Locked On Broncos - Daily Podcast On The Denver Broncos - Why Denver Broncos' Running Game Needs a Major Overhaul

Starting point is 00:00:00 The Denver Broncos RB1 for 2025 is not on the roster yet, or is he? We'll break that down here on today's brand new 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 happening in Broncos country? Welcome into another episode of Lockedon Broncos, your daily Denver Broncos podcast, part of the Lockdown Podcast Network where you know it is your team every single day. for all your Broncos news, content coverage analysis, and more every single day throughout the entire offseason.

Starting point is 00:00:40 We got you covered because for the true fan, there is never an offseason. I'm Cody Work, credentialed Broncos beat reporter for Mile High Sports. Joined, as always, by the longtime site expert over there at predominantly orange.com. Also, writer over there, NFL spin zone. He is Sarah Bedinger in Broncos country. We've got a lot to break down here on today's episode of the show. We'll wrap things up by talking about will the Broncos go to free agency or the NFL draft to find their key running back for 2025.

Starting point is 00:01:08 And we're also going to talk about whether or not the team's RB1 is even on the roster at this point or will they be added to the roster here this season. We're going to kick things off by recapping what was a rough 2024 for Denver's running back group. We'll break that down here on today's episode show brought to you by our friends over there at Fandu, America's number one sportsbook. And for the first whistle of the final drive, Fandu, makes the NFL playoffs even more exciting. And right now new customers can bet $5 and get $300 and get $300 in bonus.

Starting point is 00:01:34 bonus bets if you win your first bet. Visit fan do.com to get started. Sarah, let's go back as we continue our position recap and kind of look ahead here. The running back position, if we had to maybe highlight any position on this entire roster last season, it's probably the most disappointing in terms of production. I'd have to say it's the running back position. No doubt because you expected Javante Williams to hopefully take another step forward after that injury back in 2022.

Starting point is 00:02:01 Obviously, he made it back to the field in 2023. played a lot in 2023, but the results weren't quite there from what we had come to expect from Javante. And so him entering this year as the lead back, we had some talks around a year ago at this time, Cody, about is he going to get cut in the off season? That obviously didn't end up happening. The Broncos rolled with him, Jaliel McLaughlin and the rookie Audrick Estime, for the most part this past year with a little bit of sprinklings here and there of Tyler Bade and then Blake Watson, the undrafted rookie. So a lot of backs, and I think the fact that the Broncos had five running backs on their

Starting point is 00:02:39 roster at different times this season, including all five of them on the roster at the same time at the end of the year, I think is indicative of the problem. Like there was just no clear solution at any point during the season for, hey, we can really ride this guy. Well, and another thing, too, we look at rushing touchdown production. Remember in 2023, it was brutal. I think Devere only had what, two rushing touchdowns in the span of a handful of weeks. How many rushing touchdowns?

Starting point is 00:03:07 Someone in the chat obviously pull it up here or somebody, you know, wants to drop it in the comments. How many rushing touchdowns in total do the Broncos have, including Bo Nix? We know Bo Nix had four. I know there was a game against New Orleans where Javante had two. 12. Estimate. Ooh, 12 total rushing touchdowns in 18 games, folks.

Starting point is 00:03:24 Well, 19 games. You count the playoffs. That's not good. And also, I think highlights the problem here in which we're talking. talking about this disappointing season. And look, John Payton tried to do the committee approach. And the biggest challenge he said every single week was trying to figure out how to get all these guys' touches. We have talked about it.

Starting point is 00:03:42 And we alluded to it earlier this week when we recapped, obviously, on an episode of the show, what the Broncos can learn from the teams that played and won on NFL divisional playoff weekend. Certainly having a good run game or having one guy who's an absolute dog at the tailback position can make a world of difference. Or if you have two really good running backs that can hit. the whole see it and then obviously make things happen. Denver scheme in the run game has to evolve. I believe they're going to eventually have to start pulling the guard. We're going to start doing, you know, pulling the tackle.

