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Jeff Legwold joins Kreckman and Lindahl 3-2-26 · Jeff Legwold ESPN Broncos Reports

• 0:00
  Speaker 1: Yeah, let's dive anyway, football talk with the combine now
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  Speaker 1: behind us, Jeff Legwald brought to you by the International
• 0:07
  Speaker 1: Brotherhood of Electrical Workers IBEW Local sixty eight. You start
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  Speaker 1: with a job and you end with a career, all right, Jeff.
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  Speaker 1: Once once the Combine has come and gone and you
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  Speaker 1: have had a chance to be out there watching everybody.
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  Speaker 1: We talked to you on Friday about you know, having
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  Speaker 1: a sense, having a feel for what George Payton is
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  Speaker 1: looking for right now with Denver sitting at number thirty,
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  Speaker 1: look at what they could do in the top couple
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  Speaker 1: of rounds. Do you feel like you have a pretty
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  Speaker 1: strong sense of who Denver likes specifically in this draft?
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  Speaker 2: Well, I mean you can track who they met with,
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  Speaker 2: but I will tell you, and I always hesitate or
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  Speaker 2: I tell people to you know, there is stock and
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  Speaker 2: who they actually sit down with in the formal interviews
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  Speaker 2: at the combine. But I will tell you it is
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  Speaker 2: a fact that every team talks to every player at
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  Speaker 2: the Combine. It's it's why they come here to do it.
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  Speaker 2: So you know, you get a sense on in the
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  Speaker 2: formal interviews when you you know a team makes the decision.
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  Speaker 2: We're going to actually have these guys in the formal segments. Yeah,
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  Speaker 2: and they met with a lot of tight ends and
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  Speaker 2: a lot of inside linebackers and a lot of running
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  Speaker 2: backs in those formal settings. And that should shock no
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  Speaker 2: one given that. Sean Payton said in Indy that the
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  Speaker 2: must positions in the off season were inside linebacker, running back,
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  Speaker 2: and tight end. So they are sticking to the you know,
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  Speaker 2: to the form they're playing the chalk right now. As
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  Speaker 2: they get going, you know, as the coaches start to
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  Speaker 2: get involved in the draft process, I mean the scouts
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  Speaker 2: have been at it all year. But I think those
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  Speaker 2: three positions, you know, the first and second round, I
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  Speaker 2: think those those positions are going to be on the
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  Speaker 2: on the forefront of their mind when when those picks
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  Speaker 2: come up to see how their board looks at that point.
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  Speaker 2: But because that's where their big spots are and they've
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  Speaker 2: got to find some solutions here in free agency or
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  Speaker 2: the draft, and uh, you know, that was their focus
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  Speaker 2: and just talking to everybody, even some of the players
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  Speaker 2: they had met with. Uh, that was their focus of
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  Speaker 2: a lot of the Indie visit.
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  Speaker 1: Jeff Kenyan Sadik of Oregon, I think we've all had
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  Speaker 1: the wishful thinking kind of conversation of Eh, maybe he
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  Speaker 1: could tumble down the board to thirty certainly doesn't seem
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  Speaker 1: to be the case anymore. He had a Vernon Davis
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  Speaker 1: esque performance at the combine, athleticism absolutely off the chart, Jeff,
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  Speaker 1: how high could Sadik go?
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  Speaker 2: Yeah? When you when you're put together like that. The
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  Speaker 2: thing that also so didn't show up in the workout
• 3:01
  Speaker 2: is I've talked to probably at least ten scouts about
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  Speaker 2: Sadiq and he's absolutely considered like this fabulous teammate, this
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  Speaker 2: hard grinder. So not only is the guy athletically gifted,
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  Speaker 2: he is going to check all of the team's boxes
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  Speaker 2: for football character, how he works in the off season,
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  Speaker 2: so that only enhances your ability to go up the board.
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  Speaker 1: So he's basically like he's like the superstar jock that
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  Speaker 1: is also the student body president, who is also the
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  Speaker 1: homecoming king, who also volunteers at the children's hospital every weekend.
