April 27, 2024 • 23 mins
On this episode of "Broncos Now," Sydney Jones recaps Head Coach Sean Payton and General Manager George Paton's press conferences from the 2024 NFL Draft. Plus, Aric DiLalla joins to discuss each of the Broncos’ seven draft picks. Subscribe on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, TuneIn, Stitcher or wherever you find your podcasts. Make sure to leave a rating and review.
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Episode Transcript
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Speaker 1 (00:00):
What's Up, Broncos Country. Welcome back to the Broncos podcast
network and YouTube for the latest episode of Broncos Now.
As always, I'm your host is Sidney Jones, and coming
up on today's episode, we'll take a look at all
seven of the Broncos draft picks, plusib'll hear from head
coach Sean Payton and general manager George Payton as they
met the media following the twenty twenty four NFL Draft.
All that more coming out. The twenty twenty four NFL
(00:26):
Draft is in the books, and the Broncos added seven
rookies to their roster. The team selected Oregon quarterback Bo
Nicks twelfth overall, Utah outside linebacker Jonah Ellis seventy sixth
overall organ wide receiver Troy Franklin one hundred and second
overall Missouri quarnerback Chris Abrams Drain one hundred and forty fifth,
overall Notre Dame running back Oudric Estimate one hundred and
(00:48):
forty seventh overall Utah wide receiver to Von Veley two
and thirty fifth overall and last, but's certainly not least,
South Carolina guard Nick Guardulo two hundred and fifty sixth overall.
Following the third and a final day of the NFL Draft,
head coach do On Payton and general manager George Payton
addressed the media and gave their evaluation of this draft class.
Speaker 2 (01:08):
We had a good three days.
Speaker 3 (01:09):
I think we've we improved our football team. You know,
seven draft picks, we made a trade. I thought the
process was outstanding. Like I've said a number of times,
this is the super Bowl for the scouts, the personnel department.
These guys work all year, you know, for this these
three days, and and I thought it went really well. Coaches,
(01:30):
collaboration of the medical with bo, the analytics with Tony
and their group, and and the ownership and the support
they've given us, you know, throughout the the draft season,
you know, flying, the private work, you know, to workouts
and and seeing games, and just all the resources they
give us. So I thought it was a good three days.
(01:51):
We improved ourselves as a football team.
Speaker 1 (01:53):
Ronco's got the ball rolling on a Thursday night when
they selected quarterback Boon Nicks twelfth overall, and head coach
On Payton and general manager George Panon told the media
why he was their guy from the start.
Speaker 3 (02:03):
You know with Bo, we spent a lot of time,
you know, started at the Senior Bowl Combine private you know,
we did a private out there in Oregon, and and
and Sean really probably wasn't familiar with Bo early in
the process, and then started watching tape. Liked him a lot,
(02:24):
you know, fit a lot of things Sean likes in
a quarterback. And then you know, the private workout, you
know where we spent you know, three hours, you know,
just meeting with Bow, just getting to know him. You know,
Sean can talk about the tests they gave him, and
then just watching him throw and and so that was
kind of the start, and then get through more tape
and more tape, and and he was just a nice
(02:46):
ideal fit for what we want here.
Speaker 4 (02:49):
Yeah, I think, like George said that because of obviously
our need and then the amount and there were trip
trip trip you know a lot of those, and all
of these players, you know at the combine, some of
them do more or less at the combine, some throw,
some don't. But you know a lot of private workouts,
(03:11):
a lot of their pro days.
Speaker 5 (03:13):
So you have a body of work to start with.
Speaker 4 (03:18):
And I would say, man, so many of these guys
were impressive and and and then you you really start
focusing in on all right, you feel like.
Speaker 5 (03:29):
Chicago's got a player. But but past that.
Speaker 4 (03:32):
I think you know you can you can listen to
and read and and and but you're not sure.
Speaker 5 (03:39):
But I would say that.
Speaker 4 (03:42):
Probably early into the process, shortly after these workouts like this,
he stood out in a lot of a lot of areas.
Speaker 1 (03:51):
They went on to talk about a third round pick,
outside linebacker Jonah Ellis and what stood out to them
about his skill set.
Speaker 4 (03:57):
Look, look, you start with one spot with a rookie player,
and we do like the versatility. We think there's upside
and growth potential. But you know, generally speaking, when you're
when you're looking at the draft, there's certain positions that
just you know, all of a sudden, if you start
projecting how does tomorrow look the next day looking?
Speaker 5 (04:20):
And so a lot of times a.
Speaker 4 (04:22):
Pressure player will get a tie if there's too close.
In this case, you know, we had two players. He was,
you know, half a round higher, and but I think
you know, you start, you know, he's an edge player.
That man plays with energy, effort, all those things that
you look for and real good football makeup, gift, character,
(04:45):
you know, we'll put a blue tag on some of
these guys.
Speaker 5 (04:47):
He had that.
Speaker 1 (04:48):
The team opened up a day three by trading up
to select a wide receiver, Troy Franklin one hundred in
his second overall, and head coach John Pain talked about
what went into that trade.
Speaker 4 (04:57):
So I think when we went home last night, George
and I both you know, clears out and you know
you're kind of looking at how the next day might unfold.
I think the two of us looked at him like, man,
it'd be and we also knew that it was going
to be impossible for us to wait.
Speaker 5 (05:18):
You know, when the day ends.
Speaker 4 (05:21):
There's always these six players that I think around the league,
you feel like you're going to go pretty quickly. We
see him as an outside z, really good speed. You know,
he's a guy that we were really impressed with at
the line of scrimmage. We also you know, had combine
and then even at Bo's private workout he was there,
(05:43):
so probably a little bit more exposure and there was
a lot more coincidence to that. Then, like that's just
how this draft unfolds sometimes. So there was a really
unique player with a high grade call it kick at
two rounds over that's sitting there by himself, and so
we see him as a Z.
Speaker 1 (06:02):
With the Bronco selecting of five players on Saturday, the
third day of the draft, head coach Sean Payton talked
about what he envisions for each of those guys.
