The time is 2019 the place Denver Colorado. Young Zac and RK discuss whether Drew Lock the young kid from a small school with a cannon for an arm and mobility is the right pick for the Broncos at number 10. Hes not polished and alittle inaccurate and he hasn’t won vs any major programs but If you like your guy, you’ve got to get him, they say.

(Now the fictional part) Draft day comes. John Elway is bold and trades 2 firsts and a second to move up to 5 to get ahead of the Giants and gets his guy… Drew Lock. The top QB on the Broncos board. How much worse would we be feeling right now?

Zac “we aren’t trying to draft another Drew lock”

Are you sure Zac?

In regards to yesterday’s pod topic. If you were in charge of what the Falcons do, which scenario would you choose:

A: Draft a QB this year at 4, “stack” QBs and have your heir apparent in house even though you are paying Ryan a crap ton for the next two years, and pass on a blue chip player (about as blue as you can almost get with Pitts).

B: Talk up your #4 pick by alluding to stacking QBs this year, try really hard to get a future first, which could allow you to “stack” QBs next year, get an additional year of cost control on the 2022 rookie QB, and come away with a blue chip at, say, pick 9. If you believe in the coaching change, which you probably do since you made the hire, and you believe Ryan has a lot left in the tank, which you do since you’re giving him a ton of money, then you believe you’re a ‘win now’ position.

Which scenario makes more sense?

P.S. If Atlanta trades back beyond Dallas at 10, they likely miss out on the top blue chip players (Pitts, Chase, D. Smith, Waddle, Sewell, Slater). Denver has leverage. Patton is smart to remain patient.

Gotta be honest while I guess respect the decision not the have off-season practices I do not like it one bit. Also being a 5-11 and then being the first team to announce they won’t meet in person? Yuck!

I think this drastically minimizes the chances of a rookie QB starting this year. Shurmur throughout the excuse of no practices and loss of thousands of reps every chance he got last year. We’ll see how this all plays out.

Mase,

I’m too young to really remember this, but can you tell us what you were thinking when The Raiders selected Sebastian Janikowski in the first round of the 2000 draft. The whole NFL had to of been laughing at them.

Hey guys!

All this talk about edelman this past week (not a HOFer btw) had me revisiting the game the broncos played against the patriots this past season.

Edelman was targeted 6 times and had 2 catches for 8 yards which is statistically one of the worst games in his career. And while it might be unfair to compare 2020 Edelman playing with Cam Newton to him in his peak with Brady, he had a career high 179 yards playing with Cam, a few weeks before the broncos game…..so he definitely had a lil something left in the tank. Just wanted to shoutout Bryce because he really is one of the best slot defenders in the game right now!

What’s better, snacks or meals?

Love
The Count

If you were in Drew Lock’s shoes would you go against the Broncos’ union reps and try to round up some offensive players to show up to OTA’s? This was Drew Lock’s shot to show the coaching staff/George Paton how far he’s come before the draft.

My Peoples.

I have several thoughts on todays pod.

Zac you mentioned doing whatever it takes to get thee guy at QB and that you would be willing to trade one of our young star wideouts to obtain that pick. While I am not totally against the idea I do have some thoughts against it.

One in the hand is worth two in the bush so to speak. I would be more willing to trade 2 first round picks to move just 4 spots than trade one of Juedy or Sutton. We would assume that Fields in this case would be our pick and like it has been pointed out on this pod, Fields gives Denver a chance to make the playoffs (Maybe). I would rather pair him with the full talent already put together in Denver than trade away proven assets.

On to QB. The idea that we would land the 5th best QB in the draft is all about perspective. I believe the QBs 1-5 are

Lawrence
Fields
Lance
Wilson
Jones.

If you draft Fields at 5, we drafted MY number 2 QB at 5, not the 5th best QB at 5.

Also I eat my hot dogs by cutting them in half long ways, frying them up two at a time and eating them on regular ole bread.. Hot dog sandwich.

Sorry for the longer comment today, its been busy at work and I am training for our assistant manager position at work. (Assistant is actually a very tall task in our company lol)

Keep up the good work, love this community,

Stephen.

