02-05-25 Hour 2 of Broncos Country Tonight with Zach Segars

Episode Transcript

Speaker 1 (00:00):
Hello everybody, and welcome to another episode of Broncos Country Tonight,

(00:05):
a late night Wednesday night edition of Broncos Country Tonight.
I am your fillin host for the night, Zach Segers
covering for Benjamin Albright. Just finished up exciting CU basketball game,
and now the great thing is we have some real
Broncos news to talk about. The great thing about Super
Bowl Media Week is this big NFL football convention pretty

(00:30):
much where you have all the top football figures and
players from around the league and around college football as well,
show up, kind of descend onto wherever the Super Bowl
city is and do an enormous amount of media over
the week leading up to the Super Bowl and even
the week prior. Sometimes right now, we're experiencing some Broncos

(00:56):
making news as a part of this trip, specifically Sean Payton,
who made an appearance on Kay Adams Show Up in
Adams this morning. Kay Adams asked Sean Payton about the
positions of need for the Denver Broncos, and Sean Payton
was very forthcoming with what he views as a need

(01:18):
for the team, which I found to be very interesting.
I don't think you often hear coaches, especially in this
part of the process be this straightforward with what they
feel their team needs entering the off season. You know,
it wasn't platitudes like we have to get tougher, we
have to get more speed, or anything like that, a

(01:41):
vague mention of a position. He went in depth into
the roles he's looking to fill and why he feels
wide receiver isn't actually one of the Denver Broncos most
pressing needs. Your master.

Speaker 2 (01:54):
You need a better and wide receiver, and Wade a joker.
You need ready Blush an interior well, and a joker
now can be a tight end or running back that
as exceptional. We were spoiled here. Yeah, you had Reggie,
Jimmy Graham, Jeremy Shockey, Darren Sprolls, Alvin Kamara. Those are
interior either tight ends or running backs jokers that can that.

(02:16):
They have to be elite receivers that play tight end
or running back. And then you you get the matchups
because you're getting too high defense and you have to
work the inside.

Speaker 1 (02:27):
And so here does a veteran wide receiver going which bucket?

Speaker 2 (02:30):
I think an wide receiver fits in a need. I
would say we're stronger there than some would think, okay,
you know Devon Bailey, Troy Franklin, that there's a number
of receivers that we drafted a year ago, will look
closely through the middle, insidelnebacker, safety, There'll be a few

(02:54):
other positions.

Speaker 1 (02:56):
Now, I think there's a lot to hit on there,
because again, Sehn Payton wasn't just providing some empty generalities
about what he's looking for. I think he was actually
pretty dang specific and it clears up a lot about
what bo Nick's bo Leavers and Bronco's Country should be
circling as we enter free agency and soon after that

(03:18):
the NFL Draft, he went out of his way to
kind of cut off k Adams and say, you know,
I don't think actually wide receiver is that big of
a pressing need for this team. He put it in
the need call him, but not in the must half
column in that segment. What he put in the must
have column is his joker role. And I think in

(03:40):
Broncos Country, we haven't had that defined to us super
clearly up until now. Honestly, we heard Greg Dolcich discussed
as a potential joker option. We heard Julia McLoughlin discussed
as a potential joker option rather, but as neither of
those options came to fruition, that role has kind of

(04:02):
faded into the background of the Denver Broncos offense.

Speaker 3 (04:06):
You know, it was so.

Speaker 1 (04:09):
Such a nebulous idea entering, you know, this past season,
throughout this past season that as an outsider, I felt like,
maybe Marvin Mims is becoming this team's joker. They're using
him in all these creative gadget ways. Sometimes he's the
running back, sometimes he splits out as a receiver. But
clearly I think from Sean Payton's statements there, that's not

(04:30):
the case. Marvin Mims is a boundary weapon, deep routes
down the sideline. There was also the seam route against
the Browns, but primarily an outside weapon. You know, you
have those those deep routes on the sideline, but then
also a lot of jet sweeps, a lot of end
a rounds, a lot of wide receiver screens, a lot

(04:50):
of things that are more predicated on the boundary of
the defense and the boundary of the offense. So I
don't think Marvin Mims is that choker player. That choker
player really, to what John Payton said, has to be
more of a running back or tight end because their
role in the offense is attacking the middle of the field,
which in the modern NFL is the soft belly of

(05:15):
the defense. The Fangio philosophies that are currently or that
have swept the NFL over the past half decade or
so is the idea of keep the offense in front
of you, remove explosive plays from the equation and allow
them demand them rather to.

