05-23-25 Hour 1 of Broncos Country Tonight with Zach Segars

Episode Transcript

Speaker 1 (00:00):
Come back to another post Rockies edition of Broncos Country Tonight,
a Friday special as the Rockies continue to try and
chase some less than glorious history. I'm your fill in
host once again on Friday, Zach Seegers covering for Benjamin
Albright and Nick Ferguson. And we've got a good number

(00:21):
of Broncos topics and NFL topics to talk about in
the dead period right now. But we're still seeing some
news and some happenings roll out, which is always a
lot of fun. Most namely, the NFL has okayed players
to compete in the twenty twenty eight Summer Olympics. Now,
it should be noted, you know, the flag football set
up there will be quite different than what we're used

(00:42):
to seeing on Sunday, Saturdays or even Fridays, but even
you know, be in summers on seven on seven's, but
should be an event the US performs pretty well in
and you know, could do for what football maybe what
you know, the nineteen ninety two Dream Team did for
basketball in terms of expanding the game's popularity internationally. It's

(01:03):
also a great opportunity to kind of have these all
Star team Fantasy team conversations where there's actually stakes, you know,
in the theory. The idea of a Pro Bowl is
really cool, you know, two superstar teams going against each other.
The problem is no one cares, you know, and there's
there's no time to practice and get everything ready. This

(01:25):
everyone's going to care about. It's the chance to represent
your country. I mean, you see hockey players in the
foreign nations, how much that meant to them, you know,
basketball players. Even though the US is a heavy favorite.
You know, watch that Courts of Gold documentary. It clearly
carries weight to get to representing your country, to potentially
bring home gold. And this roster is going to be

(01:45):
probably twelve to fifteen people. It's an Olympic event that
is kind of throwing the US a bone for hosting.
We saw breakdancing in the Paris Games, right than this
kind of typical. The bone they're throwing to the US
is having football in the Olympics, which is really cool,
but that means we might never see it again. So
that means there might be fifteen players in NFL history
that ever get to win a medal in football, making

(02:10):
it far more exclusive of a club than even the
Hall of Fame considerably more. You know, there's four hundred
some people in the Hall of Fame, and that's wildly prestigious.
If you are able to, in that twenty twenty eight
snapshot be one of those twelve to fifteen elite players,
that's going to be incredibly meaningful. And so I do
think you'll see a lot of stars show up for it,

(02:31):
and you are going to see them exert themselves and
try to bring home the gold for the US, And
I think we will get some amazing games as a result,
or at least some amazing spectacle. There might not be
much competition, but I think the spectacle of it all
will be pretty great. You know, seeing Lamar Jackson throw
to Justin Jefferson and Jamar Chase or whatever crazy nonsense

(02:53):
happens should be a lot of fun. But it got
me thinking, this is an article I'll have coming out
on k Away, Colorado shortly. You know, which Denver Broncos
have the best chance at playing in the twenty twenty
eight Summer Olympics as a football player, not imagining them
getting into track and field or anything else. Who has

(03:14):
the best chance of making it as a football player,
And there's five I came up with that I think
have a pretty good chance right now. I'll note that
I am taking into account the fact that this is
happening in twenty twenty eight. As a result, the oldest
player on this list is Patrick Sartan. He'll be twenty
eight at the time of the twenty twenty eight games,

(03:36):
so he should still should be in the prime of
his career as a cornerback, and he's far and away
the best corner we have in the league. Now, you know,
Travis Hunter is an amazing prospect. Maybe he can challenge
for that throne. Derek Stingley's on the come up and
he can maybe challenge for that throne. But it's so rare. Again,
three times over the last three decades we've seen a
cornerback win Defensive Player of the Year. It's unheard of

(04:01):
that the peak that certain is at right now is
hard for anyone to achieve. And he's got seemingly a
lot left in the tank. So I think he's got
a great chance to make the Olympics because in this setup,
for people that don't know the games are five on five,
the basic offensive setup is you have a quarterback, three
wide receivers and a snapper who immediately becomes a wide

(04:23):
receiver themselves after snapping the ball. So the emphasis on
corner play is massive. You need a lot of guys
who can in you know, a seven on seven kind
of setting. It's what's five on five, But in that
kind of wide open setting, you can put on an
island against the guy and they can lock him down,
or you know, they can have incredible range and intelligence

(04:46):
to lock down a certain zone of the field. It's
going to be very hard to play defense in this league,
so you need setup. So you're going to need elite
defenders to be able to pull it off. I think
Certan fits that bill to a te where you know
he can thrive in the zone stuff that I think
it might be more realistic for this format. But if

(05:07):
anyone to lock down the best receiver on the opposing
team down after down in these wide open spaces, it
would be Patzertan. That's not a surprise, but I think
far and away he has to be the favorite of
the Denver Broncos to make it. Now, it should be
noted the Broncos will not have multiple representatives on Team USA.