Speaker 4 (06:10):
There's another receiver we drafted a little bit later on Bailey,
and you know he's a guy that's an older player
with experience. He's kind of a big slot. You know,
his cop might be a Tim Patrick type player, strong, smart,
and then you know, then you get into specifics. Is
that draft begins to the further out you go, the
(06:32):
more uh detached the rest of the league is with
with where they see players. Abrams drained someone we had
a lot of exposure with in the off season. Really
got good first versatility, kind of an outside in corner flex.
Let me see here. Estimate was another but you know,
(06:52):
pick where again we're in this round and he sat
uh as a.
Speaker 5 (06:58):
A player we we really grated.
Speaker 4 (06:59):
Well, we had a couple of runners that maybe we
thought might be available, but we didn't feel like this
guy would be. And you know, he's a physical runner,
but he's also someone that when you know you study
your yards after contact, average yards per play, per.
Speaker 5 (07:17):
Run runs over twenty yards. He's been real consistent.
Speaker 4 (07:22):
So that that was one that you know, the further
in this process you go, you're paying attention to the board.
I don't know that we had a lot of jump balls.
There were some, there were some easier possessions to look at.
And then I think Nick, towards the end where there's
a lot happening, I think I hit everyone.
Speaker 5 (07:42):
Summary.
Speaker 1 (07:42):
Now joining me here inside the Broncos podcast studio is
Broncos lead writer Eric Dealala. Eric, thanks for joining me.
Another draft in.
Speaker 2 (07:48):
The books, Busy said, I know what year is this
for you? How many drafts?
Speaker 3 (07:52):
Now?
Speaker 2 (07:53):
A lot of drafts. I think this was Draft eight eight.
This is my fifth and it was.
Speaker 6 (07:58):
It was as exciting a draft as I can remember. Obviously,
the first first round quarterbacks, yeah, I've been here. I
started just a couple of weeks after le Broncos took
Packston Lynch back in the day. But the first first
round quarterback, second highest selection of a quarterback in franchise history.
I mean, you pair bon Nicks then with all the
(08:19):
other picks. They made some exciting players and it's an
exciting draft class. Can't wait to see how they look
on the field.
Speaker 1 (08:24):
Me too, Yeah, Eric, let's start there with Bonis. Then,
of course head coach Sean Payton and general manager George Payton.
They spoke Thursday night, got their guy. They were looking
for him the entire time, loved him throughout the pre
pre draft process. For you, what do you love about
this choice and how he's going to fine on Payton's offense.
Speaker 6 (08:40):
Yeah, well, I think there's a lot to like about Bonix.
I think the makeup is great. You could tell when
he was here for his press conference. He's got that maturity,
he's got that presence about him. I like he's kind
of got like a little edge, which I like. He
was asked about, oh, you threw a lot of short passes,
and he kind of jumped right back inside throw a
(09:00):
lot of long passes too, and I liked that. And
he's just dedicated to the work that this is going
to take and what comes next. I love the attitude
in terms of I don't want to just be a
first round pick. I want to be I want to
win games. I want to prove them right and prove
why they drafted me. So from an interpersonal standpoint, all
those things stand out. I think you then listen to
(09:22):
Sean Payton and George Payton talk about Bonix, and it's
the intelligence just in terms of how he was able
to process all those kind of the tests that they
gave him along the way. It's the accuracy, the most
accurate quarterback in college football history. I mean that stands out.
It's the pure production. Yeah, ninety plus total touchdowns, you know,
(09:42):
over the last two years. It's spectacular from that standpoint.
So all those things kind of come together, and then
I think the biggest thing for me is just I
trust what Sean Payton sees and quarterbacks. I mean, when
you hired Sean Payton, part of it was he's going
to get the offense right. He's going to get a
quarterback and develop him and put the Broncos offense at
(10:05):
a position to make plays.
Speaker 2 (10:06):
And so part of it is me.
Speaker 6 (10:08):
Saying, Okay, Sean Payton, I trust that when you look
at quarterbacks and you decide Bonix is your guy, I'm
buying in in terms.
Speaker 2 (10:15):
Of what Bonix is going to be able to do.
Speaker 6 (10:17):
And I know there's a lot of comps out there,
and you know, people say, hey, Drew Brees in terms
of how perfect a fit Bonix is for this system.
But again I go back to Bonick saying, hey, that's great.
I've I've now got to do something about that. That's
just talk. And so I think the mentality, the intelligence,
the accuracy, the playmaking ability, all those things are you know,
(10:41):
Sean Payton talked about his size, his football makeup, and
his family. All those things are a great start. Now
we see what happens from here.
Speaker 1 (10:50):
Yeah, definitely an exciting first night of the draft. Now,
Eric moving on today two third round, the Broncos drafted
outside linebacker Jonah Ellis. I think this is kind of
an underrated pick, nuts, someone that a lot of fans
are talking about yet. But what about his skill set
do you think kind of stuck out to Sean and George?
Speaker 6 (11:06):
Yeah, well, his dad's tremendous. I was here when he
worked here, and just a super nice guy. And you know,
I think with Jonah, one thing Sean said on Friday
night was when you're a pressure player, you've got to
have production. You've got to have those pelts so to speak. Yeah,
and he had that. You know, he had a bunch
of saxes here he had a bunch of I believe
twelve last year, eight sacks in a four game stretch
(11:30):
at one point three and a half sacks against UCLA
with five tackles for loss.
Speaker 2 (11:34):
I mean that type of production. You can't make that up.
You can't fake it.
Speaker 6 (11:38):
So you look at that the sacks I believe sixteen
tackles for loss last year.
Speaker 2 (11:42):
Just a high energy player.
Speaker 6 (11:45):
Probably slipped a little bit because he suffered an injury
toward the end of the year. The Broncos are not
worried about that. Feel like he's going to be good
to go. I think Sean Payton mentioned maybe may as
kind of a target for him to be fully back
into things, which obviously said his next week.
