Episode Transcript
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Speaker 1 (00:00):
Breaking down the Broncos draft and a lot of the
draft storylines. And we're going to continue to do that
as we head out to the Koi Commas Spirit Health
Hotline to bring on a very good friend of the program,
Trevor Sikama at Tampa Bay. Trey Good always catch up
with you, my friend Jeron with Dave Logan, Ryan Edwards
and Shelby Harris.
Speaker 2 (00:16):
How are you, guys. It's great to be with you.
I appreciate you having me on the show, Man.
Speaker 3 (00:21):
We appreciate you coming on the show. So how did
from a national perspective, how did you look at the
Broncos draft?
Speaker 2 (00:28):
I loved it, I really did. You could tell that
Sean Payton's got his fingerprints all over this thing, but
I mean that in a good way. He's been one
of the better coaches in the NFL over the last
two decades. I love to think of John A. Barn
you know, I can't help him think a little bit
if Tampa Bay doesn't take a decade book at nineteen?
Is he the pick there for the Broncos at number twenty?
But alas that Muga was off the board and instead
(00:50):
of going with an offensive joker like we heard him
reference at the combine. He sort of goes to the
defensive player that he played basically everywhere during his college
career at Texas. He played safety, he played slot, he
played on the outside, and he just shows that he's
the game. Good football player. So I love that pick there.
That felt like VPA r j RVY is my boy.
I mean, this is somebody who I labeled as one
(01:10):
of my guys throughout this draft class. He was pretty
high on my RB rankings, even in a stack running
back class. So shoot, he even went sooner than I
thought he was going to go, But I think that
he's got RB one potential there, Pat Bryant, good football player.
I thought it was a little bit early for him,
especially for other receivers that were on the board at
a time, but hey, there aren't many proven X receivers
(01:33):
in this class, and if Brian was the one who
they gravitated towards from you know, interviews or just really
liking his tape, you've got somebody who could play on
the line of scrimmage, knows how to get off press coverage,
knows how to fight through the hand, fighting through the routes,
and he'll obviously block his potof too, so he got
to love that. I think Saveon Jones is a great
Quandarius Robinson two great additions to that defense. I think
(01:53):
Taylor Boner obviously, Jeremy Crosshaw, if he could end up
being the starting putner, that's great. But cayleb Blowner is
really fun too. I'm not sitting here and saying that
he's automatically Jimmy Graham, but this is somebody who with
a basketball background. Again, Sean Payton just knows how to
get these guys to sort of transition from the hardwood
to the gridiron and have sort of success, even it's
didn't streamlined role. So I felt like this draft was
(02:16):
very Sean Payton, very clearly. The Broncos were hitting the
gas pedal to say, hey, we were at top ten,
top five defense in a lot of metrics last year.
Let's be top three, if not the best defense in
the NFL. And so I'm excited to see this team
in twenty twenty five.
Speaker 3 (02:31):
No Black, no Rum, that's right, Bryant, right, Travis Shelby here, sir.
Just regarding r J. Harvey, obviously a lot of fans
were kind of surprised with him coming out to board
so early. But does that negate them or do you
see them pairing him up and going to go get
a veteran like a Nick Chubb or a JK. Dobbins.
Speaker 2 (02:53):
Yeah, I don't think it takes anything away. I mean,
it sort of depends on what they would think of
the rest the guys on the Rosster like macmillan. An
estimate is really the one that I look to and say, hey,
you know, this is the guy who graded really well
for as a PFF when he was at Notre Dame,
especially that last year that he was there. He's got
that bigger body, he's got that power profile. Do they
(03:14):
believe in his long term ability to sort of be
the smash or the smash and dash combination there with
him and RJ. Rvey Harvey? I think he kind of
do it all for you. But if you were going
to lean into one of his strengths or lean into
one of those categories and roles, you would say that
he's more of the lightning to the thunder. So I
don't think that it keeps you from signing a guy
like Nick Chobb. Obviously, chows been one of the best
(03:36):
running backs in the NFL. While he's been healthy. Help
is the reason why he'd be available, certainly, But I
don't think it takes away from the idea that you
would want to bring a veteran in, especially for the
expanded roster that you get during training camp. You know,
if he's still left out there and he's not gonna
you know, cost you a pretty penny, bring him in.
