Locked On Broncos - Daily Podcast On The Denver Broncos - WILDCARD: Denver Broncos’ Jaylen Waddle Set to EXPLODE in Chiefs Matchup on Monday Night Football

Starting point is 00:00:00 Denver Broncos wide receiver, Jalen Waddle is the biggest threat on the field on Monday night, and he's going to be the reason why the Broncos march into Arrowhead and win. 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, Cody Roar, credential Broncos reporter here for another episode of the show. Today, I'm going to tell you why Jalen Waddle is going to be the reason the Broncos beat the Chiefs on Monday night football, on why he's primed to explode in his Broncos debut. Plus, Riley Moss is going to draw the coverage assignment more than likely of Xavier Worthy

Starting point is 00:00:40 and why the Broncos actually like him in this situation compared to other matchups. And we'll go through and tell you why Jonah Ellis has a prime opportunity to showcase why he should be a starter in the NFL against Jalen Moore. On today's episode of the show brought to you by our friends over there at Fandul, get $350 in bonus bets, guaranteed when you bet $5 every day for seven days, join all the action at Fandul. I'm excited about this one here because Jalen Waddle is the one guy on the field here, Broncos country, coming into this matchup where I truly feel like the Kansas Chiefs

Starting point is 00:01:11 don't have an answer for him. They won't have an answer for him. There is not one player, I think, on the Chief's roster that can follow number 17 around. And he's one of those guys that even defensive coordinator for Kansas City, Steve Spagnolo, had mentioned when he goes through and he identifies how to game plan for certain teams each week. He always identifies the Waldo guys, right?

Starting point is 00:01:32 where is he? They got to know where this guy is at at every set of the field, every down. They need to know where he's at. And number 17 is that. But Steve Spagnold will even acknowledge that the Broncos have several guys who are like that. But they don't have anybody, legurious need, rookie cornerback, Mansour Delane. They don't have anybody that can travel exclusively with Jalen Watton. Because the Broncos like to move their wide receivers around, you're going to see Waddle in the slot. You're going to see him on the outside left side. You're going to see him on the outside opposite of Cortland Sutton, who's going to be on the other opposite outside side here for the Broncos offense. They have a lot of different personnel groupings that they can mix and match.

Starting point is 00:02:08 And there are going to be times where the Jerry estate will likely have to face Jailon Waddle. He has no speed to cover him. Monsor Delane's a very talented first round, rookie cornerback. He's not going to be able to keep up with Jalen Waddle vertically or even on in-breaking routes. And they have a secret sauce here with Jailant. The Broncos offense specifically has been looking for a guy like Jalen Waddle for a long time. They went out and they got their quarterback in Bo Nix. They feel like they have the offensive line that will help set the standard for what they want to do in terms of protecting Nix.

Starting point is 00:02:38 They know how to play well off one another. But they've been missing that secret weapon. That one guy who is just a threat to take it for a touchdown anytime he touches the football. And I think on Monday night football, that's going to be the Broncos game plan. It's come out to run the ball a little bit early. But I think the first target, first two targets you may see here, I think it's going to be going to Jalen Waddle, whether he's in the slot, whether he's on the outside, the Chiefs, as I've mentioned before, they don't have the personnel that can just simply go play cover zero or cover one.

Starting point is 00:03:06 Jalen can beat cover one. Jalen can beat cover three and cover four, where the corners, they have the advantage pre-snap because they're off the ball at seven to eight yards. They're outside leverage. And yet Jalen has the speed to get behind the entire defense. And I've seen it personally firsthand here in training camp, not only against guys like Patrick Sertan the second, but other guys defensively.

Starting point is 00:03:26 We saw a little bit of a taste in the preseason against the green. Bay Packers, just what his speed element can provide specifically for Denver on third down when Denver converted that third and five against Green Bay. And they got them in demand coverage. The chiefs don't have that type of answer. So if they want to blitz, Bo Nix in the offense early and often, Bo's going to pick that up and he's going to throw against the blitz. He's going to know how to get J.

Starting point is 00:03:48 La Waddle the ball in space because Waddle specifically has the speed or he could run a three-step slant. He can catch it at about four or five yards and he can take it vertically for a touch. And it doesn't matter if it's against man. It's against zone. Even if there's a zone look, he can catch it across the middle and he can outrun a safety. I'd like him in the open field against a guy like a Lohe Gilman who I think he's a very solid safety.