(05:30):
Part of the rule of the NFL past allows for
only one player from each team per country. Now, if
the Broncos, I don't know if someone else on the
team has you know, if bo Nicks can somehow claim
Italian heritage or something like that and play for Team Italy,
that's fine. But you can't have multiple players from the

(05:51):
same team on Team USA. So that will hurt the
other players on this list after Patrick Startan, but I
do think they each have a strong case in their
own rights. Starting off with Marvin Mims. Now, he might
be a funk choice because he's not Justin Jefferson. He's
not Tyreek Hill, one of these established superstar receivers. But

(06:14):
what he is is an incredible open field player. He's
incredibly fast, he's great vision, he's incredibly elusive. His contact
balance won't come to play in this setting, but that
human joystick capability that he clearly has should play very
well in a flag football landscape. Multiple time All Pro

(06:35):
now as a returner, and that skill set should translate
to this game. Also, we've seen him operate out of
the backfield as a receiver, which could be handy because again,
the typical setup you of a snapper, three receivers and
a quarterback. Now Some of those receivers might line up
in the backfield on occasion, but that won't be their

(06:56):
primary usage, so we might not see a running back
on the team. Mims is one of the rare receivers
in the league, you know, and there's a good handful
of them out there, but not many who has experienced
even limited experience lining up in the backfield and either
running routes from that alignment or just straight up getting
the ball and trying to create plays as a ball carrier.

(07:20):
He's also incredibly young, so he would just be hitting
his prime as Team USA is starting to come into focus.
The fact he's not a superstar might also serve him again,
we might see because this is a exhibition event. In
a lot of ways, NFL owners might be uncomfortable trotting

(07:44):
out their superstar players are allowing their superstar players to
play in these games. Marvin Mims might be in the
tier of player where he's incredibly talented and useful enough
to make the team and have a role on the team,
yet also not a Justin Jefferson, or someone who's so
critical to their team's success that the head coach or

(08:06):
GM or owner shuts it down before it even becomes
a possibility. The third best option here, I think is
Nick been the talented rising edge rusher. Now he might
not be on the Broncos by the time this comes around,
is his contract situation is in limbo, But for now
he's a Bronco and he would make a good bit

(08:28):
of sense. As in Olympic pass rusher. The wart in
his game is that he's a little undersized for the
edge position and he has to win more with speed
and bend than you know power. He's not going to
bowl rush many people on his way to the quarterback.
He's not going to you know, create separation from a
block with a really powerful punch because he's just a

(08:50):
little bit smaller guy. That's not how he wins. And
you know, he's been very effective at that. Even if
there are some obstacles that that play style might present,
those obstacles aren't present in this flag football landscape. There's
not an offensive line, so he doesn't have to worry
about you know, again, his style was so much round.
I'm going to with a fast jump off the line,

(09:13):
his incredible flexibility and bend and just general speed, I'm
almost going to kind of run around the tackle or
you know, get on his outside shoulder, put him in
an uncomfortable position, give myself the advantage and win that way.
And we saw just last season he was incredibly effective
at that. But he can run into trouble on occasions
when he gets locked up with a tackle because he

(09:34):
doesn't have the physical strength to dominate the matchup at
that point. Again, not a concern in flag football. It's
all about speed. All the contacts stuff around to near zero,
so he can just run straight at the quarterback and
that's something he is incredibly adept at. You know, his
sack numbers last season have maybe been knocked some for

(09:57):
being inflated. Will that might have been, you know, because
everyone on that defensive line was doing such a great
job creating pressures, causing having for the quarterback, and Nick
Benito oftentimes was right there to clean it up. Well,
that's a skill, and that's a valuable one. When you're
the only pass rusher, you're unblocked one on one, you
and the quarterback. You don't want Jamar Stewart, who you