Speaker 3 (05:31):
Go on a ten.

Speaker 1 (05:32):
Play twelve play drive without screwing anything up and score
that way. Now, how they do that is by backing
off and keeping the offense in front of them, which
means if you're willing to play that underneath style of play,
as we've seen, you know Mahomes and the Chiefs adapt
to the Bills and Josh Allen that to if you're
willing to play that nickel and dime style, you can
have a lot of success against it, so long as

(05:54):
you can execute consistently and at a high level. One
tool that should help the Broncos pursue that sort of
consistency and that sort of efficiency and that sort of
execution is Peyton's joker position, is that interior force. Right now,

(06:15):
the best interior weapon the Denver Broncos have is Devon
Vallet or maybe Courtland Sutton when he lines up in
that big slot role that Sean Payton loves so much.
Outside of that, it's Adam Troutman, who is one of
the worst tight ends the Broncos have had in this
past decade. And that's saying something because it's been a
very poor room for them consistently. You know, the running

(06:37):
backs where some of the worst running backs in the
league in terms of taking advantage of their opportunities and
making the most of them taking the yards. Really, they
just took the yards that were there and didn't create
anything more than that. Julia McLoughlin is an okay receiver.
Javonte Williams can be relied on as a pass protector,
but neither of those guys are dynamic pass catching threats

(06:58):
like Sean Payton needs from joker. The joker in Sean
Payton's offense is the CounterPunch when your defense softens up
and leaves those open spaces to exploit. He wants a
weapon to exploit it, and he demonstrated that in that
same explanation. He highlights all the great talents he consistently

(07:19):
had in New Orleans Jeremy Shockey, Jimmy Graham at tight end.
Also lists Alvin Kamara, Darren Sproles, and Reggie Bush.

Speaker 3 (07:28):
At running back.

Speaker 1 (07:29):
He had at least one of those guys on his
roster every single year he was the New Orleans Saints
head coach, and for plenty of those years, he had
multiple of them.

Speaker 3 (07:40):
Right now he has zero.

Speaker 1 (07:42):
He has to find a body for that role, and
there might not be a great option on the veteran market.
Former Saint Juan Johnson is probably the best tight end available.
That's an appealing option, but he's not a game changer
by any means. He's not an Alvin Kamara, he's not
a Jeremy Shane, He's not a Jimmy Graham.

Speaker 3 (08:02):
And the running back market's even worse.

Speaker 1 (08:04):
Best option is probably Aaron Jones, who, despite being in
a very run friendly ecosystem, had a relatively disappointing season.
Even if he was a productive fantasy back, when push
came to shove and the Vikings needed to gain ground yards,
Aaron Jones couldn't reliably do it. And as much as
Sam Darnold turning back into a pumpkin led to the

(08:26):
Vikings losing two straight games and getting eliminated earlier than expected.
Aaron Jones not being a reliable force on the ground
was another major contributing factor to those losses. So I
don't think he's necessarily that joker type Sean Payton is desiring. Fortunately,

(08:47):
there are some very intriguing trade candidates out there. There
is an amazing draft class just loaded with tight end talent,
loaded with running back talent. This is the best running
back class in nearly a decade. You have to go
all the way back to twenty seven team, the draft
class that featured Christian McCaffrey, Leonard Fournette, and Dalvin Cook,
among others, in my opinion, to find a class near

(09:07):
this talented.

Speaker 3 (09:09):
So even if it's.