See what happens. Maybe he can be that RB two
for you, Maybe he can be somebody that is a
(03:59):
compliment by commit. But the more I look at it,
the more I think that that R. J. Harvey really
can be the lead back for this team.
Speaker 1 (04:07):
Travis Stigma joining us here from Pro Football Focus. I
want to go back to Jadda barn and I think
the Broncos ultimately selected him because they didn't think he'd
be there at pick twenty. Do you agree with that
assessment that you didn't think he would make it all
the way to twenty And do you think he plays
predominantly in the slot early on or would you like
to see him more on the outside. That's been an
early debate here in Denver.
Speaker 2 (04:27):
Yeah, so I really wasn't exactly sure where Johddy Barron
was going to go because you know, it's interesting just
being a draft analyst. You have your own evaluation on guys,
but you know that sometimes the NFL thinks a little
bit differently. And it felt like Jodday Barron, consensus wise,
was a little bit lower than where I had him ranked.
I had him as CB two in this class, you know,
considering a Hunter Travis Hunter as CB one. But I
(04:50):
had Jodday I think, right around eleven twelfth overall on
my big board. So I was a big fan of this
player At times throughout the season. I had him just
in the top ten at about eight or nine. So
I really love his and I wasn't exactly sure how
much the NFL thought the same. You know, this is
somebody who, like I said, he started his career really
playing safety for Texas and then he sort of turned
(05:10):
into this like apex slot nickel defender for them, and
I thought he was good enough to leave a declare
for the draft after the twenty twenty three NFL season.
Now that's before he played the out wide cornerback spot
that we saw him play this past season, and the
fact that he went back to Texas. Sure, you know,
like nil helped make it a national championship run like
(05:32):
that's all very alluring. But if you get a first
round grade, I think that you almost always go to
the draft. Most players would go to the draft to
get a first round grade. So it made me think, okay, well,
is the NFL is just a little bit lower on
him anyways, because after that twenty twenty three season he
must have not gotten a first round grade for them.
How much do they really bump him up after playing
(05:54):
well on the outside, albeit just one year at an
outside corner, and let's face it, really had the length
of a typical outside corner as well, shorter arms, much
shorter arms than a guy that you would want playing outside.
So I thought his range was anywhere from I think
starting at number eleven overall in the San Francisco forty
nine ers, he could have been considered there all the
(06:15):
way to number twenty six for the Los Angeles Rams
were picking. I would have told you that that was
the range for Baron and so Denver. Obviously it's back
dab in the middle of that, But if you ask me,
I think you should have gone to Miami at number thirteen,
definitely needing a new cornerback there because it feels like
Jaala Ramsey's time is taking down in Miami. I thought
(06:36):
that he would have been a perfect pick there. He
could have been in consideration at number fourteen as well,
fifteen of the Atlanta Falcons. They had a big cornerback
neat at the time before they addressed that a little
bit later in the draft. So I can understand them
not thinking that he would be there at twenty, but
I always did believe that somewhere within that range was
the reality for him. And so answering the second part
of the question, I would I'd probably give him a
(06:59):
chance to play outside corner and if that is where
he is most advantageous to you, then you could put
him on one side and pack your can on the other.
Good lord, that's that's quite the cornerback duo. But I
think it's that flexibility that you're never gonna want to
take out of him. You're not gonna you're not gonna
want to put that away. You're gonna want that to
be a reason why you drafted him at twenty, because
he could do so many different things for you.
Speaker 3 (07:20):
And then my last question here is our is obviously
they dropped Pat Bryan in the third round, and so
are the Broncos looking at us that as a, you know,
a possible way to move on from Courtland Sudden or
is it just a they thought it was just the
best receiver right there that they fit what they wanted.