Hey fellas,

During a couple of recent podcasts I have heard a lot about Drew not being good so no one can complain if the Broncos move on. Also, people saying no off season is an excuse.

I lecture in Sports Coaching and I am currently contributing to a book about talent identification and development. One thing is clear is academic research; to develop talent you need consistency and Drew has not had that due to
– Covid – no off season in his first year as a starter
– New OC AGAIN
– WR 1 injured all year
– Two rookie receivers he never got to throw with during the off season, leading to issues with timing and a case of drops for the receivers
– two pro bowl running backs who took it in turns to be available due to injury etc
– TE1 playing with mild injuries for most of the season
– TE2 and Drew’s favourite college target out for the season after 2-3 super interesting performances
-Drew also played with an underlying injury for a few of his games last season
– had shaky (at best) Oline play until the last few games.

To have any chance of being elite you need three things; Talent, Work Ethic and Consistency

Drew has talent
Drew seems to have improved further his work ethic
but to develop talent you need consistency and therefore I believe Drew deserves another season … this time with a full off season and same OC.

Sorry for the long message just hate the lack of patience with talent development.

Woooooah there Mase, I need just a little bit more from a first round QB, let alone a top 10 QB, than being able to rollout with eyes down field and hit an open receiver, against sub-par competition. I can find hundreds of examples of Fields doing this, and Wilson, and Lawrence. Lance?! I can find a handful. These are not what I describe as NFL calibre throws. Those are milk-toast throws, if I have used that phrase correctly – what even is milk toast?! I digress..

Perhaps I am totally wrong on Trey Lance, I mean, I’m not, I know I am not, but I do agree he could still become an NFL elite, but that is one hell of a leap to make.

What I do think now, upon reflection, is that everyone else seems so desperate to find that new QB elite, and will throw all logic out the window when a QB is concerned. What’s next? Maybe we should draft Peyton Manning’s kids with No 9 overall, or let’s bypass College and the Draft, and get them on the roster now, I’d say they have more chance than Trey Lance of becoming an elite NFL QB, I bet they can read a defense better already ?

A lot of talk about how the broncos may have some insight into what the 49ers could do due to the history of these organisations. But we gotta remember that Kyle shanahan was the OC of the falcons Super Bowl appearance a couple yrs ago. Surely there’s some info being shared between the 49ers and falcons as well. Maybe the falcons know who the 49ers are going to take and will absolutely not move that pick.

The NFL is full of this type of relationships with coaches and staff; everyone is is sleeping, or has slept, in everyone’s bed.

Happy Wednesday, fellas!

Listening to Zac and Mase talk through picks 4 and 5 got me thinking about what some viable options are to send off to Atlanta or Cincinnati…

If either team asks for Melvin Gordon, is that too much for the Broncos to give away? Maybe I’ve missed it, but I don’t remember hearing Melvin’s name mentioned in any trade-up scenarios, and I assume that’s because of his bell-cow/veteran status
What about sending Ja’wuan James? Could he fill the Tackle void for the Bengals? Would the Broncos be able to backfill the RB and T positions? I assume so, right?

I personally love Justin Fields and believe in him a lot no matter what team he lands on. The comparative lack of data on Trey Lance has me indifferent about him but hey, I don’t get paid to scout and watch film, so if Paton likes him then I trust his thoughts way more than mine lol

Regardless of what happens, i’m stoked for the Draft

Cottonwood Mile? For a month or so I thought it was Cottonwood Mine, but I think the lyrics say Mile??

Come on fellas, Pleasure Horse will be gutted you didn’t get that one ?