Starting point is 00:04:10 Get some more power concepts here in this offense to get things going. But what disappoints me the most, Sarah, when you look at it, the Broncos didn't have a single running back on the roster, go for 550 yards rushing. I mean, it was it was pretty underwhelming overall. And there seemed to be a question every week, who's going to be the primary carrier this week? who's going to get the primary touches. You know, Javante, there were times where it's like, hey, he looks back. And then there's times where he went through, I don't know how many games where they get a handful of carries and negative yards rushing or zero yards rushing in totality combined.

Starting point is 00:04:46 That's where his role started to fizzle out toward the end of the season. And really, it was Jaliel McLaughin, who's probably the most efficient running back the Broncos had on their roster. But it was hard for him because teams knew how to stop Denver's run game. They did. And Cody, to your point, I mean, that's been happening. in both years of the Sean Peyton era. So this year, Bo Nix obviously had four rushing touchdowns out of the 12 total that this team had.

Starting point is 00:05:09 And then last year, Russell Wilson had three of the eight total. So last year, it was five rushing touchdowns from running backs for the Denver Broncos. And this year, you had seven between Giovante Williams and Jillo McLaughlin and then two from Adrick Estime. So nine in total. And like, look, that's not even a full season for some of the best backs. in the NFL these days. You've got to be able to cash in when you get into the red zone.

Starting point is 00:05:37 Your running back's got to help out. They've got to pull their weight when you get down into the red area. And sure, you can have success in the red zone in a number of different ways. Like the Denver Broncos ranked seventh in the NFL in total red zone offense. But largely, I'd say no thanks to their game. Like, right? I mean, ultimately, over the course of the year. So these guys need to do more, the success rate of the running back,

Starting point is 00:06:00 position has been a bit full. I know we had discussions about that earlier in the year when folks were trying to say Bo Nix, I don't know why he's not doing this, that and the other, he's got a good running game to lean on. That hasn't been the case. Like, Bo Nix led the team in rushing in one third of the Broncos games this year, barely had a running back crack 500 yards. And that's not because like, you know, oh, four or five guys are running the ball.

Starting point is 00:06:25 Well, we got to spread it out. It wasn't the case. The Broncos had to keep trying different stuff all throughout. the season and hope that they could find a hot hand. And it costs them in one score games. I bet if we go back, Cody, we do some film study on the one score games from this past year. I bet you the majority of the problem in those games is not being able to sustain drives.

Starting point is 00:06:48 And how do you sustain drives? You run the football. Yeah. And that was a problem. I mean, the Broncos offense was relatively pass happy throughout the entire season. And, you know, unless you're like just in a consistent rhythm, like obviously there was a game against Kansas City where.

Starting point is 00:07:00 Bonnix was 18 of 18. That was sustaining drives in the passing game. But you know how rare it is to do that. You have to have balance, right? And I think the elite teams, the guys that we see separate themselves. Like, for example, I think the Chiefs run the ball really well. But in times where they need to come up with plays in the passing game, Mahomes finds guys, whether it's Xavier Worley, whether it's Travis Kelsey in the playoffs, we saw that happen.

Starting point is 00:07:23 Josh Allen of the Buffalo Bills, they have a dominant run game. I mean, in their first two playoff games this off season, they played two of the best run defenses in the NFL this year. The Broncos in the wildcard round and the Ravens in the next round and they ran the ball down their throats at a consistent rate. And Josh Allen didn't necessarily have to use his arm in the passing game in either of those games to really make a difference in terms of winning the game. So in terms of sustaining drives, and we talked about it, heck, we saw it two weeks ago.

Starting point is 00:07:52 The bills dominated the time of possession against the Broncos because, man, they were running the ball effectively. And on top of that, they were connecting on some third downs. They were connecting with the passing game to keep drives alive, and it kept Bo Nix and the offense off field. The Broncos, and ultimately their defense will be better in the long run, if the offense can find a way with Bo Nix, who was the offense for a large part of this season,

Starting point is 00:08:16 to say, you know what, we're going to run the ball, we're going to control time of possession. Some of the Broncos' most efficient drives of the year, say we're like 12 play, 13 play drives that took six, seven minutes off the clock. That's where Denver needs to evolve to. but the run game has to be a support of that. They didn't have that with Giovante Williams, Adric Estime, Jolil McLaughlin, Tyler Badegh,

Starting point is 00:08:36 or anybody really this year. And that's going to have to change if the Broncos want to have success. If they want to make it back to the postseason, they want to have, like they said, their goals to win the AFCS, they want to win the AFCS, they've got to be able to do that. And if they can't, it's going to be a little bit more of the same. So that's going to be the emphasis here for this team going into the off season. And look, I look at it as well.