Speaker 2 (12:01):
In a good shape there. But yeah, this is a guy.
Speaker 6 (12:03):
That I think some people thought as a potential second
round pick, and he joins a talented group with some
guys in Nick Benito, who took a big step forward.
Jonathan Cooper has obviously obviously outperformed his draft status there
as a former seventh round pick. Aaron Browning has flashes
where he's just a tremendous football player, and so Sean
(12:23):
Payton said, hey, you can't worry about that. In terms
of drafting, on top of a strength, will figure out
the depth, will figure out where people are gonna play,
who's gonna play. But when you had talented players and
there's competition, I think it makes the whole roster better.
I'm excited to see what he looks like out on
the field. He's maybe a touch smaller and so it'll
be interesting to see if he balks up just a bit.
(12:45):
But the explosiveness, I mean I saw play Chase Caleb Williams,
the number one pick in the draft, down and forced
a throw away when they played sc this past fall.
So a good, high energy player and kind of get
that impact player as a quarterback in round one and
then you go and in terms of impact players on
the defense aside, no position is more important than edge rusher,
(13:08):
so to get an impact player there as well was important.
Speaker 5 (13:11):
Yeah.
Speaker 1 (13:11):
He has so many fun ties to the Broncos too,
Like you mentioned, I mean, his dad played here, he
worked here also. Sean Payton drafted his brother with the
Saints a few years ago too. He said, his brother said,
you're going to love Sean. You know, you're going to
be excited to play for him too. So it's exciting,
it's cool.
Speaker 6 (13:26):
Very exciting, And yeah, the Falcons almost kind of messed
up the Broncos draft plans on that one when they
took Michael Pennix and Broncos kind of panicked a little
bit and thought, I oht know, his Bonick's going to
be gone. And then last night you've got the Falcons
picking right before the Broncos, and Sean and George realize, oh,
they've got his brother Terry Fond know the Falcons GM
used to work in New Orleans with Sean, and they're
(13:49):
they're wondering, oh are they going to take Joan Allie
right in front of us? But he felt a Denver
and despite considering a trade back, which George joked would
have they would have brought a cake out for Sean
for his first trade back, they stayed there.
Speaker 2 (14:02):
He was too good to pass up.
Speaker 1 (14:04):
Well. Now, today, on a Saturday, a day three, the
Bronco started out with the Bang and traded up. They
received the one hundred and second overall pick and the
twenty two hundred and thirty fifth from Seattle in exchange
for that one hundred and twenty first be one hundred
and thirty six and A two hundred and seventh. They
got Oregon wide receiver at Troy Franklin, brought in another
teammate for Bonix.
Speaker 2 (14:23):
Love it.
Speaker 6 (14:24):
I absolutely love it for a number of reasons. One,
you've got a guy that b Nix knows, he's comfortable with.
I think that helps the transition to the NFL. And
you know, bo Is is older, he's married, like he's
he's an adult, he's he's he can handle all this.
But I do think anytime you just have somebody there
with you that you know, just makes it a little
(14:45):
bit easier.
Speaker 1 (14:47):
Already had that chemistry, He's going to.
Speaker 6 (14:49):
Have that that relationship with Troy Franklin, and so I
think that's a really good sign. And then kind of
aside from all that, Troy Flanklin is just Troy Franklin
is just a really good football player. He's got tremendous speed.
They view him as an outside Z receiver. He's a
guy that's gonna be able to, I think, help stretch
the field. We talked to assistant Jim Darren Mougie after
(15:12):
Shawn and George talked, and he said, you know, hey,
you've got him and Marvin.
Speaker 2 (15:15):
Anytime you can add that speed. It's a great thing.
Speaker 6 (15:18):
You obviously have Courtland Sutton in that mix as well
Tim Patrick. And so this is a receiving corps all
of a sudden that they're starting to rebuild. You've got
now three draft picks. We'll talk a little bit in
a second about the other receiver that they took today,
but they've kind of reshaped this receiver room here pretty
quickly after the trade of Jerry Judy and Franklin is
(15:41):
just super productive, set single season records at Oregon for
receiving yards, receptions, receiving touchdowns, career receiving touchdowns. And they
just said, every time you watch bon Nicks boom, there's
Troy Franklin in the shot again and again being a
dependable player. And so I'm excited to see this guy,
see that connection out on the field as early, I
(16:02):
would think as rookie Minnie Camp.
Speaker 2 (16:04):
And a few weeks here, just a few weeks, Yeah,
really exciting. I think fans were excited too.
Speaker 6 (16:09):
And it was, you know, the Broncos maybe they seemed
like they considered getting him last night and then Sean
sends a text to George at six am says, hey,
let's go get this guy. They move up I think
the second pick of the fourth round, and they get
their guy.
Speaker 1 (16:26):
Exciting stuff, and it was funny to hear. You know,
we heard on Thursday how the Broncos held a private
workout session for Bonnix and there was Troy Franklin there
catching his passes.
Speaker 6 (16:35):
Yeah, and it was they saw kind of the physical
traits on Bonox's pro day right when he's running the routes.
It sounded like he didn't run as many routes on
during Bonus's private workout, But it was a great chance
for them to get to know him and get to
know his character. And that was you know, Troy Franklin
said on the call with reporters today, I think I
(16:55):
made a good first impression.
Speaker 2 (16:57):
Clearly he did. He did.
Speaker 1 (16:58):
Yeah, all right, Eric will now be a fifth round.
The Broncos had a pair of back to back in
your back to back picks one hundred and forty five
and one hundred and forty seven, they selected cornerback Chris
Abrams Drain and running back Audric Estime. Estime.
Speaker 2 (17:12):
Yeah, it's got the little accent there. Ye, I like it.
Speaker 6 (17:14):
They obviously two very different players, but you know, quality
quality players in Abrams drain. You've got a guy who
was a higher rated prospect, one of the best available
prospects left on the board according to you know, ESPN's
top prospect list. He's a guy, you know, all SEC player,
(17:35):
second Team American, a player that can come in, I
think and compete. You've got a lot of guys now
right opposite of Patsartan.