Speaker 1 (09:10):
Not on the veteran market, the Broncos should have some
quality options to fill what Sean Payton I think made
pretty clear there was the team's greatest position of need.
He also in that segment highlights inside linebacker in safety
as other serious areas of need for this Denver Broncos team,
and I think anyone that watched this defense down the

(09:31):
stretch would agree that those are some glaring positions on
this Denver Broncos defense and areas that really need some investment.
That's only made more true when you look at the
contract situations. Alex Singleton is set to get a pay raise,
has very little guaranteed money, and is coming off a
couple of rough seasons and a torn ACL. It's unlikely

(09:53):
he is brought back on that deal. Maybe the Broncos
release him work out a cheaper option, but that's not
a given. And if he he's gone, you're left with
nothing in that linebacking room as of now. Cody Barden
is a free agent, as is Justin Stern Not You're
left with very very little Leavel Bailey the UDFA, and
that's that's really it. So I think the Broncos have

(10:14):
to make some moves there, whether it's re signing Barton
or Sir Nod or both of them, or it's bringing
back Alex Singleton on a much cheaper, more reasonable contract,
or it's signing a veteran or drafting a guy high.
The Denver Broncos don't have clear answers at the inside
linebacker position, and that's something they have to figure out

(10:35):
immediately down the stretch. This year, the book was out
on the Denver Broncos defense, attack their linebackers and attack
their safeties. If they don't address those needs going into
next season, I don't think you see the great, you know,
first three months of defense that the Broncos experience this year,
because right out of the gates, opposing offenses are going
to know how they want to attack that Vance Joseph

(10:56):
defense and this personnel group, in particular safety is another
one that has to be monitored. Brandon Jones looks like
an incredible free agent signing, maybe was an upgrade somehow
on Justin Simmons. That looks like a tremendous find, but
they need help outside of him.

Speaker 3 (11:12):
PJ.

Speaker 1 (11:13):
Lock was disappointing this year. His contract takes a big
bump next season, one of the Broncos probably would like
to avoid. And your best option behind him is seemingly
Devon Key based on how the Broncos treated their depth
chart this year, and we saw Defanki was a major
problem for this secondary when he was on field.

Speaker 3 (11:32):
Even if PJ.

Speaker 1 (11:33):
Lock is retained on his current contract, the Denver Broncos
have to have a better backup plan. In an ideal world,
they're probably finding a new starting safety and just bumping PJ.
Lock Down into that third safety role. He thrived there,
and you're kind of killing two birds with one stone.
Plus while he's getting a pace bike, it's not such
a large pace bike that you couldn't afford to keep

(11:55):
him as your third safety. He's another one like Singleton
that also could maybe be brought back on a cheaper
deal no matter how they go about it, though, that
safety position, that linebacker position, just like running back and
tight end, are some of the Denver Broncos' greatest positions
of need this offseason. They have to keep that spine
of both the offense and the defense strong if they

(12:18):
want to take the next step in twenty twenty five.
They were successful in twenty twenty four, but they were
walking a bit of a tight rope, and it's not
a model that they should expect to just run back
next year and have the same success with. They have
to find more ways to beat teams, more ways to win,
so if they get bumped off their initial script, they're
more confident pulling these games out. I also think Sean

(12:40):
Payton's comments about the wide receivers are very understandable, you know,
I get why Broncos country is circling to t Higgins
or some of these exciting college pieces like a Luther
Burden and imagining what they could add to the Denver
Broncos offense. But Sean Payton is right, those are not
areas nowhere near as pre seen an area of need

(13:01):
as running back in tight end are first off. Courtland
Sutton might be the most underrated receiver in the NFL
in the sport of football. I thought this was an
amazing quote from Trent mcduffy Athlon Sports at Super Bowl
Media Day. Went up to him and asked him who
he thought his top three receivers in the league were.

Speaker 3 (13:21):
Now.

Speaker 1 (13:21):
His first two answers are who you expect Justin Jefferson,
Jamar Chase. I think that would be most everyone's top two.
His third one, though, caught my ear, and I think
it will catch your ear too. Top three wide receivers
in the NFL right now.

