00:00We've got Cody Rourke in from Mile High Sports.
00:02Broncos have a day off, but we don't give Cody a day off.
00:05We bring him on here and do some extra work for us here on Sports Grid.
00:08Cody, great to have you back here on Newswire.
00:11Broncos certainly have changed the level of expectations.
00:14Based on the second half of last season, it seems like going into this year,
00:18the bar has been raised, hasn't it?
00:20Yeah, and look, I think a lot of it is returning a lot of the key guys
00:24from last year's roster.
00:25And look, it was a roster that not many people had high expectations for
00:29going into the season.
00:30It was around five and a half wins.
00:32And Bo Nix was a big reason why they took a huge jump.
00:35And on top of that, a really good defense led by NFL defensive player of the year,
00:39Patrick Sertan.
00:40It's kind of elevated the stock a little bit.
00:42And so the expectations have gotten a little higher for the Broncos,
00:45who won 10 games last year.
00:46They believe, and I think a lot of people are seeing it,
00:49that this is a roster that could be very, very dangerous.
00:52And they're getting a lot of love from a national side going into it.
00:55But there's a lot of hype, a lot of expectations.
00:57And with that comes needing to meet those or to exceed those.
01:00But the Broncos, I think they tune out all the noise there.
01:05And they've got a big practice here this morning.
01:07They're not in Denver, but they are in San Francisco for a joint practice
01:10here this morning with the 49ers.
01:12So we're waiting updates on that one.
01:15All right.
01:16Well, let's talk about some of the acquisitions this offseason.
01:18Which do you think was the biggest, getting Dobbins from the Chargers,
01:22getting, I mean, I'm assuming it's Trey Greenlaw getting him from San Francisco.
01:26But they really dipped into the 49ers defense pretty hard here.
01:30Yeah, I would say the additions of Talanola, Hufanga, Drake Greenlaw,
01:34those have been big ones.
01:35But I'd even say offensively, Evan Ingram, probably the one guy I would pinpoint
01:38is, hey, really keep an eye on him.
01:40J.K. Dobbins obviously coming over from the Chargers.
01:43He's an upgrade over anything the Broncos had at running back last year.
01:46You have second-round pick R.J. Harvey.
01:48Those two guys have really been splitting the carries here
01:51with the first-team offense throughout training camp.
01:54Despite the unofficial depth chart that Sean Payton released yesterday,
01:57they had R.J. Harvey listed fifth.
01:58It was causing a lot of panic amongst people,
02:00especially the fantasy football community.
02:02But, you know, I think that Drake Greenlaw defensively, Hufanga,
02:05those guys are so important because they fly around him.
02:08You watch them on film, they are next to each other quite a bit.
02:10Anywhere the football is, those guys are right there offensively.
02:14Evan Ingram probably going to be the bigger needle mover right now.
02:17But J.K. Dobbins, he's also going to be a good addition.
02:20But I would highlight Evan Ingram probably as the most important addition
02:22that they have made so far this offseason.
02:25I wouldn't have guessed that.
02:26So that's a good name going into the season.
02:28Cody, of course, over at milehighsports.com,
02:31has more on the unofficial depth chart that was released
02:34as the Broncos get ready to play their first preseason game.
02:37Let's talk about Bo Nix here for a minute.
02:40Shaky first few games.
02:42Stellar second half of the season.
02:44And everyone is just expecting some of these numbers
02:47to just really rise astronomically this year,
02:50especially those rushing yards for him and the passing yards.
02:5437-75 last year, 29 touchdowns.
02:58I mean, he was basically as good as any quarterback
03:00in the second half of the season.
03:01I just wonder if that will continue this year.
03:03Yeah, I think there's hope and there's expectations
03:06of that being the case.
03:07Last year, learning Sean Payton's offense as a rookie
03:10is no easy task.
03:11And for him, he managed that workload while in competition
03:14with guys like Jarrett Stidham and Zach Wilson
03:17during training camp last year.
03:19I think a lot of what we saw in camp last year from Bo
03:21was trying to learn the offense,
03:23but also trying not to put the ball into harm's way.
03:26He wanted to be able to protect the football there.
03:29You saw him get off to that slow start
03:30to start the regular season,
03:32learning how fast the NFL game is.
03:34And then all of a sudden something clicked for him
03:36and he goes on to explode for 29 passing touchdowns,
03:39four rushing touchdowns, one receiving touchdown.
03:42He obviously surpassed Baker Mayfield
03:44for second all time by an NFL rookie quarterback
03:46in terms of passing touchdowns in a season,
03:49just a couple of shy from Justin Herbert.
03:51So he's in really, really good company
03:52in terms of what he's been able to accomplish.
03:55He's well in command of the offense right now
03:57and just looks miles ahead.
03:58He bulked up a little bit this off season.
04:00So the expectations for him are high
04:02and I think he's handling that transition
04:03knowing that he's the guy.
04:05I think he's handling it well.
04:07Cody, let's end with the prognostications for the season.
04:10Most have the Raiders finishing last
04:12and then I've seen things all over the place.
04:15Not many publications have the Chiefs
04:17finishing behind the Broncos,
04:19but I do see a lot with Denver finishing ahead
04:22of the Chargers this season.
04:24How do you see it all shaking out?
04:25I mean, the AFC West, I think,
04:28is going to be very tough this year.
04:29I mean, obviously with Pete Carroll coming over
04:31as the head coach for the Raiders,
04:32he's going to install a little bit more toughness
04:34and discipline that organization has lacked.
04:37He bringing a guy like Geno Smith
04:38and some of the younger guys that they have
04:40with Brock Bowers, they're going to be,
04:41they're going to be a tough team.
04:42They're not going to be a team
04:43you can write off the Chargers,
04:44obviously with Harbaugh are very solid
04:46and you can never write off the Chiefs
04:47to have Patrick Mahomes and Andy Reid.
04:49But I will say that I have a strong feeling
04:51this could be the year
04:52that the Chiefs don't win the AFC West.
04:54I think you can make a case for the Chargers.
04:56I think you can make a chase for the Broncos.
04:58And I think that there's a good chance
05:00that we maybe see that.
05:02It starts with how they get off to,
05:03you know, start in the early season.
05:05Denver can't get off to a slow start
05:06the way they have the last two years.
05:08They get off to a hot start.
05:09That trend could be in danger for Kansas City.
05:13Great stuff as always, Cody.
05:14Enjoy the rest of the training camp,
05:16which ends today officially, right?
05:17And then the preseason begins this weekend.
05:19Thanks again.
05:20Thank you so much.
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