Speaker 2 (17:43):
Which is a good problem to have, good problem.
Speaker 6 (17:45):
To have, as George Payton said in the post draft
press conference. But you know, you bring in Levi Wallace,
You've got Tomari Mathis, Riley Moss, You've now got the
young rookie, and so some guys there to kind of
battle it out and figure out who's gonna play opposite
of Patzertan.
Speaker 2 (18:01):
Got some good depth.
Speaker 6 (18:03):
You can never have enough good corners in this league,
especially when you play in a division with Justin Herbert,
with Patrick Mahomes and all the weapons that the Chiefs
have so excited to see him and then estimate just
a bruising runner. It sounds like a smart, big, big
he'll run you over. Sean Payton said. They view him
as a first and second down player right now to start,
(18:23):
but smart, physical tough. It sounded like they were excited
to get him and that there were, you know, maybe
some other running backs on the board that they considered,
but they just thought, this guy's not gonna fall to
our next pick. We need to get him here. And
just an exciting player, somebody that can hopefully be a
(18:44):
difference maker. And again you've got now some competition there
in the backfield with Jamonte Williams, a JP Ryan, Julia McLoughlin,
you know, some reports kind of some undrafted free agents,
so that'll be a fun group to watch as well.
Speaker 1 (18:58):
Onto the seventh round, Last but not least, the Broncos
brought in another guy from Utah wide receiver dvaon at
Vle and then South Carolina guard Nick guard Guloo Yeah Vle.
Speaker 6 (19:08):
An exciting player. I think plays well in traffic, contested catches.
An older player. He kind of had a he had
a mission in Samoa, he was telling us, and so
he's twenty six years old. But you look at the
tape and and it's good enough that you're like, we're
going to take this guy, and you know, led the
utes in receiving this past year. A good physical player.
(19:30):
Sean Payton said he kind of reminds him of a
Tim Patrick type player, which you can never have enough
Tim Patrick in my mind, So I agree, I like that.
And then le Broncos last pick, you go and you
find a guy that can play in the interior the
offensive line. The Broncos are listing him at guard. Smart
player spent his first kind of had that COVID year
(19:52):
as well, so several years at Yale and transfers to
to South Carolina for his last season. Plays at both guardens,
but it sounds like again the Broncos will will start
his career at guard, and I think at that point
said it's just about finding good depth, good players that
can potentially develop and grow into contributors for the team. Obviously,
(20:14):
you're not going to hit on every single This is
kind of a larger point. You're not going to hit
on every single pick, but you never know when you're
going to find that diamond in the rough or find
a solid contributor. You know, I mentioned Cooper earlier seventh
round pick who became a starter. And then we know
the kind of the lengthy history the Broncos have with
both finding guys like TD Shannon Sharp late in the
(20:36):
draft and then undrafted players like Rod Smith Chris Harris Junior.
So you never know when you're going to find that player.
But the Broncos, I think at the end of the draft,
not a lot of trading today, said but they just
kind of they stood pad and they and they found
their guys.
Speaker 5 (20:51):
Yeah.
Speaker 1 (20:51):
Well, overall, Eric, as you look at this draft class,
you got an initial grade, initial evaluation here.
Speaker 6 (20:56):
Well, I think the the grading thing is kind of filly.
It's just it's tough at this point, right. It takes
years with bo I know, the kind of externally people
are saying, oh, maybe you could have taken him ten
picks later.
Speaker 2 (21:13):
I don't want to hear ye any of that wet guy.
They got the guy that they wanted.
Speaker 6 (21:17):
And you don't mess around for sure to get a
couple extra as George Peyton said on Thursday night, to
get a few extra picks, you know, third, fourth, fifth round,
whatever it is. You'd be sick to your stomach if
you don't get your quarterback. And so when Sean Payton
and George Peyton look at bo Nix and say that's
our guy, go get him, and they got him.
Speaker 2 (21:36):
So that to me is a home run. You know,
obviously we'll see what happens here.
Speaker 6 (21:39):
But but you've got the guy you wanted, So that's
that's a check mark in the box.
Speaker 2 (21:43):
And then I think you look at the rest of
the class.
Speaker 6 (21:46):
I'm excited about some of these offensive, skilled players, especially Franklin.
I think you look at a guy like Ellis and
you say, okay, well can he come in and be
a boost off the edge. We didn't even mention John
Franklin Myers, who was a trade acquisition that you know,
this defensive line looks entirely different than it did a
(22:07):
year ago, and I think going to be much improved.
So that's a big kind of check in the In
the pro column as well. I would say overall, if
you look at a lot of these top one hundred
lists of prospects, especially on day two and three, the
Broncos got guys who are expected like Franklin on some
list was forty four, and you know, the Broncos thought
(22:27):
he'd be gone in the second they get him at
one O two. That's obviously good value. But I just
think overall, you didn't hit every need, like there was
no tight end selected. We'll see if the Broncos maybe
get an undrafted guy, or if they get more contributions
from the guys they have on their roster. The Broncos
didn't draft a tackle, not necessarily a huge pressing need.
(22:48):
It's just been a while since they've taken a tackle.
But every pick, I think you can see how there's
a vision, how it fits, and you're just again, when
Champaign was hired, we say it's going to take a
little bit of time to build this in his vision.
I think you saw the next step of that, and
between the free agent moves it wasn't a flashy free agency,
(23:10):
but still some important moves and the draft now said,
I think you've got a much better feel for what
this team could look like from September.
Speaker 2 (23:17):
I agree.
Speaker 1 (23:18):
Exciting past couple of days, Eric, I hope Broncos fans
are excited.
Speaker 2 (23:21):
I think they are. I think so too.
Speaker 6 (23:23):
And again, now it's time to put in the work
and get after it exactly.