Starting point is 00:04:12 I like him against Legerius Sneed who simply just can't keep up with a guy like Jalen. And I like him against the rookie. And if Bo Nix sees that Jalen is lined up against the rookie, I think he got to test that guy a little bit. Jalen Wattle specifically coming into Monday night football is going to be the reason that the Broncos win because they have. no answer for a guy like Jalen. And it is up to Bo Nixon-David-Davis Webb to get him the football and to attack those

Starting point is 00:04:35 matchups. And look, if the Chiefs want to allocate every resource towards stopping Jalen Waddle, Cortland Sutton's going to win his one-on-ones against Legerius Sneed. Pat Bryant, Evan Ingram, Troy Franklin, Marvin Mims, those guys are going to make plays and opportunities are going to help the Broncos win this game to start off 1-0 on the season here. And Broncos country coming up next, I'm going to tell you why Riley Moss has a very important assignment on Monday night football. his speed against Xavier Worthy speed is going to be

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Starting point is 00:06:21 Well, more rewarding than a touchdown with time expiring or in overtime. more rewarding than the 18-point comeback, maybe even more rewarding than an offensive lineman catching a touchdown. This season, Fandu was making the excitement go beyond what happens on the field with the all-new Fandu rewards club featuring exclusive offers, surprises, and more that you can get inside of the Fandu app specifically. So every week, check the Fandu app to see what's waiting for you. You can look at your week one matchups all across the NFL. We'll look at Monday night football with the Broncos. There are two and a half point road underdogs against Patchma homes and the Ken Sons.

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Starting point is 00:07:25 so much for rocking with us. You're on the Lockdown Podcast Network, your team every day. Also, the number one sports podcast network in the country. Thanks to all of you here. One of the bigger matchups here on Monday night football is going to be Riley Moss against Xavier Worthy because I think when you look at it on paper and you're trying to formulate what the best matchup is. And this could always change. The Broncos, they believe that all three cornerbacks, all three starters can travel anywhere, can line up on the outside, can line up on the inside. And so much of that, I think, would be tested here. because Andy Reid and the Chiefs are going to try to come out and run the football.

Starting point is 00:07:58 And what does that set up ultimately if you try to run the football, especially with a quarterback who's coming off of a multi-ligament knee injury? It's to set up the play action passing game. And we know guys like Travis Kelsey are probably going to try to thrive in the dink and dunk short-yarded situations. He can obviously create yards after the catch because he is deceptive and athletic in that regard. But Xavier Worthy is the one guy that if you're looking at the Broncos defense specifically, if they didn't have Patrick Sertan the second, who's probably going to be on Rishi Rice, You can almost assume PS2 is going to erase Rashi in almost every single matchup that they have specifically.

Starting point is 00:08:30 That's how good PS2 is. And that's a sign that probably Patch Mahomes and the Chiefs aren't going to try to look his way often. They may go there a few times, but they're not going to try to actually test him as much because he has the ability to go out there and intercept a pass. He's got sticky coverage. He's one of the hardest guys in football. And so naturally, that goes to Riley Moss here and Xavier Worley because Riley, we all know, and he's ready for it. He understands he's going to get a lot of attention and opportunities this season in the passing game because he's had over 200 plus targets already playing opposite of PS2.

Starting point is 00:09:01 But Riley's built for it. He's ready for it. We didn't get a chance to talk with him here this week specifically. But against Xavier Worthy, the challenge you run into with a guy of his speed, if he's on the line of scrimmage, you can walk up and you can play press. Riley, I think, has thrived a lot so far early on in his career by just mirroring guys off the line of scrimmage, not necessarily jamming and punching in press, but just mirroring. that technique, locating the end-breaking routes, playing on the hip, and then obviously

Starting point is 00:09:26 trying to close it in tightly at tight angles. When you run into a guy like Xavier Worthy, he has the ability to get behind an entire defense because of his long speed vertically and if he can break across the middle of field, that deep angles and deep points there where if you are in match or if you're playing outside coverage, if he has the free path inside, he's one of those guys that can get a step on you. And Patrick Mahomes is the type of quarterback that always throws with anticipation so he could spot throw him and that could get Xavier Worthy open his space. So that's going to be a challenge