(10:17):
know was tightened the hips, could never finish the play
in college, seemingly was blind as a bat back there
in the backfield and couldn't wrap up the quarterback and
create those sacks even though he had a lot of pressures.
The pressure is a given in the flag football setup.
You need someone that's going to finish the rep and
Nick Benito does that, making him a potentially ideal fit

(10:38):
for that flag football setup. Now, because contact is so
little of a factor here, it's possible that Benito's almost
too much of a front seven player to get selected.
We might see five defensive backs with the designated pass
rusher being a guy, and the defensive set appears you

(10:59):
have one donated pass rusher for coverage players, the designated
pass rusher can drop in coverage if you want, which
is another reason Benito would be a great fit. We
know he has great instincts as a coverage player with
his two pick sixes, and if he's not a cornerback,
he could hold his own maybe in some situations there,
but he still won't be as effective as say, like

(11:21):
a Kyle Hamilton in coverage. And if we're not worried
about an offensive line, we're not worried about blocking, is
someone like a Kyle Hamilton or you know, a Trent McDuffie,
one of these defensive backs who's a really adept blitzer
are one of those, maybe a better option for that
designated pass rusher role so you have the most speed
on the field as possible. Nonetheless, with Benito as a young,

(11:43):
ascending talent who gets after the quarterback and you know,
finishes these reps more often than not, also has the
versatility to drop back in coverage, I think he is
a very sensible selection for Team USA. These next two
options here first, but they're young ones. We're gonna start
with last year's first round pick, Bo Nicks. Now it's

(12:03):
going to be an uphill climb for Bo. He would
have to get helped out somewhat like Marvin Nims, where
maybe some of these other guys like Patrick Mahomes and
Josh Allen and Lamar Jackson and Kyler Murray aren't allowed
to play. But Bo would make sense in this setup
as a very mobile quarterback. We saw how effective he
can be as a runner last year, especially before the

(12:25):
back injury, and we've seen him improve rapidly as a passer.
Now the problem for him again, the quarterback field right
now is just so loaded and only one player is
going to get that honor as opposed to you know,
four receivers might be selected, four defensive backs might be selected,
and maybe even five where it's a little easier to

(12:47):
make it. It's going to be very hard to make
it as a quarterback, probably even harder to make it
as a running back. Nonetheless, if bo Nicks can take it,
can continue to improve and develops into you know, the
top five, top ten quarter fact that Sean Payton envisions
him being, it's not hard to imagine him being good
enough to at least garner consideration for this flag football landscape.

(13:11):
Plus Lamar Jackson and some of the other obvious names,
Kyler Murray, these very mobile, dual threat quarterbacks will be
three years older than they currently are right now and
have three more seasons of wear and tear. Will they
still be the same mobile threats they are now? And
of course, you know you've got a fresh wave of
guys coming up with Jalen Milroe and whatnot. But bo

(13:33):
Nix has established himself as at least a quality starter.
If he can continue to develop, continue to improve his
game and become a you know, perennial Pro Bowl level
player with his combination of mobility and that kind of
point and shoot point guard style, which we know thrives
in seven on seven settings. He could be a very
sensible pick for Team USA's quarterback and what an honor

(13:57):
that would be for Broncos Country. Finally, last, but not least,
Ja Day Baron. He's number five on my list and
I think he could make a lot of sense for
Team USA for that same thing I was mentioning with
Nick Bonito earlier. You probably want your designated pass rusher

(14:19):
to have some real coverage ability, and because of the
black contact, you might even consider it defensive back who
better than Ja Da Baron, who we know can thrive
in the nickel, Which is important here because as the
nickel defender, you're having to deal with the receiver that
has a two way go right. They can operate right,
they can operate left. You don't have the sideline as

(14:41):
a defender on the outside, you can pinch off a
receiver by kind of walling them off against the sideline
and use that boundary to your advantage as a point
of leverage. Jade Barron and the nickel never gets to
utilize that. As a designated rusher, who's going to line
up closer to the spot of the defense, that's ideal.