Speaker 1 (23:27):
Well, thanks for joining the show. That's going to do
it for today's episode of Broncos Now Broncos Country. Thanks
so much for tuning in. I hope you'll meet me
right back here on the Broncos Podcast Network on YouTube.
Next week for another episode.
Speaker 2 (23:38):
I will see you all then
What's Up, Broncos Country. Welcome back to the Broncos podcast
network and YouTube for the latest episode of Broncos Now.
As always, I'm your host is Sidney Jones, and coming
up on today's episode, we'll take a look at all
seven of the Broncos draft picks, plusib'll hear from head
coach Sean Payton and general manager George Payton as they
met the media following the twenty twenty four NFL Draft.
All that more coming out. The twenty twenty four NFL
(00:26):
Draft is in the books, and the Broncos added seven
rookies to their roster. The team selected Oregon quarterback Bo
Nicks twelfth overall, Utah outside linebacker Jonah Ellis seventy sixth
overall organ wide receiver Troy Franklin one hundred and second
overall Missouri quarnerback Chris Abrams Drain one hundred and forty fifth,
overall Notre Dame running back Oudric Estimate one hundred and
(00:48):
forty seventh overall Utah wide receiver to Von Veley two
and thirty fifth overall and last, but's certainly not least,
South Carolina guard Nick Guardulo two hundred and fifty sixth overall.
Following the third and a final day of the NFL Draft,
head coach do On Payton and general manager George Payton
addressed the media and gave their evaluation of this draft class.
Speaker 2 (01:08):
We had a good three days.
Speaker 3 (01:09):
I think we've we improved our football team. You know,
seven draft picks, we made a trade. I thought the
process was outstanding. Like I've said a number of times,
this is the super Bowl for the scouts, the personnel department.
These guys work all year, you know, for this these
three days, and and I thought it went really well. Coaches,
(01:30):
collaboration of the medical with bo, the analytics with Tony
and their group, and and the ownership and the support
they've given us, you know, throughout the the draft season,
you know, flying, the private work, you know, to workouts
and and seeing games, and just all the resources they
give us. So I thought it was a good three days.
(01:51):
We improved ourselves as a football team.
Speaker 1 (01:53):
Ronco's got the ball rolling on a Thursday night when
they selected quarterback Boon Nicks twelfth overall, and head coach
On Payton and general manager George Panon told the media
why he was their guy from the start.
Speaker 3 (02:03):
You know with Bo, we spent a lot of time,
you know, started at the Senior Bowl Combine private you know,
we did a private out there in Oregon, and and
and Sean really probably wasn't familiar with Bo early in
the process, and then started watching tape. Liked him a lot,
(02:24):
you know, fit a lot of things Sean likes in
a quarterback. And then you know, the private workout, you
know where we spent you know, three hours, you know,
just meeting with Bow, just getting to know him. You know,
Sean can talk about the tests they gave him, and
then just watching him throw and and so that was
kind of the start, and then get through more tape
and more tape, and and he was just a nice
(02:46):
ideal fit for what we want here.
Speaker 4 (02:49):
Yeah, I think, like George said that because of obviously
our need and then the amount and there were trip
trip trip you know a lot of those, and all
of these players, you know at the combine, some of
them do more or less at the combine, some throw,
some don't. But you know a lot of private workouts,
(03:11):
a lot of their pro days.
Speaker 5 (03:13):
So you have a body of work to start with.
Speaker 4 (03:18):
And I would say, man, so many of these guys
were impressive and and and then you you really start
focusing in on all right, you feel like.
Speaker 5 (03:29):
Chicago's got a player. But but past that.
Speaker 4 (03:32):
I think you know you can you can listen to
and read and and and but you're not sure.
Speaker 5 (03:39):
But I would say that.
Speaker 4 (03:42):
Probably early into the process, shortly after these workouts like this,
he stood out in a lot of a lot of areas.
Speaker 1 (03:51):
They went on to talk about a third round pick,
outside linebacker Jonah Ellis and what stood out to them
about his skill set.
Speaker 4 (03:57):
Look, look, you start with one spot with a rookie player,
and we do like the versatility. We think there's upside
and growth potential. But you know, generally speaking, when you're
when you're looking at the draft, there's certain positions that
just you know, all of a sudden, if you start
projecting how does tomorrow look the next day looking?
Speaker 5 (04:20):
And so a lot of times a.
Speaker 4 (04:22):
Pressure player will get a tie if there's too close.
In this case, you know, we had two players. He was,
you know, half a round higher, and but I think
you know, you start, you know, he's an edge player.
That man plays with energy, effort, all those things that
you look for and real good football makeup, gift, character,
(04:45):
you know, we'll put a blue tag on some of
these guys.
Speaker 5 (04:47):
He had that.
Speaker 1 (04:48):
The team opened up a day three by trading up
to select a wide receiver, Troy Franklin one hundred in
his second overall, and head coach John Pain talked about
what went into that trade.
Speaker 4 (04:57):
So I think when we went home last night, George
and I both you know, clears out and you know
you're kind of looking at how the next day might unfold.
I think the two of us looked at him like, man,
it'd be and we also knew that it was going
to be impossible for us to wait.
Speaker 5 (05:18):
You know, when the day ends.
Speaker 4 (05:21):
There's always these six players that I think around the league,
you feel like you're going to go pretty quickly. We
see him as an outside z, really good speed. You know,
he's a guy that we were really impressed with at
the line of scrimmage. We also you know, had combine
and then even at Bo's private workout he was there,
(05:43):
so probably a little bit more exposure and there was
a lot more coincidence to that. Then, like that's just
how this draft unfolds sometimes. So there was a really
unique player with a high grade call it kick at
two rounds over that's sitting there by himself, and so
we see him as a Z.
Speaker 1 (06:02):
With the Bronco selecting of five players on Saturday, the
third day of the draft, head coach Sean Payton talked
about what he envisions for each of those guys.