Starting point is 00:08:57 You mentioned it. Bo Nix leading the team and rushing essentially, you know, from a game to game basis, over a third of the games, including your playoff game where he was your leading rusher. That tells you, I think, everything you need to know about where this team needs to get better. Yeah, Cody, over the course of this last season, I mean, Bo Nix led the Broncos with 41 rushing first downs. And if you count all the number of times that, you know, you quarterback sneak it, obviously. That's some of the factor there. but like 41 is a really,

Starting point is 00:09:26 really low number. And Javonte Williams was second behind him, Cody. So obviously Javonte led the team and carries 139 attempts. Get this. 30 of his 139 attempts went for a first down. That's not even a quarter of the time. So I mean, it's really, really bad.

Starting point is 00:09:45 What was his longest run? His longest run this past season. Let me see if I can find it. 30. Let's see. 18. It is, okay, 20, 20 yards from Giovante, 21 from Jalil and 21 from Audrick Estime, the longest run of the season by any Broncos player.

Starting point is 00:10:03 If we would have known it happened at the time, but in week three, Tyler Badegh, 43 yards. That was the longest run of the season, and it would end up being the longest run of the season. Between the Broncos primary backs, Cody, 30 rushing first downs from Javante Williams, 25 from Jalil McLaughlin on a significantly, you know, less, you know, carry count there at 113 and then 15 from Audrick Estime. So really, when you look at this, it's just overall efficiency. It's not the offensive line.

Starting point is 00:10:36 I know that you have a lot of dirty hands and things. It's not the play calling. It's the backs. The backs themselves are not finding the openings. They're not hitting the holes hard enough. And the Broncos need somebody. So I think an overhaul of this position is in order. Well, and another thing too that I think we should take a look at.

Starting point is 00:10:54 What was a what was Bo Nix's long run against the New Orleans Saints? Wasn't that for like 40 something yards? That was a. So his long run of the year was 32 according to. So that was against New Orleans and I'm guessing there on that design. And it's just like, all right. Like, you know, you have Tyler Breday who broke one off and certainly has some impressive traits.

Starting point is 00:11:16 But for your quarterback to really be your next guy that has the longest rush on your team, That's not good. It's not good enough. And now that poses the biggest question here for the Broncos, is RB1 on the roster right now? Do they have a guy that can become that? We'll tell you why we think they need to go elsewhere here on today's brand new episode, Locked on Broncos. Today's Lockedon Broncos podcast is brought to you by our friends over there at Fandul, America's number one sportsbook from the first whistle to the final drive. Fandu makes the NFL playoffs even more exciting because right now new customers can bet $5 and you can get $300 in bone.

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Starting point is 00:12:46 they're not on the roster right now. And so what are the biggest question marks about the running back position that we have after what we witnessed in 2024, well, everything. Who the heck is this team going to bring in to run the ball in 2025? That's what we're going to discuss here on today's episode, lockdown Broncos. But thank you so much Broncos country for making us part of your day, especially those of you every dayers out there who make us your first listen of the day

Starting point is 00:13:10 every single day. And if you're not already an everyday listener, hit subscribe wherever you listen to podcasts as well as on YouTube. Get us up in the top of your feed every single day. on your algorithm on YouTube, Cody. That's one of my favorite things. Pop up in the algorithm, hit play, listen while you work out, drive, whatever.

Starting point is 00:13:27 So do that if you haven't done so already and join the discussion here. And let's talk about it because the running back position was putrid. We just laid out some numbers for you. I mean, 30 rushing first downs from your top running back. I mean, I'm going to look it up, Cody, while you're talking about kind of our first question here, we're going through these roster series.

