1
00:00:00,000 --> 00:00:02,480
Speaker 1: What's the Broncos Country. Welcome back to the Broncos Podcast

2
00:00:02,520 --> 00:00:05,280
Speaker 1: Network in YouTube for the latest episode of Broncos Now.

3
00:00:05,519 --> 00:00:07,600
Speaker 1: As always, I'm your host is Sidney Jones, and coming

4
00:00:07,680 --> 00:00:10,479
Speaker 1: up on today's episode, the team started phase one of

5
00:00:10,520 --> 00:00:13,200
Speaker 1: its voluntary off season program, so we'll talk about the

6
00:00:13,200 --> 00:00:16,119
Speaker 1: players returning to the team headquarters and look ahead to

7
00:00:16,160 --> 00:00:19,280
Speaker 1: the twenty twenty three NFL Draft all that more coming

8
00:00:19,360 --> 00:00:27,680
Speaker 1: up for today's episode of Broncos Now. Joining me here

9
00:00:27,720 --> 00:00:31,240
Speaker 1: inside the Broncos Podcast studio is fellow team reporter Phil Melanie. Phil,

10
00:00:31,280 --> 00:00:33,760
Speaker 1: thanks for being on again. It's been a couple of weeks. Yes,

11
00:00:34,280 --> 00:00:37,040
Speaker 1: thanks for having me. Yeah, of course, always good to

12
00:00:37,080 --> 00:00:40,120
Speaker 1: be on. Agreed well, Phil. The team they started their

13
00:00:40,159 --> 00:00:42,800
Speaker 1: voluntary off season program this week, so the players are

14
00:00:42,800 --> 00:00:45,479
Speaker 1: back in the building for phase one, you know, focusing

15
00:00:45,520 --> 00:00:47,800
Speaker 1: on strengthening conditioning. It's nice to see the players back.

16
00:00:47,800 --> 00:00:50,800
Speaker 1: I feel like the building has been so empty. Whenever

17
00:00:50,840 --> 00:00:53,640
Speaker 1: they come back, there's just such a good energy, you

18
00:00:53,720 --> 00:00:56,760
Speaker 1: know about it. It's like football's back exactly, and like

19
00:00:56,880 --> 00:01:01,080
Speaker 1: the intensity of like the fall isn't quite there, so

20
00:01:01,120 --> 00:01:04,880
Speaker 1: it's like a little bit relax but good energy and

21
00:01:05,440 --> 00:01:08,000
Speaker 1: those guys have been busy a getting to work. Yeah,

22
00:01:08,040 --> 00:01:10,520
Speaker 1: they definitely have. I know head coach Sean Payton said

23
00:01:10,600 --> 00:01:13,240
Speaker 1: at the annual league meeting a couple of weeks ago

24
00:01:13,280 --> 00:01:16,039
Speaker 1: that the Broncos will extend this phase one period for

25
00:01:16,200 --> 00:01:18,800
Speaker 1: you know, up two months, and I know typically that's

26
00:01:18,840 --> 00:01:21,200
Speaker 1: about two weeks before they start to focus on the

27
00:01:21,240 --> 00:01:24,399
Speaker 1: on field prep. There's kind of taken a different approach

28
00:01:24,600 --> 00:01:27,840
Speaker 1: thee Yeah, I mean they have a totally new like

29
00:01:27,959 --> 00:01:33,559
Speaker 1: strengthened conditioning coaching staff, so a different approach to how

30
00:01:33,560 --> 00:01:38,360
Speaker 1: to get ready to practice football. And I know that

31
00:01:39,080 --> 00:01:42,319
Speaker 1: at the league meetings there Sean Payton was just talking

32
00:01:42,360 --> 00:01:45,640
Speaker 1: about how he thinks that two weeks is just too fast,

33
00:01:45,880 --> 00:01:48,920
Speaker 1: you know what it is to go from not doing

34
00:01:49,080 --> 00:01:51,800
Speaker 1: much and just working out on your own just get

35
00:01:51,880 --> 00:01:54,320
Speaker 1: right back on the football. That can lead to some

36
00:01:54,400 --> 00:01:59,000
Speaker 1: injuries and Broncos need to avoid that. And I do