Speaker 4 (06:10):
There's another receiver we drafted a little bit later on Bailey,
and you know he's a guy that's an older player
with experience. He's kind of a big slot. You know,
his cop might be a Tim Patrick type player, strong, smart,
and then you know, then you get into specifics. Is
that draft begins to the further out you go, the
(06:32):
more uh detached the rest of the league is with
with where they see players. Abrams drained someone we had
a lot of exposure with in the off season. Really
got good first versatility, kind of an outside in corner flex.
Let me see here. Estimate was another but you know,
(06:52):
pick where again we're in this round and he sat
uh as a.
Speaker 5 (06:58):
A player we we really grated.
Speaker 4 (06:59):
Well, we had a couple of runners that maybe we
thought might be available, but we didn't feel like this
guy would be. And you know, he's a physical runner,
but he's also someone that when you know you study
your yards after contact, average yards per play, per.
Speaker 5 (07:17):
Run runs over twenty yards. He's been real consistent.
Speaker 4 (07:22):
So that that was one that you know, the further
in this process you go, you're paying attention to the board.
I don't know that we had a lot of jump balls.
There were some, there were some easier possessions to look at.
And then I think Nick, towards the end where there's
a lot happening, I think I hit everyone.
Speaker 5 (07:42):
Summary.
Speaker 1 (07:42):
Now joining me here inside the Broncos podcast studio is
Broncos lead writer Eric Dealala. Eric, thanks for joining me.
Another draft in.
Speaker 2 (07:48):
The books, Busy said, I know what year is this
for you? How many drafts?
Speaker 3 (07:52):
Now?
Speaker 2 (07:53):
A lot of drafts. I think this was Draft eight eight.
This is my fifth and it was.
Speaker 6 (07:58):
It was as exciting a draft as I can remember. Obviously,
the first first round quarterbacks, yeah, I've been here. I
started just a couple of weeks after le Broncos took
Packston Lynch back in the day. But the first first
round quarterback, second highest selection of a quarterback in franchise history.
I mean, you pair bon Nicks then with all the
(08:19):
other picks. They made some exciting players and it's an
exciting draft class. Can't wait to see how they look
on the field.
Speaker 1 (08:24):
Me too, Yeah, Eric, let's start there with Bonis. Then,
of course head coach Sean Payton and general manager George Payton.
They spoke Thursday night, got their guy. They were looking
for him the entire time, loved him throughout the pre
pre draft process. For you, what do you love about
this choice and how he's going to fine on Payton's offense.
Speaker 6 (08:40):
Yeah, well, I think there's a lot to like about Bonix.
I think the makeup is great. You could tell when
he was here for his press conference. He's got that maturity,
he's got that presence about him. I like he's kind
of got like a little edge, which I like. He
was asked about, oh, you threw a lot of short passes,
and he kind of jumped right back inside throw a
(09:00):
lot of long passes too, and I liked that. And
he's just dedicated to the work that this is going
to take and what comes next. I love the attitude
in terms of I don't want to just be a
first round pick. I want to be I want to
win games. I want to prove them right and prove
why they drafted me. So from an interpersonal standpoint, all
those things stand out. I think you then listen to
(09:22):
Sean Payton and George Payton talk about Bonix, and it's
the intelligence just in terms of how he was able
to process all those kind of the tests that they
gave him along the way. It's the accuracy, the most
accurate quarterback in college football history. I mean that stands out.
It's the pure production. Yeah, ninety plus total touchdowns, you know,
(09:42):
over the last two years. It's spectacular from that standpoint.
So all those things kind of come together, and then
I think the biggest thing for me is just I
trust what Sean Payton sees and quarterbacks. I mean, when
you hired Sean Payton, part of it was he's going
to get the offense right. He's going to get a
quarterback and develop him and put the Broncos offense at
(10:05):
a position to make plays.
Speaker 2 (10:06):
And so part of it is me.
Speaker 6 (10:08):
Saying, Okay, Sean Payton, I trust that when you look
at quarterbacks and you decide Bonix is your guy, I'm
buying in in terms.
Speaker 2 (10:15):
Of what Bonix is going to be able to do.
Speaker 6 (10:17):
And I know there's a lot of comps out there,
and you know, people say, hey, Drew Brees in terms
of how perfect a fit Bonix is for this system.
But again I go back to Bonick saying, hey, that's great.
I've I've now got to do something about that. That's
just talk. And so I think the mentality, the intelligence,
the accuracy, the playmaking ability, all those things are you know,
(10:41):
Sean Payton talked about his size, his football makeup, and
his family. All those things are a great start. Now
we see what happens from here.
Speaker 1 (10:50):
Yeah, definitely an exciting first night of the draft. Now,
Eric moving on today two third round, the Broncos drafted
outside linebacker Jonah Ellis. I think this is kind of
an underrated pick, nuts, someone that a lot of fans
are talking about yet. But what about his skill set
do you think kind of stuck out to Sean and George?
Speaker 6 (11:06):
Yeah, well, his dad's tremendous. I was here when he
worked here, and just a super nice guy. And you know,
I think with Jonah, one thing Sean said on Friday
night was when you're a pressure player, you've got to
have production. You've got to have those pelts so to speak. Yeah,
and he had that. You know, he had a bunch
of saxes here he had a bunch of I believe
twelve last year, eight sacks in a four game stretch
(11:30):
at one point three and a half sacks against UCLA
with five tackles for loss.
Speaker 2 (11:34):
I mean that type of production. You can't make that up.
You can't fake it.
Speaker 6 (11:38):
So you look at that the sacks I believe sixteen
tackles for loss last year.
Speaker 2 (11:42):
Just a high energy player.
Speaker 6 (11:45):
Probably slipped a little bit because he suffered an injury
toward the end of the year. The Broncos are not
worried about that. Feel like he's going to be good
to go. I think Sean Payton mentioned maybe may as
kind of a target for him to be fully back
into things, which obviously said his next week.
Speaker 2 (12:01):
In a good shape there. But yeah, this is a guy.
Speaker 6 (12:03):
That I think some people thought as a potential second
round pick, and he joins a talented group with some
guys in Nick Benito, who took a big step forward.