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  Speaker 2: Is the whole thing. As much as Sean Payton loves
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  Speaker 2: those kinds of players, I think they would be hard
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  Speaker 2: pressed to get him without a significant trait, And I
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  Speaker 2: don't know that they are of a mind to do
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  Speaker 2: that either. Because you know on a board when there
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  Speaker 2: might be depending on the team you talk to, between
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  Speaker 2: eleven and fifteen true first round grade. Sadika is one
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  Speaker 2: of them, and that means the Broncos would have to
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  Speaker 2: move awfully far to get him. You know. That said,
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  Speaker 2: they also met with Sonny Styles, who may not even
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  Speaker 2: get out of the top five, so you know they're
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  Speaker 2: obviously covering all the bases with some of this drafts
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  Speaker 2: best players.
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  Speaker 3: If he goes to the Chiefs at nine, I'm uh,
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  Speaker 3: I don't even know. I don't want to think about
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  Speaker 3: this right now, Jeff, I look, we can get into this.
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  Speaker 2: I will say, Andy, I saw their joker. They have
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  Speaker 2: no chance to get him, But I saw the joker.
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  Speaker 3: That would be the joker. Well, if we really need
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  Speaker 3: a joker, maybe they need to get up there.
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  Speaker 2: Jeremiah Love is the joker. They have no shot to
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  Speaker 2: get him.
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  Speaker 3: What do you think the future of this whole event is.
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  Speaker 3: I saw an article that had said, you know, with
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  Speaker 3: a lot of prospects starting to opt out to and
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  Speaker 3: maybe not all the coaches showing up and stuff. I
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  Speaker 3: know you've always told us the thing about the draft
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  Speaker 3: is everything central. It's a great time for them to
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  Speaker 3: get all the medicals done, especially this early, so they
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  Speaker 3: can do a recheck if they need to be for
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  Speaker 3: the draft. And it's just so centralized for everybody. But
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  Speaker 3: do you think the draft is about ready? Has there
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  Speaker 3: been a lot of talk about what this could become
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  Speaker 3: with so many top prospects not working out and some
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  Speaker 3: teams not sending as many people as they used to.
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  Speaker 2: Well, I'll say two things. And when people report these stories, yeah,
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  Speaker 2: I mean they can decide at any point in this
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  Speaker 2: age of technology, with GPS tracking of players during the season,
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  Speaker 2: I mean, they know far more about how fast a
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  Speaker 2: player is or and all of this before they ever
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  Speaker 2: get to Indy than they ever have. There's no question.
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  Speaker 2: But even the teams that didn't send their coaches sent
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  Speaker 2: everybody else. So you know, you know, to me, that's
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  Speaker 2: you know, you're sending two thirds of your football staff
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  Speaker 2: and your medic your entire medical staff. That still represents
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  Speaker 2: a commitment from a team about the event. And the
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  Speaker 2: medicals are the biggest thing in Indie and lest they
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  Speaker 2: find another way to do that, this will exist in
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  Speaker 2: some fashion. I think. Now, does that mean all the
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  Speaker 2: gms come and all you know, I don't know what
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  Speaker 2: that looks like ten years from now. But you know,
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  Speaker 2: I just finished a week or you know, I was
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  Speaker 2: over there today talking to people. The offensive lineman did
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  Speaker 2: the bench press is the last event of the combine,
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  Speaker 2: and there were still people here eight days later, So
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  Speaker 2: they still think they're getting information out of it, and
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  Speaker 2: as long as the medicals are with that. And I
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  Speaker 2: will say, yeah, a lot of guys didn't run, but
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  Speaker 2: it's still more than when I was coming here in
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  Speaker 2: ninety two and nobody liked the turf, and they were
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  Speaker 2: they were trying to figure out that all how can
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  Speaker 2: we get more guys to work out, So that part
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  Speaker 2: of it's looked the same. You just have a lot
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  Speaker 2: of people talking about it who don't have a sense
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  Speaker 2: of the history of how this looked, you know, thirty
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  Speaker 2: years ago. Because some of the issues are still you know,
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  Speaker 2: we're still talking about the same issues. But an awful
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  Speaker 2: lot of people worked out, and you know, Ohio status
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  Speaker 2: some of the elite prospects on the board, and the
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  Speaker 2: only one of those elite prospects who didn't work out
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  Speaker 2: was Caleb Downs.
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  Speaker 1: By the way, Carnel Tait are are there is there
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  Speaker 1: now concern about his speed after he was clocked as
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  Speaker 1: a four or five three forty, because his agent tried
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  Speaker 1: to claim that there was some poor time keeping going on.
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  Speaker 2: It's always the claim because I mean, no, I mean honestly,
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  Speaker 2: because the finish of the combine forty is electronically clocked.