Man much respect to the players but I’m confident this not going to ota is about the 17 game season much more so then Covid ……. Which brings me to my question

Can the owners see a mutiny if injuries increase and concussions increase and player safety is compromised because 17 games is just too much on the mind and body ? Or are they locked in no matter what cuz owners already locked in promising a 17 game season to the tv deal ? …… I’m SUPER CONCERNED …. About an added game and what it will do as far as player safety

MY BOYS! I haven’t commented in quite awhile, but today I am letting loose. If Brandon McManus and the NFLPA do not want the Broncos to have in-person voluntary workouts, then they should have just left said that because this phase of OTAs is voluntary, we aren’t participating. Don’t treat the fans like a bunch of slack-jawed yokels. Don’t tell us that the quality of the product has never been better, when the Broncos clearly struggled last year from not having on-field work. They finished in last place. Their offense has been terrible for five straight seasons, and for parts of six and seven others. They led the NFL in turnovers at 32 and interceptions thrown at 23, three more than the second worst team, the Eagles. Denver was 28th in scoring offense. Drew Lock had 8 fumbles in 12.125 games played, etc. Whoever put the NFLPA’s tweet together for the Broncos did terrible due diligence for how the Broncos performed last season.

Instead, in an act of pretextual, performative puffery, McManus and the NFLPA made their announcement about health and safety. Players have been galivanting all over the world since the season ended. All Coloradoans have been eligible for COVID-19 vaccinations since April 2. In fact, I am getting my second vaccine shot in less than a week at a location about 15 minutes from Dove Valley. The Broncos train at UCHealth Center. UCHealth is one of the largest healthcare providers in Colorado and the Western United States. UCHealth could easily make arrangements to have all players fully vaccinated by the mid to end of May. Why have all students, who are not vaccinated, been back to in-person learning since April 5, including high schools and middle schools, in the Cherry Creek School District, which includes Dove Valley, if it is unsafe? Additionally, effective April 5, there has no longer been a face covering mandate in Arapahoe County for any outdoor activities, where the vast majority of on-field work can be held for mandatory OTAs and mini camps.

Practice does effect game outcomes. We saw that last year with how bad the Broncos’ offense was. I don’t think the 1,400 on-field repetitions that were lost for Drew Lock and a young offense can be easily dismissed. Does McManus, as the team’s NFLPA rep, really think that this statement reflects the best interests of the players he represents? “The players would like an all-virtual off-season like last year because we are still in a COVID pandemic.”

Thank you for indulging my long comment. Have a wonderful Wednesday. DNVRMY SALUTE!

So I’m glad Fields is back in our draft conversations, it seems he was written off for a bit there as being a bad fit for Denver. And I’ve always been on his train. Since you guys rejuvenated the topic I did a few comparisons to a couple QBs I think are a better comp than the Newton Light chatter. Allen and Prescott.

All three had similar NFL draft profiles coming out of college with with the disparity being in their final score; the NFL listed Allen as an eventual starter and Dak as a backup/special teamer, while Fields is listed as quality starter within two years. Personally I think Fields is a better mix of their skill sets than someone like Newton who was a clear running QB.

But my concern, which has been mentioned a lot is that he is not a good fit for shurmur’s offense, or more importantly the offense isn’t a fit for fields. I know Pat has done great adapting in the past but he seems to have lost a step. So here’s my question, if Fields comes in and has a Dak like rookie season but it’s clear that his ceiling is limited by scheme what are the odds that Paton sees this and moves on from Shurmur after a strong season? Does he have it in him to either replace Shurmur with a young and bright innovator or even elevates Shula in hopes of recapturing that Carolina magic? If we can recreate that with Fields I’ll take it any day.

Take care,
Danimal

Lots of comments today so I’ll keep it nice and short. My friend yesterday told me the Broncos should draft Kellen Mond at 9. He also once said baker mayfield wasn’t going to be drafted in the first round. Classic Seahawks fans lol!

What are your guys’ favorite NFL Draft memory?

Also would DNVR be down to host a draft day game of BINGO for prizes for listeners? I have some ideas, let me know if interested.

Just watched the Central Arkansas full game. Oh my. Trey Lance is AWFUL, truly awful. Not worthy to clean Drew Lock’s cleats atm.

Saw drunkwolfs comment and I wanna say with out this podcast I wouldn’t have had the time of my life at the draft and met my better half and bromance. Want to also mention the guy is a hell of father, which means I’ll probably have to start a gofundme so we can get him to join me out in denver for a game this year. Keep up the great work. Would love to see some different topics talked about besides qb – maybe we can get a couple of those what if pods on Mase’s topic list he has been working on?