37
00:01:59,080 --> 00:02:02,000
Speaker 1: think that just looking at how this Broncos team has

38
00:02:02,000 --> 00:02:04,600
Speaker 1: done stuff in the past, they had to shake some

39
00:02:04,640 --> 00:02:07,160
Speaker 1: stuff up, and I think doing this does a couple

40
00:02:07,160 --> 00:02:12,400
Speaker 1: of things. One, I think just like actually physically it

41
00:02:12,440 --> 00:02:15,600
Speaker 1: helps them get ready and maybe avoid some injuries which

42
00:02:15,639 --> 00:02:18,440
Speaker 1: is plagued this team. But Another thing is like I

43
00:02:18,520 --> 00:02:21,639
Speaker 1: think mentally makes them a little bit tougher. It says, hey,

44
00:02:21,639 --> 00:02:24,600
Speaker 1: we're here to work, We're here to you know, this

45
00:02:24,680 --> 00:02:29,040
Speaker 1: is not going to be fun, you know, running run exactly.

46
00:02:29,160 --> 00:02:31,919
Speaker 1: So I think that it does two things. Gets them

47
00:02:31,960 --> 00:02:35,799
Speaker 1: ready to play physically but in practice physically, but also

48
00:02:35,880 --> 00:02:37,440
Speaker 1: I think it kind of makes them a little bit

49
00:02:37,440 --> 00:02:40,800
Speaker 1: mentally tougher. Yeah, definitely, Phil, Well, I know this year's

50
00:02:40,880 --> 00:02:43,359
Speaker 1: NFL Draft is coming up in a couple of weeks.

51
00:02:43,400 --> 00:02:45,680
Speaker 1: The Broncos they got five picks this year, you know,

52
00:02:45,720 --> 00:02:47,680
Speaker 1: two back to back picks in the third round, a

53
00:02:47,720 --> 00:02:49,960
Speaker 1: fourth round pick, a fifth round pick in the six

54
00:02:50,840 --> 00:02:53,280
Speaker 1: No first or second round this year. How do you

55
00:02:53,320 --> 00:02:56,119
Speaker 1: think maybe they'll approach the draft this year then, Phil,

56
00:02:56,400 --> 00:02:59,720
Speaker 1: it's interesting, not so much buzz high. It's hard to

57
00:02:59,720 --> 00:03:02,640
Speaker 1: get who excited for the third round. But if you

58
00:03:02,720 --> 00:03:05,640
Speaker 1: think about how football teams are constructed, that's like the

59
00:03:05,760 --> 00:03:07,639
Speaker 1: meat of the draft. That's where you get a lot

60
00:03:07,680 --> 00:03:10,160
Speaker 1: of your players that end up sticking around. There's a

61
00:03:10,200 --> 00:03:12,639
Speaker 1: lot of good third round picks that are still out there.

62
00:03:12,680 --> 00:03:16,120
Speaker 1: So maybe not household names that you know coming out

63
00:03:16,200 --> 00:03:20,400
Speaker 1: of college, but once they become Broncos or if they

64
00:03:20,520 --> 00:03:23,080
Speaker 1: join whatever your favorite team is, then you get to

65
00:03:23,120 --> 00:03:25,760
Speaker 1: know them because they're contributing all the time. And this

66
00:03:25,880 --> 00:03:28,720
Speaker 1: Broncos team needs to hit on these five picks. Like

67
00:03:29,000 --> 00:03:30,880
Speaker 1: it kind of puts the pressure on them only having

68
00:03:30,919 --> 00:03:34,320
Speaker 1: five picks because you know, they need some guys who

69
00:03:34,320 --> 00:03:37,920
Speaker 1: are going to play as rookies. And so it'll be

70
00:03:37,960 --> 00:03:40,600
Speaker 1: interesting to see how they try to do this. Like

71
00:03:40,640 --> 00:03:42,360
Speaker 1: if you look at what they did in free agency,

72
00:03:42,920 --> 00:03:45,400
Speaker 1: they brought in a lot of like big physical guys.

