Jalululam McLaughlin get those four. first touches and those guys seem to make the most of it in this game. What were your thoughts on that? And how do you see things playing out here? Yeah, they really did, Cody. I feel like with Badegh, the first guy up after RJ Harvey, that was really interesting based on last week, it was Jaliel. So it sounds like based on the broadcast, based on what like Mike Cliss was saying on the

Starting point is 00:22:24 broadcast, our good friend over there, the insider at 9 News, he was talking about the Broncos want to keep four running backs potentially. it just feels like it's going to be Tyler Badey and Jaliel McLaughlin at this point. And McLaughlin had a really nice run in this game, the longest run of the game for the Broncos, obviously at like 35 yards, something like that. Butay made a couple of really nice plays, a couple of good catches out of the backfield as well. And what keeps getting highlighted by people who are talking to Sean Payton is Tyler Bade's ability to participate as a pass blocker, you know, when he's asked to do that.

Starting point is 00:22:57 They trust him to do that. I think that is maybe the biggest distinction right now between he and Joliel McLaughlin, where, I mean, we saw Jolil last year stick his nose in there when he was asked to do it. But, I mean, there's a difference between being willing to do it and being able to do it, right? So I know that Jalil is more the change of pace back. You can give you that speed out of the backfield, but he had a good night. It's just very telling that Blake Watson was clearly with the third offense. And then, Odrick Estimate, buried at the bottom of it all, Cody.

Starting point is 00:23:28 I think the former fifth round pick out of Notre Dame, his days in Denver are numbered. And at this point, we can really only hope that somebody is going to be willing to trade for him instead of the Broncos having to cut him. Because I don't think that he would come back to Denver if he's cut by this team and hits waivers. I don't think he would come back to the practice squad. That's just my read on the situation, though. It's one of the weirder developments, I think, in the last year and a half here with this team, because I remember how excited you and I were when Denver drafts. did Estimate out of Notre Dame.

Starting point is 00:23:59 We're sitting there like, wow, the Broncos, they had a third round great on him. They got him a little bit later. Okay, what a steal year. And then, you know, last year, the run game was so anemic. We were just hoping for a spark. And anytime Audrake Estimate touched the ball, it seemingly looked like forward yards, positive yards. And it was a little bit of a rarity.

Starting point is 00:24:17 But then there was just this mystery to, okay, hey, he has a fumble week one. He subsequently lands on short-term injure reserve for four weeks after that. He gets a few carries, you know, looks great in the Kansas City Chiefs game on the road. And Arrowhead is on the field. And when Bo Nix is leading what should have been a game winning drive for the block field goal, we're like, all right, hey, Estimates got some juice to him. The Broncos turn. They might have just solved their problem here.

Starting point is 00:24:42 And then we don't see him the next week against the Atlanta Falcons. And then he's bunched for the playoff game. Now, like for me, my biggest question here tonight is the game was going on, I was thinking to myself, why is Audrey not getting a chance to showcase what he can do with this second team offensive line, right? Why isn't he getting a chance to get carries there? Because really, Tyler Breday got a few carries and then they just brought in Jillo McLaughlin like that.

Starting point is 00:25:06 It's like, why can't you do that with Audrick and see what Audrick can do with that? I have two preseason games in a row getting relegated to that third team offensive line. Certainly isn't a great indicator of his roster status. And this goes back to what you and I've been talking about has been the case since OTAs a mandatory minicamp where Estimely is. And I couldn't help but think that maybe Blasorkechemy. like Watson's in the doghouse a little bit as well for fumbles because last week during practice, he and Sam Ellinger had two botched exchanges on a handoff that led to the ball being on the ground.

Starting point is 00:25:37 So not a great way to make the 53 man roster. It looks like Badei and Jalil have really kind of created this separation here in this. And all four of them, I guarantee you, Sean Payton's going to find out way to use all four of those guys. If that's how the 53 really pans out. Yeah, absolutely. We saw Badee back there on kickoff return, although the Bronzer. Broncos have not done much kickoff return here in the preseason because the other team is not really scoring all that much. But Bade was back there for that.

Starting point is 00:26:05 So I think that's a wrinkle to keep an eye on as we get towards the regular season where he could be back there with Marvin Mims. Potentially, we'll see what happens. But, I mean, it does make a little bit of sense, Cody. When we think about last year how the Broncos leading rusher was Javante Williams at just over 500 yards. Absolutely unacceptable production at the position. and to have that group be almost completely overhauled, right? I mean, that would mean if Estimay's cut and if Jalil's on the bubble, you would have three basically new guys.