Starting point is 00:13:48 So if you miss any episodes or anything like that, the second segment is always going to be, what is our biggest question at certain position groups going forward? And I think for the running back position, it's fair to say it's really everything, all encompassing for this position going forward. Yeah, no, I would say you're spot on with that analysis there because it is a large question mark.

Starting point is 00:14:11 Now, I think can we maybe turn this into something? Let's start here, right? If everything is the question, where do we start? Is the Broncos running back room going to remain intact as it currently is? And if so, who stays, if not who's going? To me, I think Audrake estimate obviously he's going to be back. Julea McLaughlin, I think he's a safe bet to be back. I think Tyler Badegh and obviously Blake Watson, they're going to be back, you know,

Starting point is 00:14:34 on default and training camp, but where they stay on the roster when training camp and the preseason are over is the question. I'd say the one guy who probably will not be back, Sarah, is Javante Williams at this point, unless the situation arises like you and I had discussed. the free agency is going on. There's a long wave of it and his market isn't picking up and there's no team that picks them up. Debra might be able to bring him back for cheap. But at this point, you've got to ask yourself if you're Sean Peyton, who are we handing the keys to in terms of getting his Ferrari going?

Starting point is 00:15:05 Because the Broncos have been trying to figure that out. The last time the Broncos really had a dynamic running back, his name was Philip Lindsay, to be honest with you. That was the last time. And Philip, as electric as he was, had his own limitations in terms of past protection or tendencies, but man, Phil was able to at least get a thousand yards. Javantes had some flashes, but, you know, he lost 11 pounds in the off season and the hope was that he could get back to his rookie season type look, or even how he looked in his last year

Starting point is 00:15:32 at college at UNC and never formulated to that. So at this point, Jalil, I think will be back. Estimate will be back. But are any of these two guys in your opinion, the RB1, or do they have the chance to become RB1? estimate to me is the biggest question because in the playoff game, that after you've gotten him some run, you bench him.

Starting point is 00:15:52 Sean Payton made him a game day inactive. To me, that was one of the wildest things I've seen. I didn't understand it. It was a little bit of a shocker. It was. I think Audrick is maybe that one guy that I would say, like, yeah,

Starting point is 00:16:03 he's got a chance he could go for nearly 200 carries. Because I think that's what kind of the benchmark right now, you look. I mean, there's certain guys like Sequan Barclay, Derek Henry, Kyrin Williams, like those guys are going to be getting a ton of touches.

Starting point is 00:16:18 Like they, the offenses that they play in, like are filtered through those guys. And so they're unfair to compare to. But I think like that roughly 200 or, you know, give or take 20 here and there. I think Audric is that guy.

Starting point is 00:16:32 I feel like Jalil is kind of the ideal change of pace. Not that he can't carry a full workload, but he's a, he's a doubles hitter out there. He's a guy that, man, you feel like you put him in the lineup wherever. he's going to hit for good average for you. You need somebody that's going to eat up a ton of carries.

Starting point is 00:16:50 I know that you don't necessarily need a bell cow back, but let's just look at Bucky Irving, for instance, Cody. Remember when the Broncos played, I know that's kind of what could have been scenario, obviously a mistake, it may be in the 2024 draft, but when the Broncos played the Bucks back in week three, remember Bucky Irving was not even really part of the offense at that point.

Starting point is 00:17:12 Like, we didn't have to worry about him. it was Rashad White. When we talked to James Yarko of locked on bucks, he was like, yeah, the running game is really struggling early on this season. Bucky Irving was not a factor as of week three. And he got a little bit going against the Denver Broncos. Listen to this stat. I told you, Javante Williams had 30 rushing first downs on 130-some-odd carries.

Starting point is 00:17:35 Bucky Irving this past season wasn't a threat up until week three, week four. He had 207 carries on the year, 52 went for first downs. He ran for over 1,000 yards. So that's a guy that just came into the NFL. J.K. Dobbins didn't even play a full season, 47 rushing first downs. Tyler Algier, the backup to Bijan Robinson, 137 carries, 43 first downs. Karim Hunt signed off the street, 42 rushing first downs on 200 carries.

