Denver Broncos Quietly Pull off the Unthinkable

A few months ago, the national narrative around the Denver Broncos was that we were in a 3-5 year rebuild. Because of Russell Wilson's Dead Cap hit, many thought our roster was going to be hamstrung for half of a decade. Despite all of the negative press, Sean Payton has gone out this offseason and done the unthinkable. He's replaced highly paid players with equally talented players at a fraction of the price!
In this video we respond to some fan comments claiming that my hyperbolic comments are not accurate and I share why I think they are! Thanks as always for your feedback and for being along for the ride. I think George Paton and Sean Payton are going to continue many around the league and the Denver Broncos will be relevant much sooner than we even think! Thanks @JayMatt25 and @csantiago_ns7 for the comments and questions
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[@ajman8304]

Broncos should resign Justin Simmons on a friendly deal

[@adion24]

I hope they want to figure this out and find a way to do it.

[@MaineTaylor22]

I think we gonna do a sign and trade him to help us move up in the draft.

[@ajman8304]

Oh

[@mizterblicky5569]

Or von

[@user-lx9nj1oz6b]

I agree 👍🏽 💯

[@DavidPowers-it5cu]

One of things that heart the Broncos most when we played the Dolphins was that Simmons was out along with a couple other defenders.

[@justinf5919]

Also in the sun on a very hot and humid day.

[@MrHackfu]

This is why I keep hoping we draft a TE and roll with Stihdam. What's the worst that can happen? We don't win the super bowl and get a high draft pick next year? Pair that with truckloads of cap space... I am willing to invest another losing year to improve our future odds. Drink all the orange and blue koolaid you want man. That's the beauty of having your own channel. I will drink it right along beside you!

[@96tolife]

We got noticeably worse at quarterback. As bad as Russell Wilson was, he is better than Jarrett Stidham. Granted the draft is yet to come and we could still sign someone like Ryan Tannehill.

[@CodeName_JJ]

Ryan Tannehill is not an upgrade from Wilson

[@KEWL71]

Every year…We are going to the Super Bowl…!

[@aiden2804]

i think the broncos need to really focus on rebuilding the defense this draft. i think we have a good offensive unit for the most part, obviously just need to hit on QB in the draft. i wouldn’t mind someone like byron murphy in the first round or corner if QB is out of the question. also i think it’s smart to make a trade down to an acquire an extra pick to package in a trade up for penix or nix.

[@byronparker4088]

Good points

[@ObscureImages]

I agree, they've made a lot of interesting moves that may result in actual improvement, provided they can find someone to toss the pill.

[@eliasG303]

Great content bro. I been stressed about what were doing this off-season due to reading and listening to the media

[@user-co4yv9vp8h]

We got out of cap space by downgrading a player. We haven’t replaced anyone w a better quality player. Simons isn’t signed because of expected pay .

[@antonkary-ql9ty]

Love the glass is half full 😊

[@bossoffoss]

Josey Jewell wasn't an athletic MLB but he was without a doubt a smart one. His leadership along with Justin Simmons is the reason our defense has been great these last few years despite the constant coach changes. I hate to see them go, but time has proved Payton and Paton right in the off season. Hopefully we resign Simmons for cheap and retain his talent.

[@iteliano]

Folks are still hurt by losing players yet we had to save money 1st, we needed to deal with those coming up on a new contract and based on previous performance we went other directions. Get the QB and draft right and I am still excited for a new Broncos team based on Sean's desires and pick on QB

[@heavymetallabrat]

I don't think people realize how much Sean Payton has pulled off with our situation. Losing Justin hurt. I can live with all the other moves but Justin is a home grown talent and probably a future HOF. That said, we managed to pull of the impossible and in the first week freed up something like 80 million in cap space. It's allowed us to essentially eat all of Wilson's contract and still bring in some great talent to work with down the stretch. The decisions I'm seeing are healthy moves if made with intent to fully rebuild the team from the core up because it puts Denver back into the mindset of gathering talent and building a core built around teamwork instead of a handful of super expensive players.