(15:03):
He also is incredibly instinctive a great you know, hanging
coverage player, which would work great in this setup. And
he is a deadly blitzer and great at just firing
downhill making plays in the run game. That should serve
well for you know, coming after the quarterback and pulling
that flag and making a play there. And he's plenty

(15:24):
fast to cause havoc for opposing quarterbacks in that setting.
Any you're just lined up seven yards away from the guy,
he's got like one point five second five yard or
ten yard split. Good luck to the quarterback man. That
could be an absolute nightmare to deal with. It gets
compared very frequently to Trent McDuffie, who I mentioned earlier
is one of these ideal defensive backs to plug into

(15:46):
that role. Well, Trent McDuffie will be three years older then,
while Baron might be in the prime of his career.
As a result, maybe barn is the player in that
archetype and not McDuffie anymore. Everybody, that's my top five.
Let me know your top five over on Twitter at
zach Underscore Seegers. Who do you think we could see

(16:07):
from the Denver Broncos in the twenty twenty eighth Summer Games.
After the break, we'll look at the Denver Broncos position groups,
how they stand right now and you know what move
make to continue rounding out the roster. What are the
remaining weaknesses on this group, We'll dive into that and
how they could potentially remedy them. Stay tuned on KOA

(16:30):
eight fifty am ninety four one f Stay tuned on
KOA eight fifty am ninety four one FM from more
Broncos Country Tonight after this post Rockies Late Night Broncos
Country to Night. As always on these Fridays, it's your
filid host Zach Segers covering for Benjamin Albright and Nick

(16:54):
Ferguson last segment, we looked at the breaking news this
week that the NFL is going to allow its star
players to compete in the twenty twenty eight Summer Olympics
and which Denver Broncos could find themselves in the running
for that incredibly illustrious honor, something that probably more valuable

(17:16):
than an All Pro spot. You know, there's going to
be fewer NFL gold medalists than MVPs probably, so that's
going to be quite the honor. Looked at which Broncos
could potentially crack that roster. Speaking of rosters, though this segment,
we're going to take a quick look at the Denver
Broncos roster as it stands. Now. You know, maybe there's

(17:40):
a few more free agents to be signed, but for
the most part, the Broncos fifty three are in Denver
as it currently stands. Again, maybe two three pieces need
to get swapped out, but overall, that final roster is
just about set. It just needs to get whittled down
now from the ninety that are currently there. So with

(18:00):
that in mind, with the dust now settling, how does
the Broncos roster stand? How does it stack up? What
are the remaining positions of need? What are the obvious strengths.
Let's start with the strengths. I think the strongest position
group on the Broncos has to be cornerback, and I
think you could have made the argument it was cornerback

(18:21):
before they even spent a first round pick on Johd A. Baron.
So now it's absolutely the strongest position group on this team.
I mean, you've got Patrick Tartan who just turned in
one of the greatest cornerback seasons we've ever seen. Frankly,
he deserves to not only be viewed as the best
in the game right now, but having reached a peak

(18:45):
we rarely rarely see in the game. Outside of him,
you've got Riley Moss, who I think is getting a
little too much hate from Broncos country. He didn't look
great off a NCL injury. Most corners wouldn't with that
little time to repair. He trying to get the Broncos
into the playoffs for the first time in a long time,
and he struggled down the stretch. But you look at

(19:05):
all his play before that MCL injury, and he was
a truly elite cornerback. You know, PFF I don't think
is the greatest metric, but for much of the season
he had a better coverage I think through thirteen fourteen
weeks he had a better coverage grade than Certan, which
whether or not you agree with that and I don't,
it underlines the point that he was doing a darn

(19:26):
good job in his own right. Mc millan now probably
gets French, but he was an average too above average
starter in the nickel role these past couple seasons. Now
you're going to have him coming off the bench. Same
thing goes for Chris abrams Strain, who proved to be
a very solid insurance option on the boundary dealing with
those injuries. He came in and even though it took

(19:48):
them a while to get to him, with Levi Wallace
getting the first nod, he played really well. And then
you get Johday Barron who projects as a plug and
play star Nickel who could maybe even play some outside
cornerback for you. You know, that's five guys who you
could feel pretty comfortable having start for you. Not that
you want Chris Abramstrain starting, but I don't think you're