Starting point is 00:18:05 So what we're talking about here is a baseline, just kind of like rudimentary level, of efficiency at the running back position that is so missing. That's why I think Javante might struggle. He's going to probably have to take a Prove It contract somewhere in free agency. And to your point about what does this room look like? I mean, gosh, I feel like to your point, like there are some teams that replicate the example well. Like you look at Detroit, they have an electrifying guy in Jemir Gibbs and they got David Montgomery.

Starting point is 00:18:36 They got a nice one-two punch. You look at the Baltimore Ravens, and we saw it this past weekend. You have an absolute stud in Derek Henry. And you got Justice Hill, who's that change of pace guy, who can, you know, can get you those doubles, as you had mentioned there. You look at the Buffalo Bills. It's James Cook and it's Ty Johnson. And to me, it's like, all right, now you look at the Kansas City Chiefs. Primarily it's Isaiah Bacheco.

Starting point is 00:18:58 Then you bring in Kareem Hunt. That's got to be the formula. For Denver to be better there, obviously their personnel is going to have to improve because I even think at times when we were watching the tape, you see a hole open up, but you see the running back not hitting. And Sean Payton early on in the season had mentioned that too. And then I think he didn't mention that when the run game got brought up. Once again, he mentioned that our backs have to see the hole better because it is, you know, with the zone blocking scheme, a lot of it is patience. It's, hey, we're double teaming at the initial point of the attack.

Starting point is 00:19:26 We're reaching to try to get up to the second level. There's going to be a hole. Are we going to see it? When the backs aren't seeing it, then that's also a little bit of a problem there. So I think that's part of it, scheme adjacent, personnel adjacent. But to me, I don't think that. the RBA one here for this Broncos team is on the roster right now as it currently stands. I agree with you.

Starting point is 00:19:46 I think Audrake Estime has the potential to get there. But obviously, it's proven based on what Sean Payton has done in terms of, okay, he went on IR for the first four weeks of the season. He didn't see as many touches going forward. There were times we saw flashes, but then he gets benched in the playoff game, the biggest game of the Broncos season, by the way. And it's like, all right, he's going to have a lot to prove here to Sean Payton going forward.

Starting point is 00:20:07 I don't know what that's going to look like. Are there going to be any personnel. changes from the coaching staff. Is that going to impact things? Definitely a question here. But I do think that we see Jolil, Adrick, Blake Watson, and Tyler Badegh, going into training camp. But I think the Broncos bring in a guy here to be their RB1 this upcoming season. And that leads us to maybe our next question here is, how will the Broncos address the running back position? I'll tell you why, and we'll get Sarah's thoughts on it, why the Broncos could bring in a player who has impact potential, but is coming off injury.

Starting point is 00:20:40 We'll highlight who that is here on today's episode, Lockdown Broncos. Today's episode of the show is brought to you by friends over there at TalkSpace and therapy is a game changer. It can help manage stress. It can help improve sleep and communicate more effectively. But finding the right therapist and fitting sessions into a busy schedule, it can be a challenge. That's where Talkspace comes in. Talkspace.

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Starting point is 00:22:07 The fourth quarter action of today's episode, Lockdown Broncos, is here. And all you every day or is the first listeners out there. Make sure you subscribe and you follow and you pay attention all throughout the entire offseason because we got you covered from position recaps to free agency previews, the NFL draft, Combine, OTAs, training camp, preseason, and regular season all throughout the entire off season. It is year round here at Lockdown Broncos. So if you're not in everydayer, become one already.

Starting point is 00:22:33 Sarah, I teased it before we got to this portion, why there's, one player out there in terms of answering the question, how would the Broncos address the running back position here in 2025? There is a guy in free agency that I feel like can be that dog that the Broncos are missing. But there's an injury history there. And obviously when it comes to injury history, Broncos country is skeptical. Nick Chubb might be the answer here for the Broncos, Sarah. And hear me out. I'm curious for your thoughts on this. Broncos country, hear me out as well. I think when you look at obviously Nick Chub's injury history, he's had some big ones. I know he broke his foot and went on season ending I are.