Jonathan Cooper has obviously obviously outperformed his draft status there
as a former seventh round pick. Aaron Browning has flashes
where he's just a tremendous football player, and so Sean
(12:23):
Payton said, hey, you can't worry about that. In terms
of drafting, on top of a strength, will figure out
the depth, will figure out where people are gonna play,
who's gonna play. But when you had talented players and
there's competition, I think it makes the whole roster better.
I'm excited to see what he looks like out on
the field. He's maybe a touch smaller and so it'll
be interesting to see if he balks up just a bit.
(12:45):
But the explosiveness, I mean I saw play Chase Caleb Williams,
the number one pick in the draft, down and forced
a throw away when they played sc this past fall.
So a good, high energy player and kind of get
that impact player as a quarterback in round one and
then you go and in terms of impact players on
the defense aside, no position is more important than edge rusher,
(13:08):
so to get an impact player there as well was important.
Speaker 5 (13:11):
Yeah.
Speaker 1 (13:11):
He has so many fun ties to the Broncos too,
Like you mentioned, I mean, his dad played here, he
worked here also. Sean Payton drafted his brother with the
Saints a few years ago too. He said, his brother said,
you're going to love Sean. You know, you're going to
be excited to play for him too. So it's exciting,
it's cool.
Speaker 6 (13:26):
Very exciting, And yeah, the Falcons almost kind of messed
up the Broncos draft plans on that one when they
took Michael Pennix and Broncos kind of panicked a little
bit and thought, I oht know, his Bonick's going to
be gone. And then last night you've got the Falcons
picking right before the Broncos, and Sean and George realize, oh,
they've got his brother Terry Fond know the Falcons GM
used to work in New Orleans with Sean, and they're
(13:49):
they're wondering, oh are they going to take Joan Allie
right in front of us? But he felt a Denver
and despite considering a trade back, which George joked would
have they would have brought a cake out for Sean
for his first trade back, they stayed there.
Speaker 2 (14:02):
He was too good to pass up.
Speaker 1 (14:04):
Well. Now, today, on a Saturday, a day three, the
Bronco started out with the Bang and traded up. They
received the one hundred and second overall pick and the
twenty two hundred and thirty fifth from Seattle in exchange
for that one hundred and twenty first be one hundred
and thirty six and A two hundred and seventh. They
got Oregon wide receiver at Troy Franklin, brought in another
teammate for Bonix.
Speaker 2 (14:23):
Love it.
Speaker 6 (14:24):
I absolutely love it for a number of reasons. One,
you've got a guy that b Nix knows, he's comfortable with.
I think that helps the transition to the NFL. And
you know, bo Is is older, he's married, like he's
he's an adult, he's he's he can handle all this.
But I do think anytime you just have somebody there
with you that you know, just makes it a little
(14:45):
bit easier.
Speaker 1 (14:47):
Already had that chemistry, He's going to.
Speaker 6 (14:49):
Have that that relationship with Troy Franklin, and so I
think that's a really good sign. And then kind of
aside from all that, Troy Flanklin is just Troy Franklin
is just a really good football player. He's got tremendous speed.
They view him as an outside Z receiver. He's a
guy that's gonna be able to, I think, help stretch
the field. We talked to assistant Jim Darren Mougie after
(15:12):
Shawn and George talked, and he said, you know, hey,
you've got him and Marvin.
Speaker 2 (15:15):
Anytime you can add that speed. It's a great thing.
Speaker 6 (15:18):
You obviously have Courtland Sutton in that mix as well
Tim Patrick. And so this is a receiving corps all
of a sudden that they're starting to rebuild. You've got
now three draft picks. We'll talk a little bit in
a second about the other receiver that they took today,
but they've kind of reshaped this receiver room here pretty
quickly after the trade of Jerry Judy and Franklin is
(15:41):
just super productive, set single season records at Oregon for
receiving yards, receptions, receiving touchdowns, career receiving touchdowns. And they
just said, every time you watch bon Nicks boom, there's
Troy Franklin in the shot again and again being a
dependable player. And so I'm excited to see this guy,
see that connection out on the field as early, I
(16:02):
would think as rookie Minnie Camp.
Speaker 2 (16:04):
And a few weeks here, just a few weeks, Yeah,
really exciting. I think fans were excited too.
Speaker 6 (16:09):
And it was, you know, the Broncos maybe they seemed
like they considered getting him last night and then Sean
sends a text to George at six am says, hey,
let's go get this guy. They move up I think
the second pick of the fourth round, and they get
their guy.
Speaker 1 (16:26):
Exciting stuff, and it was funny to hear. You know,
we heard on Thursday how the Broncos held a private
workout session for Bonnix and there was Troy Franklin there
catching his passes.
Speaker 6 (16:35):
Yeah, and it was they saw kind of the physical
traits on Bonox's pro day right when he's running the routes.
It sounded like he didn't run as many routes on
during Bonus's private workout, But it was a great chance
for them to get to know him and get to
know his character. And that was you know, Troy Franklin
said on the call with reporters today, I think I
(16:55):
made a good first impression.
Speaker 2 (16:57):
Clearly he did. He did.
Speaker 1 (16:58):
Yeah, all right, Eric will now be a fifth round.
The Broncos had a pair of back to back in
your back to back picks one hundred and forty five
and one hundred and forty seven, they selected cornerback Chris
Abrams Drain and running back Audric Estime. Estime.
Speaker 2 (17:12):
Yeah, it's got the little accent there. Ye, I like it.
Speaker 6 (17:14):
They obviously two very different players, but you know, quality
quality players in Abrams drain. You've got a guy who
was a higher rated prospect, one of the best available
prospects left on the board according to you know, ESPN's
top prospect list. He's a guy, you know, all SEC player,
(17:35):
second Team American, a player that can come in, I
think and compete. You've got a lot of guys now
right opposite of Patsartan.
Speaker 2 (17:43):
Which is a good problem to have, good problem.