(20:09):
terrified of that the same way you were a Levi
Wallace starting last year. So that's far and away the
strongest position group. Next up, I think you got to
go to the defensive line. Then defensive line also goes
pretty deep and also has incredible star talent. You know,
Zach Allen probably didn't get the love he deserved for
his incredible season last year, but he was one of
the most you know, five ten impactful defensive players in

(20:31):
the entire league last season with his ability to regularly
create massive amounts of interior pressure and just blow up
plays from the inside. He was just amazing. So you've
got him leading the unit, You've got DJ Jones and
John franklin Meyer's supporting. Who are you know, maybe the
most underappreciated members of this roster with how much they
bring his pass rushers and then critically they're they're maybe

(20:53):
the most valuable run defenders on the team at the
very least on the very short list for that honor.
And behind that great trio, you've got Malcolm Roach as
an awesome number four. He's been a great signing for
the Denver Broncos. Again, another player on all three downs.
Run game, pass game, it doesn't matter even had that
interception in coverage or that great coverage play, I should

(21:16):
say after that, though, there was a solid drop off
last season all the way to Jordan Jackson, and the
Broncos are hoping they can remedy that some with Savion Jones,
and I think that should help some and help provide
an insurance plan for franklin Meyer's likely departure after this year,
but that remains unproven. And last year that drop off

(21:37):
after the fourth guy was a real problem. You know,
Zach Allen played the most snaps per game of any
defensive lineman in the league. It's a lot of wear
and tear and something the Broncos should not ask him
to do again. However, if they're going to limit his usage,
they're going to need that fifth guy, whether it's Jordan Jackson,
whether it's Savian Jones, to step up. Heck, they might
need both of them to step up so they can

(21:58):
go six deep and create some more depth, create a
lighter workload for Zach Allen. With that said, defensive line
has some concerns that corner just does and half, which
is why, although it's a great unit, falls in the
number two slot. After that, I think you go to
the other side of the ball with the offensive line.

(22:20):
Broncos under Sean Payton have done a great job investing
in the trenches and that's paying dividends here too. Three
of the five starters you feel pretty comfortable saying are
above average starters, with Quinn Minors in the conversation for
best guard, Gary Boles probably not in that elite tackle conversation,
but just on the outside looking in, and Mike McGlinchey

(22:41):
as an average to comfortably above average starter at right tackle.
Ben Powers and Wandenberg have maybe been a little underwhelming,
but neither of those pieces have been notably below average.
You know, maybe you're not getting your bang for your
buck with Ben Powers, but I think both of those
options are no worse than you know, average starters. And

(23:02):
then the depth I think is very promising. Alex Paulchesky
plugged in it guard some last year, plugged in it
tackle some last year and looked awesome, which is unbelievable
for a second year undrafted free agent. It was also
his first year really getting to practice with the team
ostensibly his rookie year as after he missed his true
rookie year with an injury. So looking that good out
of the box as an undrafted free agent, Considering his

(23:25):
work came early in the year, It's not like he
had three months of practicing with the team. It was,
you know, in the first half of the season, hit
the ground running, looked great. I think that's a very
solid swing option. You've also got Matt pat coming back
who wasn't phenomenal but was solid in that reserve role
as well. He gives them an extra body, and I

(23:46):
think that is another really deep, really sturdy position for
the Broncos. You'd like it to be deeper. But most
offensive lines in the league don't have six seven guys,
And I think the Broncos can pretty comfortably say they
feel good about six or seven of their guys in
that room. Next up his edge and you know what,
now talking to this out loud, maybe I have edge

(24:06):
too low. Maybe edge deserves to be up ahead of
the offensive line. This is another tremendous unit for the Broncos.
You have a defensive Player of the Year candidate in
Nick Bonito, Jonathan Cooper is coming off the best season
of his career. Andrea Tilleman and jonah Alis were great
depth pieces last year as rookies, and you know, if
they continue to develop, they should only continue to become

(24:29):
more and more impactful and more valuable presences on this defense.
And now you've got you know, Ke Robinson, maybe even
Savion Jones gets some snaps out on the edge, rounding
out the room, further bolstering kind of the embarrassment of
riches the Broncos have here. There's it's really hard to
find a flaw in this room. You know, it doesn't