Starting point is 00:09:56 here. But for Riley Moss specifically, I think you're going to see that physical element brought to the table here on Monday night football where there are going to be times where if he is on the line of scrimmage, Riley's going to come up, he's going to jam, he's going to press him. And even if a guy like Xavier Worthy is off the ball, Riley knows how to play patient. That's one of the things about him that stands out. And I think is very hard to identify in a lot of really good cornerback twos in today's game. Patience, short memory more importantly, but it all plays into his hands because if the Broncos early on here in this game on first down specifically, you can come out and shut down the run game with Kenneth Walker and it's second and

Starting point is 00:10:29 11 or it's second and nine. And then you get another stop there on second down. Well, now it's third and long. You know what you have to do? You have to throw the football. That plays directly into the hands of the Broncos pass rush, which then that symbiotic relationship between the pass rush generating pressure forcing the quarterback like Mahomes in his first game action back since he suffered that major knee injury to maybe get the ball to his hands quickly so it doesn't have to take unnecessary shots. That's where a guy like Riley can play within space at 10 to 15 yards, react on the ball quickly, maybe get himself an interception here on Monday night. The Broncos like his ability specifically to match up against Xavier Worthy because Riley is the fastest guy

Starting point is 00:11:07 defensively on this roster. I know a lot of people don't believe that, but it is true. He's been clocked at practice as running a 4.39 40-yard dash, and that makes the most sense right there. And there could be times where maybe PS2 lands up on Worthy, but I think that Riley against Xavier is the matchup to watch here, specifically on Monday night when you're trying to mitigate some of the big play opportunities. Now, where things can get rough for Denver's defense and it can put Riley in a tough situation is if the passbrush isn't getting home specifically early on

Starting point is 00:11:35 and the run game is working and now they can hit you with the play action stuff. You can take a shot. Let's say you have a seven-yard run on first down. You can actually do a play action on second and three. You can take a deep shot and you're still going to have a, if you don't get it, you get a manageable third and three. That's what the chiefs want to do. and they want to be able to round the ball specifically if that situation pops up.

Starting point is 00:11:55 Good run on first down. Take a shot on second down. And if it's third and short, you want to run the football with Kenneth Walker a little bit or get a quick dink and dunk pass. That is going to be the Chief's game plan. And Riley Moss, he's ready for the assignment to guard Xavier Worthy, who they also like to do some gadget and around stuff with as well. So I'm curious to see what Bench Joseph's approach is going to be like specifically in this game

Starting point is 00:12:15 when it comes to Riley, PS2, J-Quain Macmill, and even Jada, Barron, getting in the mix here on Monday night against all the receiving weapons for Kansas City. But I like Riley's chances in this matchup specifically against Xavier Worley, and it could ultimately define this game on Monday night. And that's going to lead us directly into our next matchup that we're going to be talking about. Nick Benito is going to see a lot of attention in this game specifically going against an undrafted rookie free agent offensive tackle trying to protect Patrick Mahomes. Well, that opens up opportunities for Jonah Ellis and his first opportunity to start at

Starting point is 00:12:46 outside linebacker, a chance to feast. against Jalen Moore and the numbers. Paint that as a favorable matchup for the Debra Bloccos. We'll get into that here on today's episode of the show. Matt Derry here from the Lockdown Lions podcast. You know, life insurance is one of those things. You don't really think about until you have a reason to. For me, it really hit home when my father passed away over 20 years ago.

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Starting point is 00:15:06 and one guy could benefit the most from it, but it's not Nick Benito. I'll tell you why here on today's episode of the show. I think we look at this final matchup to watch here on Monday night football. I've got my eyes on Jonah Ellis versus offensive tackle, right tackle Jalen Moore. The reason why Jalen Moore, sample size for him, he's been a guy that has given up pressure. Now for Jonah Ellis, a rotational pass rusher so far throughout the early part of his career going back to that 2024 draft class that Sean Payton told Greg Penner and Kerry Walton Penner, this is going to be the draft class that we look back on yours for now and says this is the class

Starting point is 00:15:42 that set it all up for us. Jonah Ellis is in a prime position now taking over as the starter and outside linebacker with Jonathan Cooper placed on the commissioner's exempt list. And he's got an opportunity to showcase why he should be a future starter. And it starts here against Jalen Moore specifically. Now, to the point about Nick Benito and why his matchup against an undrafted rookie for agent tackle, I think you look at that. If it's a one-on-one, you take Benito in that situation every time.