Speaker 3 (13:33):
Baby, that could really be anybody. I'm about. DeMar Chase
up there, help Chris Jensen, I'll put up there. Well,
every think is something that maybe.

Speaker 2 (13:43):
Talks about lot, you know.

Speaker 1 (13:44):
I think he's really good.

Speaker 3 (13:45):
Courtney Summer le Bronco.

Speaker 2 (13:47):
Absolutely, he's had a SUPERVI year.

Speaker 1 (13:49):
Now it allowed Super Bowl Media Day, So just to
help you make that out there, he said, who's someone
who doesn't get enough attention, who doesn't get talked about
a lot? You know Courtland Sutton. I think he's one
of the best receivers. I think he's underrated. And it's
one thing I think when you hear Mahomes or Stagnolo
directly asked, what do you think about this fill in
the blank Broncos player? They don't want to give Bolton

(14:10):
board material for next season. They're going to give more
often than not the safe answer. Tran McDuffie wasn't led
to provide the name of an AFC West rival there
on his own volition. He put Courtland Sutton up in
the Jamar Chase justin Jefferson mix, and that might be lofty,
but it does demonstrate Courtland Sutton is a high end

(14:32):
receiver and shouldn't be walked away from too easily. The
Broncos also just had Marvin Mims's best year of his
young career. He's still on a rookie deal and has
a clear role in the offense. Is some sort of
gadget weapon slash deep threat to Von Valay. His skill
set isn't redundant with Courtland Sutton, and he had a
remarkable year. Was arguably the best rookie receiver, not even arguable,

(14:56):
really was the best rookie receiver drafted outside the top
forty picks of this year's draft. And he has a
clear role on offense as the oversized slot receiver that
Sean Payton loves to use. Now, does he project long
term is a potential solution at X Yes? Absolutely, you
know has been Albright has highlighted for us.

Speaker 3 (15:17):
However, just because I think he.

Speaker 1 (15:19):
Can one day be that, I don't think the Denver
Bronco should be in a hurry to make him that.
Right now, you can have a top three of Sutton,
Valat and Mims and have a very respectable group of
wide receivers, an average group of starting wide receivers in
the NFL. Now, if you replace Sutton with Valat, make
him your ex you have Mims as this gadget guy

(15:42):
suddenly as your number two receiver we saw at the
front half of twenty twenty four. That's probably not the
best way to use him. And then you're also throwing
a lot more onto Vlay's plate really quickly. The Denver
Broncos are probably best served continuing to develop Franklin, maybe
bringing in another mid round pick that they can work
to develop to eventually take on that role, but largely
running it back with Sutton, Mims and Valet and adding

(16:06):
a talented piece at running back and tight end to
help compliment them and attack that interior part of the
field that Sean Payton so badly wants to go after.
What a fun first segment, Thank you everybody for coming by.
In the next segment here, I'm going to be taking
a look at some moves the Denver Broncos could make,
some big swings they could make to maybe solve some
of those positions of Nied Sean Payton highlighted right after

(16:27):
the break. We'll be back with More Broncos Country tonight.
Make sure you are hitting up that text line at
five six six nine zero and stay in tuned to
A fifty KOA ninety four one FM.

Speaker 3 (16:45):
If Broncos come.

Speaker 1 (16:52):
On the official home of the Broncos.

Speaker 2 (16:55):
All right, all night KOA.