Speaker 6 (17:45):
To have, as George Payton said in the post draft
press conference. But you know, you bring in Levi Wallace,
You've got Tomari Mathis, Riley Moss, You've now got the
young rookie, and so some guys there to kind of
battle it out and figure out who's gonna play opposite
of Patzertan.
Speaker 2 (18:01):
Got some good depth.
Speaker 6 (18:03):
You can never have enough good corners in this league,
especially when you play in a division with Justin Herbert,
with Patrick Mahomes and all the weapons that the Chiefs
have so excited to see him and then estimate just
a bruising runner. It sounds like a smart, big, big
he'll run you over. Sean Payton said. They view him
as a first and second down player right now to start,
(18:23):
but smart, physical tough. It sounded like they were excited
to get him and that there were, you know, maybe
some other running backs on the board that they considered,
but they just thought, this guy's not gonna fall to
our next pick. We need to get him here. And
just an exciting player, somebody that can hopefully be a
(18:44):
difference maker. And again you've got now some competition there
in the backfield with Jamonte Williams, a JP Ryan, Julia McLoughlin,
you know, some reports kind of some undrafted free agents,
so that'll be a fun group to watch as well.
Speaker 1 (18:58):
Onto the seventh round, Last but not least, the Broncos
brought in another guy from Utah wide receiver dvaon at
Vle and then South Carolina guard Nick guard Guloo Yeah Vle.
Speaker 6 (19:08):
An exciting player. I think plays well in traffic, contested catches.
An older player. He kind of had a he had
a mission in Samoa, he was telling us, and so
he's twenty six years old. But you look at the
tape and and it's good enough that you're like, we're
going to take this guy, and you know, led the
utes in receiving this past year. A good physical player.
(19:30):
Sean Payton said he kind of reminds him of a
Tim Patrick type player, which you can never have enough
Tim Patrick in my mind, So I agree, I like that.
And then le Broncos last pick, you go and you
find a guy that can play in the interior the
offensive line. The Broncos are listing him at guard. Smart
player spent his first kind of had that COVID year
(19:52):
as well, so several years at Yale and transfers to
to South Carolina for his last season. Plays at both guardens,
but it sounds like again the Broncos will will start
his career at guard, and I think at that point
said it's just about finding good depth, good players that
can potentially develop and grow into contributors for the team. Obviously,
(20:14):
you're not going to hit on every single This is
kind of a larger point. You're not going to hit
on every single pick, but you never know when you're
going to find that diamond in the rough or find
a solid contributor. You know, I mentioned Cooper earlier seventh
round pick who became a starter. And then we know
the kind of the lengthy history the Broncos have with
both finding guys like TD Shannon Sharp late in the
(20:36):
draft and then undrafted players like Rod Smith Chris Harris Junior.
So you never know when you're going to find that player.
But the Broncos, I think at the end of the draft,
not a lot of trading today, said but they just
kind of they stood pad and they and they found
their guys.
Speaker 5 (20:51):
Yeah.
Speaker 1 (20:51):
Well, overall, Eric, as you look at this draft class,
you got an initial grade, initial evaluation here.
Speaker 6 (20:56):
Well, I think the the grading thing is kind of filly.
It's just it's tough at this point, right. It takes
years with bo I know, the kind of externally people
are saying, oh, maybe you could have taken him ten
picks later.
Speaker 2 (21:13):
I don't want to hear ye any of that wet guy.
They got the guy that they wanted.
Speaker 6 (21:17):
And you don't mess around for sure to get a
couple extra as George Peyton said on Thursday night, to
get a few extra picks, you know, third, fourth, fifth round,
whatever it is. You'd be sick to your stomach if
you don't get your quarterback. And so when Sean Payton
and George Peyton look at bo Nix and say that's
our guy, go get him, and they got him.
Speaker 2 (21:36):
So that to me is a home run. You know,
obviously we'll see what happens here.
Speaker 6 (21:39):
But but you've got the guy you wanted, So that's
that's a check mark in the box.
Speaker 2 (21:43):
And then I think you look at the rest of
the class.
Speaker 6 (21:46):
I'm excited about some of these offensive, skilled players, especially Franklin.
I think you look at a guy like Ellis and
you say, okay, well can he come in and be
a boost off the edge. We didn't even mention John
Franklin Myers, who was a trade acquisition that you know,
this defensive line looks entirely different than it did a
(22:07):
year ago, and I think going to be much improved.
So that's a big kind of check in the In
the pro column as well. I would say overall, if
you look at a lot of these top one hundred
lists of prospects, especially on day two and three, the
Broncos got guys who are expected like Franklin on some
list was forty four, and you know, the Broncos thought
(22:27):
he'd be gone in the second they get him at
one O two. That's obviously good value. But I just
think overall, you didn't hit every need, like there was
no tight end selected. We'll see if the Broncos maybe
get an undrafted guy, or if they get more contributions
from the guys they have on their roster. The Broncos
didn't draft a tackle, not necessarily a huge pressing need.
(22:48):
It's just been a while since they've taken a tackle.
But every pick, I think you can see how there's
a vision, how it fits, and you're just again, when
Champaign was hired, we say it's going to take a
little bit of time to build this in his vision.
I think you saw the next step of that, and
between the free agent moves it wasn't a flashy free agency,
(23:10):
but still some important moves and the draft now said,
I think you've got a much better feel for what
this team could look like from September.
Speaker 2 (23:17):
I agree.
Speaker 1 (23:18):
Exciting past couple of days, Eric, I hope Broncos fans
are excited.
Speaker 2 (23:21):
I think they are. I think so too.
Speaker 6 (23:23):
And again, now it's time to put in the work
and get after it exactly.
Speaker 1 (23:27):
Well, thanks for joining the show. That's going to do
it for today's episode of Broncos Now Broncos Country. Thanks
so much for tuning in. I hope you'll meet me
right back here on the Broncos Podcast Network on YouTube.
Next week for another episode.
Speaker 2 (23:38):
I will see you all then
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