73
00:03:45,520 --> 00:03:50,400
Speaker 1: You know, Mike mcclinch, Ben Powers, Zach Allen Man, Hurts

74
00:03:50,440 --> 00:03:53,840
Speaker 1: the tight end. You know, these are big dudes that

75
00:03:53,880 --> 00:03:56,839
Speaker 1: are like physical, and so maybe that kind of gives

76
00:03:56,880 --> 00:04:00,440
Speaker 1: you an idea of what Sean Paynton's looking for, what

77
00:04:00,520 --> 00:04:03,520
Speaker 1: kind of attitude, what kind of mentality he wants his

78
00:04:03,600 --> 00:04:06,600
Speaker 1: team to have. And so I'm gonna be surprised if

79
00:04:06,600 --> 00:04:08,240
Speaker 1: they go out and try to get some physical guys,

80
00:04:08,280 --> 00:04:11,400
Speaker 1: some bigger guys. And you know, one thing, when we're

81
00:04:11,400 --> 00:04:15,440
Speaker 1: at the league meetings, we talk to the mmqb's Albert Breer. Yeah,

82
00:04:15,640 --> 00:04:18,359
Speaker 1: one thing he mentioned to us was, Hey, coach Payton

83
00:04:18,440 --> 00:04:21,600
Speaker 1: sort of feels like with the skill guys he can

84
00:04:21,640 --> 00:04:24,240
Speaker 1: help coach them and get the most out of the

85
00:04:24,279 --> 00:04:28,040
Speaker 1: talent they have. And so he thinks, Hey, the skill position,

86
00:04:28,360 --> 00:04:30,680
Speaker 1: I can create a great scheme, I can call a

87
00:04:30,720 --> 00:04:33,640
Speaker 1: great game. I could coach these guys up. But what

88
00:04:33,760 --> 00:04:38,480
Speaker 1: he can't coach is six six, three fifty. You know,

89
00:04:38,600 --> 00:04:41,200
Speaker 1: that's you just got to have those physical tools. So

90
00:04:42,040 --> 00:04:44,320
Speaker 1: it'll be interesting to see if they continue to add

91
00:04:44,680 --> 00:04:48,039
Speaker 1: to the offensive line, the defensive line, if they want

92
00:04:48,040 --> 00:04:51,479
Speaker 1: to just continue to beef that area up, or hey,

93
00:04:51,600 --> 00:04:53,119
Speaker 1: are they going to go out and try to get

94
00:04:53,240 --> 00:04:57,040
Speaker 1: another tight end, another playmaker, a running back, you know,

95
00:04:57,839 --> 00:04:59,799
Speaker 1: are they going to try and get an edge guy

96
00:05:00,200 --> 00:05:03,760
Speaker 1: to help you put some pressure on opposing quarterbacks. It's

97
00:05:03,800 --> 00:05:06,120
Speaker 1: going to be interesting to see how they go out

98
00:05:06,120 --> 00:05:09,000
Speaker 1: there and approach this draft for sure. Yeah, I feel

99
00:05:09,040 --> 00:05:11,159
Speaker 1: you just mentioned a few positions there. Let's look at

100
00:05:11,160 --> 00:05:13,680
Speaker 1: the offense to start, Yep, where do you think or

101
00:05:14,000 --> 00:05:15,880
Speaker 1: how do you hope to see them target some of

102
00:05:15,880 --> 00:05:18,520
Speaker 1: those positions you just mentioned And are there any guys

103
00:05:18,560 --> 00:05:21,200
Speaker 1: that you think well that you've heard about. First of all,

104
00:05:21,240 --> 00:05:23,839
Speaker 1: I would take the best available player, like, no matter

105
00:05:23,880 --> 00:05:26,159
Speaker 1: what position. I think that the Broncos are in that

106
00:05:26,200 --> 00:05:28,760
Speaker 1: sort of position where they just need really good players.

107
00:05:29,200 --> 00:05:31,560
Speaker 1: So if they got a guy at a position they

108
00:05:31,560 --> 00:05:34,159
Speaker 1: feel like they've got some talent at but he's the

109
00:05:34,160 --> 00:05:36,240
Speaker 1: best player in their draft, I'd still take him. I

110
00:05:36,279 --> 00:05:39,200
Speaker 1: think the Broncos are in that area. But on offense,

111
00:05:39,839 --> 00:05:43,320
Speaker 1: I think another playmaker makes sense. Maybe somebody who's like

112
00:05:43,400 --> 00:05:46,440
Speaker 1: a little bit different than a Javante Williams or sma

113
00:05:46,600 --> 00:05:50,039
Speaker 1: JP or nine. Somebody who can maybe as a speed star.