Speaker 1 (17:04):
And welcome back to More Broncos Country Tonight here on
eight point fifty KOA ninety four to one FM. Last
segment talked about what are the Broncos' biggest needs this offseason?
Is it wide receiver, is it tight end? Is it
running back? Is it something on the defense like linebacker, safety?
And Sean Payton's comments about those positional needs today on

(17:27):
k Adams Up in Adams Show. In this segment, though,
I want to look at how can the Denver Broncos
address some of those needs. We all know they need
some help at running back, need some help at tight end.
But what do the Broncos do to actually address those
needs and actually fix them given their current predicament. Fortunately
for Broncos Country, I think there's actually some very appealing

(17:50):
moves on the table. But first, I think we have
to talk about the trades we've seen explicitly put out there,
trade requests, trade rumors, we've seen x iplicitly put out there. First,
we have Miles Garrett publicly requesting to trade from the
Cleveland Browns. All signs point to that not being contractual
posturing or trying to get more money out of Cleveland,

(18:12):
but rather him being fed up and wanting to be
part of a new NFL franchise. Cooper cup is on
the other side, of the spectrum, though he is also
out on the market for sure with Cooper Cup, though
Cup has come out and said I would love to
keep playing for the Rams. I want to keep playing
for the Rams, but it's become clear to me that
they are looking to trade me. Understandably, when you have

(18:33):
a recent offensive Player of the Year winner and recent
defensive Player of the Year winner out there available on
the trading block, fans are going to connect these guys
to their own team, and that's been no different here
in Broncos country, and with good reason. The Broncos should
consider both of these players wide receivers in need, edge
isn't doesn't matter. Both these options should be considered, and frankly,

(18:56):
Miles Garrett, even though it's less of a position of
the need, is the one they should more seriously consider. Now,
Miles Garrett made it clear he wants to chase a
Super Bowl and maybe he wouldn't view the Denver Broncos
as that Super Bowl or bus team yet at this
point in their build, which could be a concern. Maybe
you don't want to add Miles Garrett if he's going
to be unhappy, but if you get the green light

(19:17):
and no he would be okay signing to Denver, sticking
around Denver long term. I think it would be a
dereliction of duty to overlook him, to not be calling
Cleveland and making serious efforts at pulling off such a trade.
And that's not to say it's not complicated. It would
be very complicated to pull off. The Broncos just drafted
Jonah ellis pretty high in this year's draft, third round pick,

(19:41):
promising rookie year two, that's not something you want to
quickly give up on. They just resigned Jonathan Cooper. Nick
Benito is coming off by far, the best year of
his young career, has consistently taken, has consistently taken large
strides forward year in and year out in his.

Speaker 3 (19:59):
Development as a pass rusher.

Speaker 1 (20:01):
So that's one you don't necessarily want to give up
on either, even though he will soon be due for
a new, big contract extension. But that's even a little scary,
right Nick Benito year one was kind of a non factor.
Year two, he was still a rotational player because he
was such a sieve against the run, and he showed

(20:21):
he could be a very dangerous pass rusher, but he
still had a long ways to go in his development,
especially on early downs. This year, it seemingly all came
together for him. He was absolutely amazing. But do the
Denver Broncos want to commit to thirty thirty five million
dollars a year going forward on Nick Benito?

Speaker 3 (20:43):
That's a big gamble.

Speaker 1 (20:45):
As good as this season was, that's a big risk
to put on just one great season. I think of
the Falcons and Vic Beasley, right, Vic Beasley top ten
pick leads to the league in sacks in twenty sixteen,
they give him a big contract extension and he was
never an impactful pass rusher again, outside of that one season.
I don't think you expect that to be the case
with Nick Benito, but the Falcons didn't expect that to

(21:06):
be the case with mc beasley.

Speaker 3 (21:08):
You have to protect yourself against those sort of things.

Speaker 1 (21:10):
And Miles Garrett, even at twenty nine, is probably a
safe for bet going forward. A much more expensive bet,
mind you, but probably a safe for bet. And if
the Broncos really do want to put the pedal to
the medal slam the gas, then try and chase the
Chiefs in the AFCUS, maybe chase a AFC championship, they

(21:31):
might need a guy like Miles Garrett. One of the
essentials for winning a Super Bowl or high end contention
is having an elite pass rusher, and maybe Benito proves
to be that, but I don't think you know that
for certain. Right now, you know for certain, Miles Garrett
is an elite pass rusher, right Chiefs have Chris Jones,
Bucks had Shaq Barrett that year playing out of his