Starting point is 00:16:06 But because it's an undrafted rookie frasian offensive tackle starting in a game where Patrick Mohams is coming off of a major knee injury. It's his first game back and he's got to uphold his blind side. Well, you know what the chiefs are going to do in Andy Reid. They're going to allocate protection. They're going to bring an extra tight end, maybe an extra offensive lineman, or he can bring a back underneath to try to mitigate what Nick Benito can do because you're not going to leave an undrafted guy one-on-one against Nick Benito,

Starting point is 00:16:30 one of the best pass rushers in the NFL. Nick knows how to create pressure. He's done a really good job against the Broncos offensive tackles, but so has Jonah Ellis, who's going to be getting the start here. So because Benito is going to see extra attention, I imagine Zach Allen, who's going to be more than likely on Benito's side from time to time, is going to also see that attention. That means there's going to be more one-on-one opportunities outside for Jonah Ellis against Jalen Moore. And the numbers at True Media, tell us a little bit more about Jalen Moore and some of the tendencies and pressures he gave up last season as a member of the Chiefs here. Let's go to the numbers here.

Starting point is 00:17:03 He allowed 27 pressures and three sacks last season in seven games according to True Media. And I think when you look at it on a down-to-down basis, where did he allow the most pressure? Well, he allowed a lot of pressure on almost every single down when he was in specifically last season. On first down, he allowed six pressures in seven games. On second down, he allowed nine pressures. Third down, he allowed nine pressures. And fourth down, he allowed three pressures last season. And you compare that to Jonah Ellis, who was in a rotational role in just 13 games played for the Broncos last season because Jonah was banged up a little bit.

Starting point is 00:17:37 Jonah had 23 pressures in 13 games. Would have had far more had he stayed healthy, had he not been dealing with injuries. He was still a high impact player here for Denver. Now he's going to be the prime guy to start on Monday night. But when you compare what Jay Lamor gave up in terms of pressures last season, the 27 and seven games, and you look at the down-to-down basis, Jonah Ellis had four pressures last season on first down. And that's because there weren't many situations where he was in on the field on first down,

Starting point is 00:18:04 outside of several instances throughout the course of the season. But not as often as Nick Benito and Jonathan Cooper are going to be on first down. And when teams trying to run the football, it mitigates taking away some of those passing opportunities early on. So second down, though, is where things get interesting because Jonah last season had 11 pressures on second down, whereas Jalen Moore gave up nine pressures on second down last season. Jonah had six pressures on third down, two pressures on fourth down.

Starting point is 00:18:32 in my opinion, Jonah, not only coming into this season fully healthy for the first time in his NFL career, has the speed rush, has the power. I've watched him beat Mike McGlenshy. I've watched him beat Garrett Bulls. If you get him in a one-on-one against Jalen Moore, it is going to wreck the game if Patrick Mahomes has to hold on to the football. Jonah Ellis is going to come up and have some big plays, some sacks, maybe even a game-defining strip sack in this game specifically. And I think I would take him right now advantage-wise over Jay-Las. more here, especially in the one-on-one situation. Jonah will also, if he can go out there and do that, we'll showcase why he should be a future starter here for the Broncos.

Starting point is 00:19:10 He's going to tell them everything that they've already believed about him is him being one of the better players on the field for them defensively. But with that said, Broncos Country, that I wrap up today's bonus episode of the show, Sarah and I got you covered on Monday for our final game preview, our players to watch, keys to victory, bold predictions, you name it. We're going to bring that to the table on Monday night football. Kickoff is almost here. And in the meantime, after this, make sure you go check out our 24-7 locked-on NFL YouTube channel for the 2026 NFL season preview.

Starting point is 00:19:37 All three episodes are airing right now until Sunday at 1 o'clock p.m. Eastern time. So what team will be the final one standing? If you're on the audio, you can find on the locked on NFL feed wherever you get your podcast. We'll see you next time for another episode of the show.

Locked On Broncos - Daily Podcast On The Denver Broncos - WILDCARD: Denver Broncos’ Jaylen Waddle Set to EXPLODE in Chiefs Matchup on Monday Night Football

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