114
00:05:50,240 --> 00:05:52,799
Speaker 1: I could see them trying to add somebody there that's

115
00:05:52,839 --> 00:05:54,880
Speaker 1: like that. I could see them trying to bring in

116
00:05:54,920 --> 00:05:58,599
Speaker 1: another pass catching tight end. I'm really interested in what

117
00:05:58,680 --> 00:06:03,080
Speaker 1: happens with Albert Great Buonam Yeah, Like, I like that

118
00:06:03,200 --> 00:06:06,160
Speaker 1: was so weird what happened last year with Yeah, like

119
00:06:06,400 --> 00:06:10,039
Speaker 1: U did they like, was something wrong with him or

120
00:06:10,080 --> 00:06:12,640
Speaker 1: did he just not fit or did he not get

121
00:06:12,760 --> 00:06:15,840
Speaker 1: along with the previous coaching staff, Because at the end

122
00:06:15,839 --> 00:06:18,040
Speaker 1: of the year when he played in those two games,

123
00:06:18,240 --> 00:06:21,000
Speaker 1: he looked good, scored a touchdown. So I'm wondering what

124
00:06:21,120 --> 00:06:25,279
Speaker 1: Sean Paynton thinks about him, wondering how he can get

125
00:06:25,320 --> 00:06:28,000
Speaker 1: the most out of Greg Dolcitch. But maybe they get

126
00:06:28,040 --> 00:06:32,680
Speaker 1: another tight end, somebody who is like at near the

127
00:06:32,720 --> 00:06:35,560
Speaker 1: top of the class in tight ends, because third round

128
00:06:35,640 --> 00:06:37,039
Speaker 1: is when you start to see some of those tight

129
00:06:37,120 --> 00:06:40,160
Speaker 1: ends go off the boards. At tight ends of this draft. Yeah,

130
00:06:40,200 --> 00:06:42,560
Speaker 1: so I could see him doing like some sort of

131
00:06:42,560 --> 00:06:45,080
Speaker 1: a playmaker, whether that's a running back or a tight end,

132
00:06:45,240 --> 00:06:49,160
Speaker 1: or even heca another wide receiver. Maybe I could see

133
00:06:49,160 --> 00:06:53,159
Speaker 1: them going in that direction. You know you mentioned earlier too,

134
00:06:53,240 --> 00:06:55,800
Speaker 1: maybe d line or edge rushers. Who are you looking

135
00:06:55,800 --> 00:06:58,640
Speaker 1: at on defense? Then yeah, I think edge rusher. I

136
00:06:58,680 --> 00:07:02,120
Speaker 1: do think they need some sort of somebody there because

137
00:07:02,120 --> 00:07:04,720
Speaker 1: George Paton says he can never have enough, yeah, exactly.

138
00:07:04,760 --> 00:07:08,800
Speaker 1: And Randy Gregory has had a lot of injury concerns

139
00:07:08,839 --> 00:07:11,320
Speaker 1: over his year. Over his career, I don't think he's

140
00:07:11,320 --> 00:07:14,080
Speaker 1: ever played games last year, yeah, a full season, But

141
00:07:14,160 --> 00:07:16,920
Speaker 1: when he's on the field, he's terrific. I mean, he's

142
00:07:16,960 --> 00:07:20,240
Speaker 1: a playmaker, yes, but if you're assuming he's gonna miss

143
00:07:20,240 --> 00:07:22,880
Speaker 1: a little bit of time. Baron Browning on the other side,

144
00:07:22,920 --> 00:07:25,640
Speaker 1: had a little bit of injury problems last year and

145
00:07:25,680 --> 00:07:30,080
Speaker 1: he's not quite like that premier pass rusher, not yet,

146
00:07:30,120 --> 00:07:33,160
Speaker 1: at least unless he takes another step step this year.