(21:53):
stang mind. Broncos last time they wanted, of course, had
a lot of talented pass rushers. Eagles in twenty seventeen
great pass rush ran ms Aaron Donald. You need a
great pass rusher. There's exceptions to the rule, but you
need an elite pass rusher, not just the Jonathan Cooper,
and those guys are very hard to find. Yes, you know,

(22:13):
Chris Jones comes in at the end of the first round,
but generally speaking, those are guys you have to pick
in the top ten, if not the top five of
the NFL draft. Abdua Carter is nowhere near the prospect
Miles Scarrett was coming out. He's going to be the
number one overall pick this year. Trayvon Walker nowhere near
the prospect of Miles Garrett. The number one overall pick
in his respective class, And when are the Denver Broncos

(22:36):
going to be picking top ten again? Realistically speaking, you
would hope not until what the end of the bone
Nicks era. Maybe Bonix gets injured a year. But hypothetically speaking,
or you know, if everything goes to plan, the Denver
Bronco should not be picking high enough to find a
Miles Garrett like talent for years upon years upon years.

(22:56):
So how do you find that guy by making an
aggressive try?

Speaker 3 (23:01):
You know?

Speaker 1 (23:01):
How do the Rams acquire a talent like Jayalen Ramsey
when they are a consistent playoff team by making an
aggressive trade? So do the Broncos need to consider that here?
Ultimately probably not, It would be very, very expensive. They
have other more pressing needs. Miles Garrett probably only has
two three prime years left, and do the Broncos really
want to push all their chips into the center of

(23:23):
the table on that window, especially considering this is a
team that needs quality rookie contracts. They don't have many
first and second round rookie contracts on this team, and
that's an important part of your roster construction. Those contracts
are where it's easiest to find surplus value, right we've

(23:44):
all heard about the rookie quarterback contract.

Speaker 3 (23:46):
What that's talking.

Speaker 1 (23:46):
About is these players have their you know, slotted salaries
based on wherever they were selected, and those slotted salaries
often don't measure up to the value they're providing if
they're a really talented player. Where do you find really
time to players? Most often in the first and second round.
What picks have the Broncos not had a lot of
over the last half decade? Now first and second round picks?

(24:10):
So do you want to give up a barrel more?
You know, Khalil Mack, maybe the best comparable to this,
goes for two first round picks when the Raiders trade him.
Garrett's a little older, so maybe you get off quote
unquote easy with a first and a second, But that's
still very expensive for this team where they are right now. Nonetheless,
these opportunities don't present themselves often, and the Broncos have

(24:31):
to consider it. If Mahomes became available, you would have
to consider it. If Justin Jefferson became available, you would
have to consider it. If Jamar Chase became available, have
to consider it. This is one of those guys you
have to consider it. It probably doesn't make sense. Ultimately
for the Broncos, it makes sense, makes less sense for
them than a lot of other NFL teams like the

(24:52):
Buffalo Bills or Detroit Lions.

Speaker 3 (24:54):
Still have to consider it. Cooper Cup another one. I
think they.

Speaker 1 (24:58):
Probably shouldn't pull the trig, but another one you probably
have to consider it. Cooper Cup is a pretty idyllic
fit in Sean Payton's offense, at least the prime version
of Cooper Cup. Which is kind of the root of
the problem here, is that prime version of Cooper's Is
that prime version of Cooper Cup still in there.

Speaker 3 (25:18):
We don't really know.

Speaker 1 (25:20):
We haven't seen it since twenty twenty one, which was
his Triple Crown season. That's also the last time he
goes over eight hundred and twenty five yards, which is,
you know, not that impressive. Itally, a lot of that
is injury. To be clear, we're not getting those numbers
off of seventeen game seasons. But I don't think that's
a great defense for Cooper Cup. He is a receiver
on the wrong side of thirty who is missing a

(25:40):
lot of games consistently with injury, specifically lower body injuries.
That's not something that just goes away very often at
age thirty two, and it's not just missing time. When
he's on the field, he has not looked like the
same player. The Rams and Sean McVay used him a
bit like a running back. The mileage they put on
his body what made Cooper Cup so special. I mean,

(26:02):
he was a great rout runner, a great hands, all that,
but really what made him special was his physicality. He
was able to shake off tacklers after the catch, gaining
lots of yards after the catch. He was also a
devastating blocker, maybe the best blocking receiver in the league,
even though he did not have the measurables for it.