[@jerryyoung8990]

I think the reason they predict we only win 5 games is we still have not done anything at qb

[@JOEL00111]

JJ coming

[@Dogsrule927]

Yes but the draft is coming up

[@zedthefish]

It's always great to be optimistic and realistic. I love the Broncos and will support them despite the shit show since Peyton retired. We are all sick of it, but each year we remain hopeful. I do believe that Payton will pull through and we will see more wins over the next few years. I'd love to see Bo Nix with the first pick! I also hope they draft or find a stud TE. Tight Ends have such a crucial role and I don't really recall any recent games where a TE has had a big impact.

[@mizterblicky5569]

Nice to see your channel is growing bro

[@onelove2349]

I think the way we’ve bounced back from the Wilson contract and have been able to add depth in such little time is a very promising sight. These new owners are doing a great job cleaning up the mess from before.

[@adamstrange7884]

The Broncos did pretty good with what they had, met the needs of the team and can move up, down or stand pat, GET BO!!!!

[@moose1m1]

I like your positive attitude and I agree with you

[@user-zr4km5ns8t]

Ben it really has less to do with cap space that it does with the overall talent on the roster. Player for player this is a bottom 5 roster in the NFL, easily the worst in the AFCW. It has major holes in the O-line, at TE, potentially at RB and all over the defense, starting with the D-line where there is a lack of talent and depth. We have one star on defense in Surtain, & a bunch of players who may be good but are young and unproven. Then there is still the QB question. Instead of worrying about what media geeks say, the better test is to analyze what Sean Payton's history of rebuilding suggests about the timeline for doing that now. Payton has presided over two distinctive rebuilding cycles when he coached the Saints. In 2007 & 2008 he went only 15-17 before emerging into a three year run in which the Saints won the division 2 of 3 years & went 37-11 including their Super Bowl win. The second one lasted 3 years from 2014-2016 when they went 21-29 and missed the playoffs all 3 years. The rebuild produced 5 straight winning seasons, 4 division titles & a 58-23 record. It should be noted that neither of these rebuilds included needing to find a franchise QB. We should expect it to take at least 3 years this time to produce a legitimate contender. Let's not be setting unrealistic expectations.

[@Mhantrax]

You are correct in your points. However, the team can't bring better talent onto the roster when in a catastrophic cap hell. That's the positive thing here, the Broncos HAD to fix the cap situation before they could ever start looking for bigger name or star caliber players. It had to happen. Period. There was no option. And Ben's point here is that this isn't a fire sale. We have players that are functional. If coached well, the team can actually make some of these players into recognizable names. Even if they don't, then next year the cap space will be in a situation where they can add some big talent to the roster.

[@Ullumma]

Good points. The Wilson trade by Paton was a disaster because should have worked and it really didn't. George is doing ok, stay positive, but he hasn't pulled the rabbit out of his hat yet. He has two years or less to get the wheels on at QB

[@user-zr4km5ns8t]

@@Ullumma Nobody knows how long he has because we don't know what Greg Penner thinks of him, but Paton is not the guy in charge now of building the roster, he's 2nd in command behind Sean. His job on the football side is to find players that fit what Sean wants to do. Fans need to tap the break on firing Paton.

[@ronin_bane9233]

Aussie Broncos fan here, enjoy your Vids mate.

[@SportsTalkDenver]

Too easy bloke (I work with an Australian and he always says this so I hope its right 😂)

[@illreytito]

I agree with you. we pretty much replaced pieces we lost with par or less/better players. I think QB play is our question and can we protect. The rest is I believe solid.

[@user-co4yv9vp8h]

Seems like we are tanking for next year draft.

[@jammininthepast]

I admire your positive outlook. The Broncos had to give the locker room an enema. The team is rebuilding and purging the dark cloud, the losing culture. Because of the Wilson hangover the team had no choice but to bring in "value" FA's. That's not to say these guys are bums who won't be on the team as they start moving forward. They will draft qb's until we have someone who can compete in this division. The Broncs are a team in transition, many unknowns and the "gambling" number of 5.5 wins is about right actually. Have patience fellow Broncs fans, there's light at the end of the tunnel. Thanks, appreciated.