Speaker 2 (07:41):
I think it's more of the latter. You know, Certainly,
if hey, if Pap Ryan plays incredibly well and they
feel like he is that Courland Sudden replacement, I suppose
that that's the reality that could manifest. But I just
I looked at their wide receiver room, and certainly before
they drafted Pap Ryan, it was really Courland Sudden and
then not a lot of other receivers on the roster
(08:02):
that you felt comfortable playing on the line of scrimmage,
having in contested catch situations, being able to play in
the red zone, you know, like MEM's and Franklin and
you know, guys like that, Like those guys are great
in those speed situations where you're kind of stretching the field,
you're doing things over the middle of those deep crossers,
those those slop fades, even like taking screen paths and
try to get guards after catch. They're much more speed
(08:24):
predicated players. And I think that Brian can certainly exist
in a world with Corland Sudden, because now you can
think about, all right, well, what if we're going out
there and we're playing these condensed sets, so it's eleven personnel,
or maybe it's twenty one personnel, but we're just playing
with guys who are in a little bit more condensed sets.
Wide receivers that are close to the line of scrimmage,
(08:45):
but we want them to be able to block. We
got to have that strength, and I think that Brian
just gives you more option there. So certainly he could
be a potential Quotlan Sutton replacement, but I don't think
they're drafting him thinking like, yes, this guy is absolutely
going to be here for the long term and Sutton is.
Speaker 3 (09:01):
Not well, So you mean like a Tim Patrick for
a place for him, you know, or.
Speaker 1 (09:06):
The next Michael Thomas.
Speaker 2 (09:07):
I mean, yes, yeah, yeah, yeah.
Speaker 1 (09:11):
She always trying to talk some trash. Last one. Always
great to catch up with the tray. First of all,
by the way, congratulations on making it back on the ice.
I saw Gabe Landiskog. I don't think you guys have
been in the same room ever. At the same time,
very very handsome anyways, just wanted to ask you about
based on the way that they finished they put together
with free agency with Mafanga and green Law and Evan
(09:32):
Ingram and now with this draft, how do you feel
about the Broncos this upcoming season.
Speaker 2 (09:37):
Yeah, that's the only hockey that we're going to talk.
Do not ask me about my Dampa Bay Lightning or
I might have because I would never. I would never,
I really do. I love the way that they attack things.
And I think that when you go into an off
season for NFL teams and you're sort of thinking about
what they could do, a lot of times we focus
on the weaknesses, right We say, hey, they need to
(09:58):
get better here, they need to focus on this area,
this is where their weakets on the roster. And obviously
I think that that is the regular but there is
also the side of things where you go, why don't
we just make a strength even stronger? And I think
that when we looked at the Denver Broncos, a lot
of people probably looked at them and said, Ei, they're
good on defense, right again, like they were top ten,
he's not top five and a lot of metrics last year,
(10:19):
and I think a lot of people said, like, Okay, yeah,
we're good to go. They're a top ten defense in
the NFL, and very clearly they weren't satisfied with that.
And they have given Van Joseph just so many different
weapons that he's going to be able to throw at
opposing quarterbacks and offensive coordinators this upcoming year, and they
have you know, increased not only the veteran leadership with
those guys getting in there, but that postseason experience. These
(10:42):
are players who can absolutely fly around the field and
those are sort of in the areas where I think
they might have needed upgrades on defense. And so you
pair that with adding John Ay Barron, adding those two
guys as depth players along the defensive line. In my opinion,
this is this is absolutely a top three defense in
the NFL, and it's going to be a big talking
point as why you were going to see the Broncos
(11:03):
be one of those quote unquote sneaky playoff teams that
people might bet on to make a little bit of
a run this upcoming season. Ton depends on how much
you believe in bon Nix, But what you can debate
is how good this defense is going to be, because
I think it really can be top tier Trevor, You're
the best man.
Speaker 1 (11:20):
Appreciate it as always my friend.
Speaker 2 (11:23):
Thanks you guys anytime.
Speaker 1 (11:24):
All nice. Trevor Sikima, lead NFL draft analysts for Pro
Football Focus. The reason I brought that up is when
Gabe Landiscog made his return to the Avs, everybody was
tagging him on Twitter saying, hey, congratulations on getting back
on the ice because they look very similar.
Speaker 3 (11:37):
Wow, very interesting. Yeah.
Speaker 1 (11:38):
So he was like, he's like, please stop tagging me this,
this is not me. I'm not I'll escape for the
as And there was a lot of people saying, well,
we've never seen you both in the same room at
the same time.
Speaker 3 (11:47):
Just