147
00:07:33,360 --> 00:07:36,119
Speaker 1: Then last year, they took Nick Benito with their first pick,

148
00:07:36,160 --> 00:07:38,960
Speaker 1: in the second round there, he didn't quite have the

149
00:07:39,040 --> 00:07:41,520
Speaker 1: rookie season I think most were hoping for. And then

150
00:07:41,600 --> 00:07:44,840
Speaker 1: Jonathan Cooper, Jacob Martin. They round out that room there,

151
00:07:44,920 --> 00:07:47,440
Speaker 1: so I could see them being like, hey, we need

152
00:07:47,520 --> 00:07:49,960
Speaker 1: we need another person there. So I could see that

153
00:07:50,280 --> 00:07:53,200
Speaker 1: maybe another cornerback, you know, Like that's another thing they

154
00:07:53,240 --> 00:07:55,760
Speaker 1: did in free agency was they tried to get some

155
00:07:55,800 --> 00:07:58,560
Speaker 1: guys who could play special teams too, So maybe you

156
00:07:58,600 --> 00:08:01,360
Speaker 1: get a special teamer and a guy who could contribute

157
00:08:01,400 --> 00:08:05,600
Speaker 1: where needed at cornerback. I could see those two areas

158
00:08:05,600 --> 00:08:08,800
Speaker 1: being where they try to attack. If they're going defense,

159
00:08:09,800 --> 00:08:12,320
Speaker 1: it'll be an interesting draft for sure, Philly. I feel like,

160
00:08:12,600 --> 00:08:15,920
Speaker 1: you know, they addressed a lot of the big you know, offense,

161
00:08:15,960 --> 00:08:18,600
Speaker 1: A line was a muss they had had to do.

162
00:08:19,120 --> 00:08:21,800
Speaker 1: They targeted a lot of things they needed in free agency.

163
00:08:21,880 --> 00:08:24,360
Speaker 1: So now that it's kind of just yeah, like what

164
00:08:24,400 --> 00:08:26,560
Speaker 1: you said, getting the best player available, I think, yeah,

165
00:08:26,560 --> 00:08:29,080
Speaker 1: And when you win five games like the Broncos did,

166
00:08:30,160 --> 00:08:32,600
Speaker 1: there's going to be areas all across the roster where

167
00:08:32,640 --> 00:08:34,360
Speaker 1: you're like, they can get a little better here, they

168
00:08:34,360 --> 00:08:37,120
Speaker 1: can get a little better there. I don't mean to

169
00:08:37,200 --> 00:08:40,080
Speaker 1: like pick on any position you know, but I think

170
00:08:40,120 --> 00:08:44,920
Speaker 1: that you're just you need more good players, you know,

171
00:08:45,080 --> 00:08:47,920
Speaker 1: So that's sort of where they are now. And I

172
00:08:47,960 --> 00:08:49,959
Speaker 1: think that's one of the things that you like about

173
00:08:49,960 --> 00:08:52,439
Speaker 1: having a coach like Sean Payton. He's been through this

174
00:08:52,520 --> 00:08:55,880
Speaker 1: draft process a lot, and he's found a lot of

175
00:08:56,000 --> 00:08:59,960
Speaker 1: hidden talent there. You know, Marquis Colson was a seventh

176
00:09:00,120 --> 00:09:03,320
Speaker 1: round pick. I mean, he knows how to find these guys.

177
00:09:03,360 --> 00:09:06,839
Speaker 1: He knows what he's looking for, and I think like

178
00:09:07,080 --> 00:09:09,920
Speaker 1: a player coming in for a visit and he's in

179
00:09:09,960 --> 00:09:13,320
Speaker 1: the room with Sean, He's just got that personality where

180
00:09:13,800 --> 00:09:16,720
Speaker 1: I feel like he knows what he's doing in those situations.