[@SportsTalkDenver]

Haha- I'm envisioning an epic thumbnail with Sean Payton as the "Locker Room Enema" 😂

[@Ullumma]

We need to win 9, or something needs to change.

[@arrowfox2865]

Who replaced our Qb or C?

[@CharleneHawkins]

I pray that the Steelers kick our ass on national TV. Go Russ.

[@brigetterossi292]

Me too!!!

[@corsicacommander8371]

I think we should draft Brock Bowers, and draft Rattler if we can get him in the 3rd or 4th round. We can't expect a rookie qb to do any good with our current pass catching options

[@keithwhitman1556]

My thoughts; We made a lateral move at QB. Yeah I say it. Stidham with all the 1st team reps his floor is Russ’s 26/8 and 3,500 yds. We need a RB in case Williams doesn’t return to form. I love Jaylin Wright from Tennessee in rd 3. WR room is fine, I wouldn’t mind Luke McCaffrey with one of our 5ths though. I think TE is fine as well. Dulcich should return healthy, Adam is steady Eddy, and I like Krull’s potential. Love our o/line even with the ? at center. Drafting one in the late rounds to compete wouldn’t hurt. I’m a big Jared Verse fan. I think he can solidify that d-line opposite Allen and allow Browning, Cooper, Sanders, and Bonitto to munch! Roach was an upgrade over Purcell. I also like keeping Jones. ILB is a major concern imo. I’m not a huge Singleton fan, I know he racks up tackles but he’s atrocious in coverage. Griffith or Barton? Yuck. We need an athlete that can hang with Kelce, tired of watching him carve us up. I kind of like taking a chance on Miss opposite PS2. However I think we need to add a vet before the draft and draft one in the mid rounds. Love our Safety group. In summary I think our biggest needs are; 1. QB of the future 2. ILB 3. DE 4. CB 5. RB

[@ayala-5280]

I agree with your take - I think we’ve made great choices this off season.

[@SportsTalkDenver]

I get everyones frustration with our history setting playoff draught but if you look at just the moves we've made since Payton was hired and I think there is no way to not have optimism. Thanks for weighing in!

[@rjcoats]

Still need a QB! Hopefully draft brings us something!

[@TuMucFun]

We’ve got noticeably worse at QB, and we weren’t good there to begin with. Nobody cares about a small upgrade at linebacker. The run defense last year was atrocious and I don’t have a lot of faith in our defense coordinator, who’s wasting PS2 by playing zone all the time. That’s why everybody’s predicting 5 wins. I’d love to be wrong about that, but facts are facts. Hopefully the Broncos get lucky and land a good QB, but that is no guarantee. It’s not even likely.

[@user-zr4km5ns8t]

You can't say we are noticeably worse at QB when we don't know yet what Stidham is. Don't assume he's just a backup. Payton stated when he signed him that he was trending to being a potential starter. I think he will start in 2024 & we'll find out if he's got it or not, but till then don't assume that he does not.

[@SickBoy99a]

Dude, I get your general premise, and I agree with most of it, but comparing Roach to Wilkens there's a huge 10 sack difference. As in 10 to 0. I love the Roach signing, but he's nowhere near Wilkens, and I bleed orange and blue.

[@SportsTalkDenver]

Great point- Wilkens is for sure better in pressuring the QB- I think Sanders on edge with Cooper/Bonito/Browning will get lots of QB pressures if we can just stop the run and Roach is a beast at that

[@shadiffhinson4205]

You build the O line and D line first. You have to win there. I question our scouting were not identifying the right talent

[@marccoleman212]

Will the broncos sign Alfonso graham from Pittsburgh

[@magncity1817]

We would have been in the playoffs this year if it wasn’t for the abysmal performance of our offense when in the red zone. I love Wilson, but quite honestly, he does not perform well in the nuances of red zone offense. I don’t think you necessarily need a P. Holmes type of quarterback for above average red zone offense. You need a smart fast processing QB that can throw high percentage in red-zone distance. Certainly, that can happen with the leverage from a number 12 pick this year. Having said that, the playoffs then are a possibility this year…a championship, probably not.