(24:49):
have the high end talent that the three ahead of
the edge group does. You know, offensive line, you maybe
have the best guard in football with Quinn Miners defensive line,
and you've got Zach Allen who is absolutely in elite
presence up front and defensive back, and the other you've
out the best corner in the sport. With certain Edge,

(25:10):
I don't think anyone's arguing Benito deserves to be there. However,
I will say he took a tremendous leap from year
one to year two, and match that leap going from
year two to year three. He was a great player.
In year two, he led the team in pressure's pass
rush win rate, very impactful pass rusher. Didn't have the
crazy production we saw in year three, but that was

(25:30):
the leap he took. Do we see Benito take a leap?
Not even of that size, because he's have been massive
developmental leaps. But what if he grows even half as
much this offseason as he did in the last two,
he might be knocking on the door. So that's an
argument in favor of the Edge group's top end talent
that I do think they're lacking a little more than
those top three. Next up safety and Jilli Barn's helping

(25:53):
safety climb up too, because he can help play some
safety as well. He's got the skill set for it.
He can help bolster the depth there, and the Broncos
are in a good spot at safety, which is important.
They invested a lot in an injury prone player, so
it's great. They already have some backup plans available on
the roster. But still, you know, you've got that top

(26:16):
end talent with talanoa Hufanga. You've got Brandon Jones, an
incredibly versatile piece who maybe the most slept on Bronco
from last season outside the defensive lineman. I mean, he
was flying all over constantly making plays, created so many
turnovers last year. Was a great addition, you know, outside
of bo Nick's probably the best addition of their offseason.

(26:36):
I'd say, probably even more so than Franklin Myers. He
was tremendous. PJ. Locke obviously was disappointing in that starting role,
but we have seen him crush it as a special
teamer and backup safety. Who hey, we need you to
start in a pinch. He can fill that need and
he can do a good job at it. Should he
be a starter, unfortunately not? Is he you know, one

(26:57):
of the better reserve options, one of the best reserve
options in the sport also true, absolutely, so then with
Barron you might be going four deep with some real
quality options. At least you've got two really strong reserve pieces,
two really good starters. And then they're also going to
get dt Y back this year. Not that he was
ever a tremendous player, but he was a nice depth

(27:19):
piece in that room, helped contribute on special teams. He
was out all of last season with injury. His return
should helps them there. And J. L. Skinner has improved
every year. It's only been two but each of the
two years he's been in the league so far, maybe
he's ready to Honestly, I think he probably steals that
roster spot from Dty and he is your fifth guy

(27:39):
in that room, which still would give the Broncos just
an embarrassment of riches with so many players they can
feel good about not only starting, but also making major
contributions on special teams and being valuable players in that
role too. Going into the back half here, we got
wide receiver. Now, they made some moves here, but I
think we can agree Sutton, as good as he is,

(28:02):
doesn't match some of the top end talent that other
position groups are bringing and there are some depth concerns
with you know, who's the starting Z on this team.
Maybe Marvin Mims. That would make sense, but that was
the plan for last year and he wasn't able to
seize it. Maybe he is this year and then problem
solved to an extent. But if not, the Broncos don't

(28:23):
really have a great answer for the boundary Opposite Courtland,
Sutton and a lot of their weapons, Valat, Pat Bryant,
Evan Ingram, maybe even Marvin Mims if he's not able
to make that leap as a Z receiver. You could
argue those guys all operate as their best out of
the slot. Troy Franklin even has an argument for that case.

(28:45):
So how do the Broncos make that work? Also, I
think it goes without saying. You know, it's not like
you have three four guys in this room you feel
great about. I think you feel pretty good about Sutton,
feel pretty good about Valley in his role. Mims is
a great gadget piece. You hope he can become more
of a well rounded receiver. But beyond those three, you know,
it's a lot of faith in Pat Bryant or some

(29:06):
of these other guys to step up if an injury happens,
and I think that's a less than ideal spot. So
they land in the back half here though still you
got a solid starting rotation. It's not a super glary need.
Pat Bryan a good young draft pick added to the mix,
So they land there. Quarterback is next up, and before
any one jumps down my throat, Bonix is good, but

(29:29):
I don't think you can say undeniably he's in the
top third of the league, you know, which for Sutton
we'd be talking about. I mean, hell, if you want
to look at eleven personnel, he'd have to be one
of the thirty two best receivers in the league to
clear that bar. So I don't think the top end
talent is necessarily there yet, not that it can't be.