(26:23):
He put his all into blocking and threw his body
around to make that run game work. Well, that also
comes with a cost, especially when you're built like Cooper
Cup is built, instead of you know, being a branded
Marshal or Megatron. And you know when we talk about
thirty one thirty two year old running backs and how
they're not quite the same, Well, the same applies here

(26:45):
to Cooper Cup. His body's taken a beating. There's a
lot of mileage on that body, and it's again not
just theoretical. You can see it in his play he
does not move the same as he did in twenty
twenty one, and we're three years removed from that. I
mentioned I haven't seen him go over eight hundred and
twenty five yards since then. We haven't seen him go
over seven hundred and fifty yards since twenty twenty two,

(27:07):
when Nathaniel Hackett was the Broncos head coach. Even if
we look at the most recent sample, right, this year, honestly,
Tali did a fairly impressive you know, seven hundred yards
in just nine games.

Speaker 3 (27:18):
It's pretty good.

Speaker 1 (27:19):
But what gets overlooked is that is so heavily slanted
towards the start of the season over his first nine games, right,
Cooper Cup and I had my numbers. Rowing play fourteen
games this year, including the playoffs. But over his first
nine games he's averaging seven receptions for seventy three yards
and three quarters of a touchdown, Right, So most games

(27:44):
getting a touchdown reception and then going seven four seventy three, right,
averaging what would that be twenty two point fantasy day?

Speaker 3 (27:53):
Pretty dang good.

Speaker 1 (27:54):
But then down the stretch and this isn't There isn't
an injury here. I think it's just where and tear
of the season adding up, and you saw him drop
off a cliff down the stretch after that great Rams
Bills shootout where Cooper Cup had a pretty strong game,
he averaged just two receptions for twenty nine yards, and
he did not have a single receiving touchdown the rest

(28:16):
of the season. Two for twenty nine. Those are little
Jordan Humphrey numbers.

Speaker 3 (28:22):
People. He is set to take thirty million next season.

Speaker 1 (28:27):
I mean, that's why the Bronx, that's why the Rams,
excuse me, are trying to get rid of him.

Speaker 3 (28:31):
Right.

Speaker 1 (28:31):
He's been a defining part of their offense for several
years now, and they are actively looking to let go
of him to the point where they're they're pretty much announcing, hey,
we want to trade this guy. That should be setting
off some alarm bells. He's been an integral part of
their offense for years and years, and even then those
numbers are inflated by his last game against the Eagles,
which was another strong game. His four games immediately following

(28:55):
the Bills game, he's averaging one reception for twenty yards
a game. That's it, is that what the Broncos need
to be spending draft capital and fifteen million dollars.

Speaker 3 (29:05):
On this year.

Speaker 1 (29:07):
It probably isn't going to get better next year, right,
He's probably only going to continue to decline. Why not
invest that draft capital or that money into a receiver
that maybe has some untapped upside rather than hoping you
outrun Father Time by investing all your assets in Cooper Cup. Now,

(29:27):
admittedly I'm being a little dishonest with that argument. The
most appealing part of Cooper Cup, despite him being a
near perfect fit for Sean Payton's offense when you consider
his blocking ability, his route running, and his after the catchability,
the most appealing part of Cooper Cup is how cheap
the Denver Broncos could potentially get him for by trading him.

(29:49):
The Rams will eat seventeen million dollars in dead cap space,
which is most of his contract this year. Whatever team
acquires him would just be paying twelve point five million,
and the Rams have let it be known they are
willing to pay off more of his deal, which also
these should be serious red flags people. The Rams are
willing to spend over twenty million dollars to get Cooper

(30:14):
Cup probably at this point demands a mid to late
Day three pick. It's not going to be a second
round or a third round pick. Best case scenario, it's
a fourth You know that player is going to have
a salary of maybe around a million or two million
dollars a year, and the Rams are spending twenty five
million dollars to get it, or they're offering to.