[@aidenlsbetter]

first, btw im from westminster CO too!!!

[@MickMackSauce]

I hope you're right. I really don't want to have to wait until 2025 to see the playoffs.

[@user-zr4km5ns8t]

Plan on waiting till 2026. That's the likely point where they'll be ready to compete. You can't rebuilt this whole roster in 2 years.

[@F1since79]

Plan on waiting until 2035.

[@jahmielwhite5869]

The new linebacker cannot run

[@Docsamadhi]

Now do Qb...

[@philcorneau2541]

Hi Ben.. And saving so much money doing so.

[@SportsTalkDenver]

Exactly Phil!

[@BradfordBanes]

If younger means better than there would be no draft busts and we didn’t replace Simmons please stop saying that

[@dannycaudle3445]

Annnnnd you forgot to mention we took the BIGGER cap hit at $53M this year!

[@albertocuadrado8461]

Not for nothing but I am really looking forward to the 2025 Free Agency / Draft. It’s gonna be a blast seeing the Broncos get much better and possibly become contenders. There will be many notable names in the FA Pool and with a 100+ million cap anything can happen lol 🎉

[@dluze2065]

"You have an unnatural allegiance to losers and it's not like you." - Katt Williams

[@quintinsigers5305]

All the contracts are either 1 or 2 years we will have cap space after this we got to get threw it

[@shadiffhinson4205]

What i dont like is everyone focused on 2025. Were 5 months away from the start of 2024 so i have just concede a whole season before it starts. Its excruciating to have to be in this position. When its all said and done it will be a full 10 years of losing, i cant watch anymore

[@ronaldwengert7711]

what you think of Micheal Pratt

[@matthewshaw3641]

Cap space is nice if you know wha to do with it. Money has never been an issue with the Broncos . Its been poor choices in free agency and the fact they do not want to spend top money on a qb. All this cap space could be to sign a vetern qb who might be avalible next year. Sean Payton success came with a free agent signing of Drew Brees. We really have not seen Sean Payton manage a rookie qb and he might not even have the chops for it.

[@Ullumma]

Are you kidding me? We got into this mess because we spent the most money on QB?!

[@bruceallen6377]

A lot of assumptions that won't be proved until next season ends. If you really want to score you might want to give your GM the boot since he's the one who hired Hackett and gave Russell Wilson his deal. You can't blame Hackett and you can't blame Russel you got blame the GM! As long as he's in the building things could go south!

[@user-zr4km5ns8t]

You want to blame somebody? Blame Elway. He's the one who constructed the vast majority of this roster & the one who set all of this in motion. The move you blame Paton for is one that 99% of this fan base was fully on board with & excited about. Ultimately it failed more because of Hackett than it did Wilson, who was never the primary problem here. Paton has been good in the draft, which is why you keep him. That's the skill set we need moving forward. Fans who want to blame him for all this overlook two things; 1) that every single GM in the NFL makes mistakes, & 2) the Hackett debacle was not a foreseeable one. Who would imagine that a guy who grew up for 27 years in the home of an NFL offensive coordinator would be so utterly helpless as a head coach? Nobody would have envisioned that. OTOH...some people DID see the Elway disaster coming from the start. Who put him in charge? Pat Bowlen. Despite his legend status in Denver, Bowlen made a number of mistakes that lead to the current state of the team, starting with putting Elway in there as GM. Other than being able to sign Manning, who had the gravity to attract big name free agents for a short term run, Elway was entirely ill equipped to run an NFL franchise as GM. The fact that he was kept in the role for a decade speaks to the terrible decision making which put Joe Ellis in as well. Yet 95% of the fans want to blame Paton instead of the two people most at fault.