(29:49):
I'm not saying he has a low ceiling, but we're
one year into this guy's career. We've seen, you know,
Mac Jones as an example, have rookie year and then
fall off the next. So let's not count any chick
before they hatch. But Nix is a good option. The
Broncos more so land here because they've kind of got
some shaky backup plans with Jarrett Stidham and Sam Ellinger.

(30:10):
I don't think either of those guys get you overly excited.
Stidham I think can fill in in a pinch, but
it's going to be a solid step down. And I
think he's just average to slightly above among the backups.
You've got a number three quarterback. I don't think you
can trust to do a thing. I'm not a Sam
Ellinger guy at all. I like his moxie, you know,
but as a football player, I think he leaves a

(30:31):
lot to be desired. Now here's another solid tier break
to these final three positions. These are the three that
I think you know as I'm entering the season, these
look like points of weakness for me. These are weaknesses
on the roster areas where hopefully they make another signing
or two because it needs to be addressed. Starting off
with linebacker in the third to last spot, Dray green

(30:54):
Law is an awesome signing. Beyond that, that linebacker room
looks very, very scary and not two opponents, but to
the Denver Broncos Alex Singleton, each of the past two
seasons has been among the ten worst linebackers, and last
season was a small sample. Again, this is a multi
season problem for both twenty twenty three and twenty twenty four,

(31:15):
where he ranked among the bottom ten linebackers in missed
tackle rate. So missing tackles at a very very high level.
Now total tackle numbers are there unknigably. It's like a
baseball player having a lot of hits but having a
very poor batting average, and at a point, you know,
the batting average probably matters more than the hit total.

(31:36):
Not only that, but Singleton is a very limited player
in coverage and green Law. Although he solid in coverage,
you probably want to compliment him with a coverage aase
and Singleton's not that so thirty one coming off a
tour in ACL last year, you know what version of
Alex Singleton are they getting, because again, even the guy
last year left something to be desired. But if this

(31:57):
version of Alex Singleton's a meaningful down, great on that
twenty twenty four version, that's really concerning and also fairly realistic.
After that's or not. I think did well as a
reserve player last year, but you don't have any clear
guys with starter upside after those top two. You know,
maybe Drew Sanders actually, but he is so unproven right now.
I think it's hard to bank on that as the

(32:20):
team's really loan backup plan at the position, especially when
considering green Law's injury history. You know, you would like
a better insurance plan for one of your riskiest editions,
and the Broncos don't have a backup plan, leaving them
very vulnerable to that risk. The last two here, I
think you go running back. I like RJ. Harvey a lot.

(32:40):
I didn't even think it was a reach. I thought
he was a bargain. I had him ranked as my
fortieth player in the draft, had no problem with the
Broncos drafting him at sixty. But he's a rookie, He's unproven.
Everything I just said about bo Nicks applies tenfold to RJ. Rvy,
who's never played in a preseason game, let alone a
regular season game. But he's an exciting piece, and I

(33:00):
think estimate when he wasn't fundling the ball, showed you
some good things last year. Still, though, I think it
could be a very serious need for this team in
a position where they have to add another body. Finally,
last up, we got the tight end room. You know,
Adam Troutman is a below average starter and Beyond that,
you've got kind of this gadget utility piece of Nate Adkins,

(33:21):
a guy who's learning how to play the sport of football,
in Caleb Loaner and Lucas Kroll, who you know, maybe
got some summer hype last year but has never really
lived up to expectations for the Broncos. I don't know
who you trust their team even be an average starter
this upcoming year. You know, r J Harvey, Prodrick Estime.
I can kind of easily imagine them being at least

(33:43):
average to slightly below average starters. We know for a
fact Adam Troutman is the best player in this room
for now. Maybe Loner gets there, but it's going to
take some development. And as the best player in this room,
he is a comfortably well below average starter and as
a result, and without great insurance plans behind him, I
think tight end has to be the weakest position group

(34:05):
on this roster. Time for us to hit a break.
But stick around, because coming up we're going to look
at the Summer Olympics and which Broncos could potentially make
that roster on More Broncos Country to Night eight fifty AM,
ninety four to one fm,