Starting point is 00:26:35 I mean, I'm including Badegh in there because he played really well in the one opportunity that he got last year before he got hurt in the Jets game. So you're overhauling it with guys who weren't even there or barely played for you last year and the guys who were able to contribute, who were healthy and available and able to actually change what has been. struggling so bad that those guys would either be demoted or that they would be off the roster completely. I mean, it kind of just shows how aggressive this team has been in saying, we are going to

Starting point is 00:27:06 completely flip this position on its head that a guy who was, you know, one of the top two guys on the roster last year at running back, Jalil McLaughlin, he's now fighting for the fourth spot on the team. And everybody else, hey, you didn't, it wasn't good enough last year and you're not going to be back. I don't know how it's going to ultimately play out, but it does seem like the vibe right now is very much. We already know J.K. Dobbins, R.J. Harvey, those guys are going to be the primary dudes who touch the football here, right?

Starting point is 00:27:35 But if Badee can help out on special teams and maybe get a carrier, you know, a look here or two, depending on who you're going against, great, you know, are we going to see Sean really go through by using three backs in the regular season or is it just going to be a split workload between Dobbins and Harvey? I think those are questions that we obviously want to have. answered. But I also think that this game and what we've seen so far through two preseason games, the depth on this team is in a very good spot. I mean, it is incredible what we're seeing in terms not just skill players, but linemen, defensive linemen, unfortunately, you know, not some good news here.

Starting point is 00:28:09 The Broncos lose one of the guys that they really liked on that second team offensive line and Nick Garjulo, who got rolled up during the broadcast and got putting an aircast right away, carted off the field. That's never a good sign as to maybe. him playing again this season. So what we'll find out obviously more from Sean Pate. I think as information becomes available, but maybe a silver lining of all this is, and maybe it is a good problem for the Broncos to have four running backs.

Starting point is 00:28:35 And we're trying to figure out who's going to make up those final two spots. But certainly it seems like Bade and McLaughlin are kind of running away with it here. Yeah, absolutely does. I feel like it would be a stunner if it was anything else. Like based on what you said, you know, the fumbles in practice, things like that for Blake Watson. Last year that got Audrake Estime in the doghouse for,

Starting point is 00:28:58 remember how long that was, right? And now Estime seems to be, I mean, when you're running sixth, remember a couple of years ago when it was, I think Frank Clark and Randy Gregory were playing deep into a preseason game, and we were like, dang, like, San Francisco. San Francisco game, yes. And you and I both were like, all right,

Starting point is 00:29:18 message has been fairly effectively sent at that point. the same message is being sent to Audrick Estimate. There's no question about it. I don't want to say the Broncos are embarrassing him because I don't think that's, I mean, the reality is he was a fifth round pick last year who didn't play a ton, was injured at the beginning of the year, struggled with fumbles.

Starting point is 00:29:38 That's the reality. A lot of times we kind of romanticize in a fan base, like, hey, this guy was given a third round grade. He played really well in this game. Like, I wanted Estimate to be that guy as well, but the Broncos are putting him in his play.

Starting point is 00:29:52 for some, I mean, being the sixth back in the second preseason game that you said is an open competition, you are putting that guy in a very vulnerable position of saying like this guy is at the bottom of the heap right now. It's pretty, like you said, it's pretty wild to see. And Broncos country, let us know your thoughts as well on how things are transpiring here with this running back battle. In your opinion, if you had to choose the two final spots behind Dobbins and Harvey, who's running away with it in your opinion? Sarah and I, we both believe that it's Tyler Biday, Yulam McLaughlin. Do you see something different?

Starting point is 00:30:23 Make sure you let us know here. But with that said, Broncos country, that I'll wrap up our post game report here on today's episode of Lockdown Broncos. We appreciate you so much for rocking with us, making us your first listen every single day. For your second, listen, go check out our friends over there locked on fantasy football, some of your leagues that are starting up. For all you every day, here's what you can expect on tomorrow's episode of the show. There are people on social media saying that Jared Stidham is creating a quarterback controversy.

Starting point is 00:30:48 There is none in Denver, and we'll tell you, why Jarstidem is in the perfect opportunity to be the backup and to be someone that Sean Peyton can rely on. We'll talk about that on tomorrow's episode, Lockdown Broncos.

Locked On Broncos - Daily Podcast On The Denver Broncos - Troy Franklin Takes MASSIVE LEAP In Denver Broncos Preseason Win vs. Arizona Cardinals

There aren't comments yet for this episode. Click on any sentence in the transcript to leave a comment.