Starting point is 00:23:09 But you're telling me, Nick Chub can come to a situation in Denver. Well, he'll be easily the best running back on the roster. And he's got the best training staff, which has proven in two years under Bo Lowry to transform the Broncos and players who previously had injuries or injury histories. And those guys made it through a full season.

Starting point is 00:23:28 And DeVry became one of the healthiest teams in the league. To me, this might be the way here for the Broncos. I would be all aboard the Nick Chub train. saying, hey, you know what, let's chant Bailey. I feel like that's one of those guys that you might let wear number 24. Nick Chubb is, I mean, probably one of the best running backs that we've seen over the last 10 years. And it's a shame that, man, injuries just suck, don't they?

Starting point is 00:23:52 I just, I hate it so much. I hate that part of the game so much because it robs some of the best players of some of their best years. And Nick Chubb was playing at the top of his game before that injury. I know it was early in the season last year in 2020. but, man, the guy is good. And I would be willing to take that shot on a one-year deal, especially if that's what, if he's willing to do that, Cody.

Starting point is 00:24:16 And that's really the story of free agency, isn't it? I mean, there is always going to be risk involved when you go to free agency. Unless a team is just like, we can't afford everybody. This young guy is getting to free agency. We can't resign him. We're not, it's like the Draymont Jones type of thing. Like the Broncos just couldn't, they couldn't bring him back. He didn't want to be back.

Starting point is 00:24:35 But it's similar to that. to where he's a good player. There's no, like, injury reason why he's hitting free agency. He's just hitting free agency. Not that's rare. More times than not, free agents that are hitting the market are guys who do carry an injury red flag. So you're taking a calculated risk one way or the other.

Starting point is 00:24:54 Nick Chubb is one of those guys that I would say, okay, if you put together the whole list of free agent running backs and you set it in front of me and I'm like, you know, earmarking guys' names that I'd be like, hey, if the Broncos sign this guy, it'd be at least interesting to see. I think he'd be near the top of the list there. So for sure, when you look at free agents, that would be worth bringing in. Nick Chubb would have to be near the top of the list. For me, this year's NFL draft class at running back, Cody, the more you start watching

Starting point is 00:25:23 these guys, I feel like it's just loaded. So I think you could go for a Nick Chubb and then draft somebody as well. That's always my personal favorite brand of free agency is say, hey, let's get a guy on a short-term deal. If it works out, great. If not, we also drafted this guy. But don't be passing on guys in the draft because you sign Nick Chubb, right? That can't be the strategy.

Starting point is 00:25:48 So when you look at this NFL draft class, I know the Boise State running back, Genti, the Heisman candidate, everybody loves him. Will he be there when the Broncos pick? Nobody knows. Shout out to the Iowa Hawkeyes, Caleb Johnson, Omarian Hampton of North Carolina. Do you double dip with a tar heel pool? There's so many guys.

Starting point is 00:26:07 know, Chris Henderson from Ohio State. Yeah, Henderson from Ohio State or the other guy from Ohio State, Cody, the guy who's a cheat code on the NCAA game, Judkins. So Chris Harris Jr., I know loves Devin Neal from Kansas, and there's so many other guys. And so what about the Arizona State kid? I mean, he seems like a Sean Peyton type of guy. So SCADA, some to SCADA. I'm not up on the college football. The NFL draft guys just yet.

Starting point is 00:26:34 Cody and I will get to that this offseason. But I love the idea of going after a Nick Chubb and then draft somebody and let these guys cook stack the room, as Sean Payton said. Well, and look, to that point, he said we've got to stack that position. And look, if you push some guys, like, even if you, like, if the Bronco somehow brought in a guy that suddenly pushed out Audrick Estimate, it's just, that's just how the NFL works out sometimes. I have high hopes for Estimate still. And that's the one thing. I would love to see him part of the game plan here. but it's like you look at a guy like Chubb.