Speaker 3 (30:35):
That again.

Speaker 1 (30:36):
Alarm bells should be going off in everyone's head right
now that the Brams want to get rid of Cooper
Cup this badly, but he is going to be making
less in twenty twenty five than Alan Lazard is set
to make. With how much the wide receiver market has ballooned,
you actually might be able to find some real surplus

(30:57):
value with Cooper Cup. It just comes with a lot
of risk and a big old buyer beware sign. So
we've poop pooed the Miles Garrett and Cooper Cup ideas,
But don't worry. I have a fun trade that I
think actually makes a lot of sense for the Denver Broncos.
Devonte Adams and I know what you're saying. You know

(31:19):
that Patrick's r Tan rival former Raider best years are
behind him and all that's true, But just last season,
not at the height of his powers, was still a
very talented receiver bordering on elite, if not elite, single
handedly beats the Baltimore Ravens in Baltimore while with a

(31:39):
bad Raiders team. Broncos Country saw firsthand how hard that
is to do. DeVante Adams practically did it as a
one man show. Also, once he finally settled in in
New York with the Jets and Aaron Rodgers and they
got their timing sworded and everything. Also, once he finally
got settled in New York with the Jets and Aaron
Rodgers and they got their time I mean figured out,

(32:01):
he was lights out again. He looked once again like
the Davante Adams, maybe not quite of old, but one
of the better receivers in the NFL easily and a
receiver that's really good at everything after the catchwork, of
route running, early separation, winning at the catch point, winning
in the red zone. You want to get bo Nick's
a security blanket this offseason, a weapon to help him

(32:22):
build his confidence. There is not a better option out
there than Davante Adams, not even in the draft. Tyler
Warren has some rawness to his game elements, even as
a receiver that he will have to develop further. Ashton
Genti will be a dynamic running back from day one, probably,
but he doesn't offer the help in the passing game

(32:45):
that a DeVante Adams would. If you want to catalyze
bo Nix's development, trading a late round pick for DeVante
Adams is very, very appealing. And that's another thing. Davante
Adams probably only goes for a late round pick like
Cooper Cup. His contract is prohibitive for the New York Jets.

Speaker 3 (33:05):
At this point.

Speaker 1 (33:05):
He will have a thirty eight million dollar cap pit
if they decide to keep him. Now, if they trade him,
which every team acquires him, will only have a thirty
million dollar cap pit. Not only being said a little
tongue in cheek, that's still a lot of money. He'd
be the fourth highest paid receiver in twenty twenty five.
But the Broncos have the cap space to spend. They
have ownership willing to manipulate the salary cap by spending cash,

(33:28):
a very wealthy ownership group with that, so they can
get creative with their options. The pick will cost nearly nothing.
The Broncos have the cap space to afford a DeVante Adams,
why not roll the dice?

Speaker 3 (33:40):
On it.

Speaker 1 (33:41):
He would fit alongside Sutton, Valet and Mims naturally because
again he's such an all around talent. He is the
type of guy you want in your locker room checks. Again,
every box is a receiver and outside of his salary
should not be that expensive to acquire fifth sixth round pill.
What are the Broncos doing with a six round pick?

(34:02):
That could be more helpful for bo Nicks than adding
DeVante Adams even if you factor in the money Jawan
Johnson out there is a top receiver.

Speaker 3 (34:10):
T Higgins.

Speaker 1 (34:10):
Guess what T Higgins is going to get more than
that thirty million dollar a number on an annual basis.
So what better options are out there? I don't think
there is one. Forget Cooper Cup, DeVante Adams is the
big name veteran receiver the Denver Broncos should pursue. Coming
up next, we'll take a closer look at the wide
receiver position and how much of a need is it

(34:32):
really for the Denver Broncos. Make sure you are hitting
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