181
00:09:16,760 --> 00:09:19,000
Speaker 1: And that's why you want a guy like Sean Payton

182
00:09:19,040 --> 00:09:21,520
Speaker 1: who's like, been through this a lot, he knows what

183
00:09:21,559 --> 00:09:24,280
Speaker 1: he's looking for. And even when we were at the

184
00:09:24,320 --> 00:09:26,920
Speaker 1: league meetings, I asked Sean just like, Hey, how's it

185
00:09:27,000 --> 00:09:29,080
Speaker 1: been working with George Peyton And he was like, I've

186
00:09:29,120 --> 00:09:33,720
Speaker 1: just been pleasantly surprised that's a draft two there, because

187
00:09:34,160 --> 00:09:36,360
Speaker 1: like Sean was saying, oh, you hear all these stories

188
00:09:36,360 --> 00:09:38,920
Speaker 1: about George being this like football guy and this grinder,

189
00:09:39,440 --> 00:09:41,600
Speaker 1: and then when you are working with him, you could

190
00:09:41,640 --> 00:09:44,840
Speaker 1: tell too. So I think the two of them, George

191
00:09:44,880 --> 00:09:47,160
Speaker 1: Payton loves to watch so much tape and he just

192
00:09:47,200 --> 00:09:52,960
Speaker 1: gets after it but exactly, and then Sean Payton just

193
00:09:53,040 --> 00:09:56,040
Speaker 1: getting his personality in the room with these prospects. That's

194
00:09:56,040 --> 00:09:59,240
Speaker 1: a good duo that I feel like the Broncos should

195
00:09:59,240 --> 00:10:01,720
Speaker 1: be able to find some town here. Well, regardless of

196
00:10:01,760 --> 00:10:04,040
Speaker 1: only having five picks, it's still exciting. The draft is

197
00:10:04,040 --> 00:10:07,559
Speaker 1: my favorite time of year. Yeah, like, hey, are they

198
00:10:07,559 --> 00:10:10,560
Speaker 1: gonna take Pats or Tan or Michael Parsons. That's not

199
00:10:10,640 --> 00:10:14,320
Speaker 1: quite like that, you know, but it's uh, from like

200
00:10:14,360 --> 00:10:18,440
Speaker 1: a football perspective, it's really crucial because those third those

201
00:10:18,480 --> 00:10:21,040
Speaker 1: back to back third round picks, they gotta hit on those.

202
00:10:21,440 --> 00:10:23,240
Speaker 1: They gotta have guys who come in and they're gonna

203
00:10:23,240 --> 00:10:27,520
Speaker 1: play right away. So it's crucial when I mean, say,

204
00:10:27,640 --> 00:10:30,600
Speaker 1: before we record this, yeah, we talked to Hall of

205
00:10:30,600 --> 00:10:34,040
Speaker 1: Famer Steve Atwater usually his office right around here, and

206
00:10:34,120 --> 00:10:36,800
Speaker 1: he was like, hey, think about how a roster is constructed.

207
00:10:37,160 --> 00:10:39,800
Speaker 1: There's not that many. It's not like they're all first

208
00:10:39,880 --> 00:10:43,760
Speaker 1: round picks right, second round picks. There's a lot of

209
00:10:43,800 --> 00:10:47,040
Speaker 1: guys who are third and later. Yeah, that's true. You

210
00:10:47,080 --> 00:10:51,280
Speaker 1: know and so um, there's talent to be found there,

211
00:10:51,400 --> 00:10:53,719
Speaker 1: so you gotta find you gotta sift through it and

212
00:10:53,960 --> 00:10:57,640
Speaker 1: find those gold pieces. Uh and uh you know, hopefully

213
00:10:57,679 --> 00:11:01,360
Speaker 1: the Broncins can do that. Taks two weeks took yeah,

214
00:11:01,440 --> 00:11:04,760
Speaker 1: two weeks today. Yeah, so all right, Well, Phil, appreciate

215
00:11:04,800 --> 00:11:06,439
Speaker 1: it coming on the show again today and thanks for

216
00:11:06,559 --> 00:11:08,880
Speaker 1: your Yeah, I always appreciate it. Thanks for having me on.

217
00:11:08,960 --> 00:11:10,960
Speaker 1: Well that I'll do it for today's episode of Broncos

218
00:11:10,960 --> 00:11:13,480
Speaker 1: Now Broncos Country. Thanks so much for tuning in. Make

219
00:11:13,520 --> 00:11:15,600
Speaker 1: sure to stay up to date on at Denver Broncos

220
00:11:15,679 --> 00:11:18,080
Speaker 1: dot com in the Denver Broncos YouTube channel for all

221
00:11:18,120 --> 00:11:20,440
Speaker 1: the latest episodes. I will see you all next week.