[@ingemarcruz]

Draft Bo Nix, sit him behind Stidham for 2024, use next year cap space to give him weapons and reinforce defense

[@TheAresteskip]

Bro are you serious you just said PJ Lockett was a good tight end he plays safety. Honestly you do need to take the goggles off not saying the bash the team, but we have to be brutally honest here man

[@thomash1694]

I don’t think we got ourselves out … not even close

[@leeknapp5115]

GO BRONCOS!!!!

[@SportsTalkDenver]

LEGGOOOOO!

[@richfarfugnuven6308]

Our donkeys need to get lucky and find a franchise QB...

[@irfer]

I just can't hear you

[@adion24]

Mediocre improvements are still improvements.

[@SportsTalkDenver]

You never go broke making a profit!

[@nickpetry2595]

I'm happy that we finally focused on our O-line because they didn't look 7th last year

[@brianwright2538]

Russell Wilson made them look bad by the way he plays. He run out of the pocket before it forms.

[@nickpetry2595]

@@brianwright2538 I disagree

[@Mathew-xp5yg]

@@nickpetry2595 disagree all you want stats are stats

[@nickpetry2595]

@Mathew-xp5yg you obviously didn't watch the games with any of our QB's running for their lives and it shows

[@Mathew-xp5yg]

@@nickpetry2595 actually watched every single one of the games and once again if Russ would have stayed in the pocket a lil longer in some cases would have not led to sack I’ve seen him but his back to a clean pocket 1 too many times

[@tj-23]

A lot of hope for the broncos next year. They’re gonna be the worst in the league next year.

[@fredrox-vg9il]

Enjoy listening.... unfortunately, I believe the jerry jeudy trade will show how badly we didn't utilize his skill set..

[@chrism6609]

Ehh

[@Randallwolfshield]

MILK DUDS!!!!

[@gcoop-vg8hj]

If you didn't improve your offensive line a lot. Denver will be worse than the last 2 years.

[@illreytito]

Bring back Justin Simmons

[@CharleneHawkins]

Sean Peyton did not do anything and he's still putting Russ down. He just want a all white team. And yes I was a die heart Broncos fan. Why do Russ do not get any credit

[@salvagerebuilds9071]

Hi, my name is Ben, we can be the worst team in the league but I'll make you feel like we are super bowl contenders. 😂

[@SportsTalkDenver]

Haha! Better to be an optimist and wrong than a pessimist and right ;) and I don't think we are Super Bowl contenders- I think our bounce back could be similar to Lions and Texans

[@corpse131]

Hes just a positive person.. he tries to stay positive on all sides.. no biggie

[@user-co4yv9vp8h]

We got worse QB, WR, D line and safety. We didn’t improve in any position group. Do you dare to wager Broncos will not make playoffs next year! $100 let’s go

[@Joe-dw1jn]

I don't think we got worse at DL or WR. QB is TBD. Safety yes, big drop off without Simmons. LB is TBD but probably a drop off also. That's part of it though

[@TheTedMeister]

They pulled off the unthinkable?! I hope you're right, though I think you have been drinking the kool-aid.

[@SportsTalkDenver]

As Kubiak always said "we are fixin to find out"

[@jodyhashberger6575]

Mims is better than judy

[@Joe-dw1jn]

Next year the real climb begins. This year is a reset of sorts. No expectations for this year. But please stop saying Giddy Up. You sound like Russ

[@jackmeoff304]

You are becoming unwatchable at this point with your bs. Do we have 80 mil under the cap for 25 we do. You fail to mention we only have 29 players signed. 80 isnt much when you need to sign 22 players. You some how leave out that piece of information. You are either disingenuous or ignorance. You talk about how we finished the season as a positive we were 0-4 against teams that had their starting QB, 2-0 against the Herbert less Chargers. Not very impressive. We have one player other teams want, thats the sad truth of where this organization is.

[@cecigrant]

If Sean Payton blows it in 2024 ,out the door 🚪 he goes

[@bossoffoss]

Noooooo, that's what got us in to this mess. He gets at least four years to rebuild and get us back to deep playoffs.

[@whisperwhispershout]

😊