Starting point is 00:27:05 Even a guy like Kareem Hunt, if you can convince him to leave Kansas City to come over to Denver, Kareem Hunt, maybe he wouldn't be RB1. I think he could right now, especially on this roster, but maybe not, right? And then there's guys like Ty Johnson and Buffalo or there's guys like Jordan Mason, the 49ers. The 49ers seem to have an arsenal of running backs almost every single year that you can think of, you know, even something like that to just upgrade it. But then it's like you mentioned guys like Jantee from Boise State. Here's the thing.

Starting point is 00:27:32 Here's the question I have. right, if he's available in round one, Sarah, I don't feel great about taking a running back in round one, unless Sean Payton and that scouting department, no beyond a shadow of a doubt. This guy is going to be a legit game changer, right? We see it's different at the NFL level when it comes to tellbacks. Heck, we saw when Genti had to go up against Penn State in terms of just how different it is at times. The NFL is going to be an adjustment period. Is that what you need to do in the draft?

Starting point is 00:28:00 Like, do you draft a running back just because you're like, hey, We think this guy can do it when I think that, as you mentioned, this draft class has some good backs into it. And to your point, Broncos country, we haven't gotten to that point yet. We're getting to the point after the Super Bowl, Sarah and I, we're going to open up the film. We're going to watch the tape of the Broncos positions. We feel like they need in terms of scouting. And we're going to watch players and have a little bit more of an informed opinion on it. And also we're going to utilize here experts on the lockdown podcast network to talk about some of these players.

Starting point is 00:28:26 We'll bring them on to the show to be able to do that. But, man, I think free agency is the way right here, right now. And as we've seen outside of Sequin and Derek Henry, the depreciation and the value on running backs in terms of the contract market is favorable for the Broncos to go out right now and to make a move to entice a player to come. And let's not forget, as you have you brought up before, the Broncos this past off season, they pursued Josh Jacobs and we're not able to get him. When you look at a back who's similar style to Josh Jacobs, Nick Chubb seems to fit that bill quite a bay here. So that would be the most appealing thing to me. And obviously, Broncos country, we want to hear from you as well. well, do you prefer the Broncos to go the NFL free agency route or do you believe that they should go the NFL draft route to bring in a running back?

Starting point is 00:29:10 That is our question to you. At this point, Sarah, our final one that we're going to have here, Javante Williams, we've talked about what we think will happen. Do you think that the Broncos should bring him back or do you think that they should let him walk here in free agency? I think you've got to let him walk. The reason to bring him back would be his abilities on third down. We did see added value from Giovante. And the passing downs, he became kind of what Samajai P. Ryan was last year where you can rely on him to catch passes out of the backfield. You can rely on him to pass protect.

Starting point is 00:29:43 And Javante did a lot of dirty work that deserves recognition. I mean, for what he lacked in the last two years in lead back, you know, qualities, I think he more than made. And I can't say he more than made up for, but he definitely did his part to make up for it in terms of past protecting, picking up blitzes, things like. like that. It's just an unfortunate situation to where the Broncos need to raise the floor at the position. And you'll hear me say that many times throughout the course of the off season. And I just don't think Javante is the guy to do that. He may need to change a scenery. And I think that's okay for everybody. Sometimes it just doesn't work out in the NFL. George Payton got a couple of all pro guys from that draft class. So he's got to kind of maybe eat that one just a little bit because

Starting point is 00:30:27 I know he loved Javante compared him to Zique and Nick Chubb coming out. And I think that that's, it just sucks to have to move on from a guy like that, especially because Giovante is not even 25 years old yet. But at the same time, you've got to raise the floor of that running back room. You have to find a way to upgrade the position right now. And I'd argue running back is probably the biggest priority for Denver in the off season in terms of what they probably need to address the most in terms of crucially. I don't even know if that's a word.

Starting point is 00:30:54 We're making it up here on the show here. But Broncos country, we appreciate you. As always, we're continuing our position preview for all you, everyday listeners tomorrow's episode show here's what you can expect we're going to take a look at the broncos wide receiver position what do we learn about that room in 2024 do they need to add another guy going into 2025 we'll answer that break that down and talk about how they can address it on tomorrow's brand new episode lock down broncos we'll see you then

Locked On Broncos - Daily Podcast On The Denver Broncos - Why Denver Broncos' Running Game Needs a Major Overhaul

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