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  Speaker 2: The finishes the start is manually started on the on
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  Speaker 2: the timer. Why that is nobody knows, but it is.
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  Speaker 2: That is the case. So there's always some discrepancy. That's
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  Speaker 2: why all the teams still take the forty times on
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  Speaker 2: their own. You'll see you'll see forty scouts at the
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  Speaker 2: finish line at the combine, even though the electronic time
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  Speaker 2: is given to everybody, because they want their time on
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  Speaker 2: the guy. And you know, look, I get I'm Timmy
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  Speaker 2: the sports writer. But if you saw take play football,
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  Speaker 2: four or five is just fine. He's going to get
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  Speaker 2: open a lot and catch tons of passes. And if
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  Speaker 2: you don't take him because he ran out four or
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  Speaker 2: five on the electronic clock at the time at the combine,
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  Speaker 2: well that's that's your problem. And you're going to watch
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  Speaker 2: them score touchdowns.
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  Speaker 1: But by the way, a little Timmy the sports twitter,
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  Speaker 1: do you have longer arms than Reuben Bain.
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  Speaker 2: That's another guy.
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  Speaker 1: All I know is short arms.
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  Speaker 2: You know, all I know is the best tackle in
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  Speaker 2: the draft. Said he couldn't block the guy in practice. Yeah, yeah,
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  Speaker 2: you know. And it's again you have to have measuring utensils.
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  Speaker 2: I get it. But you know, there's no template for everything.
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  Speaker 2: And Ruby Bain is fine. You know. Is he gonna
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  Speaker 2: be a twenty sack a year guy? I don't know that.
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  Speaker 2: But all I know is he's one of the best
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  Speaker 2: pass rushers in this draft and a smart coach. He'll
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  Speaker 2: figure out what to do with them.
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  Speaker 3: Jeff, Let's talk about the players they have, the players
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  Speaker 3: are hoping to retain, what the future the current roster
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  Speaker 3: could look like as far as free agents and whatnot.
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  Speaker 3: First off, as you've now had a chance to gather
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  Speaker 3: the intel, he could sound sexy. What do you think
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  Speaker 3: is the future of Ben Powers? He on this team.
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  Speaker 3: They're going to talk to Hi about a restructure. Is
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  Speaker 3: he going to get moved?
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  Speaker 2: How about all of the involve will be considered. I mean,
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  Speaker 2: they like Polski guard, you know, they think that can work.
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  Speaker 2: I mean Sean Payton was asked at the combine specifically
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  Speaker 2: about Paul Sweski and George Payton as well, so they
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  Speaker 2: they think they have a player in house already. And
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  Speaker 2: that said, this regime of the Broncos will never stop
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  Speaker 2: taking offensive lineman. Sean Payton's biggest credo and roster building
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  Speaker 2: beyond the quarterback. You know, quarterback is its own item,
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  Speaker 2: but beyond that, his biggest credo is never stop having
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  Speaker 2: as good an offensive line as you possibly can. And
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  Speaker 2: you look at all the picks they expended over the
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  Speaker 2: years at the Saints in the offensive line. That's how
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  Speaker 2: they're going to do business with the Broncos. So, you know,
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  Speaker 2: with a cap figure of that big and with a
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  Speaker 2: potential us already in house, and the and the draft coming. Yeah,
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  Speaker 2: I think all of those things are on the table,
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  Speaker 2: and I think that's some of the stuff they're working through.
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  Speaker 2: They did some of it. They had the free agency
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  Speaker 2: meetings before they went to Indy, so I think they're,
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  Speaker 2: you know, working toward knowing some of those things here
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  Speaker 2: as a free agency opens in what ten days thirteen days?
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  Speaker 1: Speaking of their own guys, is John Franklin Myers is
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  Speaker 1: TV consensus best interior defensive lineman on the market because
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  Speaker 1: typically Jeff those guys can really break the bank.
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  Speaker 2: Yeah, I'll be stunned if he doesn't end up in
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  Speaker 2: Tennessee after talking everybody here in Indy and oh yeah,
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  Speaker 2: by the way, they have like one hundred and twenty
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  Speaker 2: million dollars of cap room. So and he but he's
• 11:50
  Speaker 2: got a relationship with Sala, they have some assistant coaches.
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  Speaker 2: He knows, you know, anything can happen. But I personally
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  Speaker 2: will be surprised if that's not the destination. And as
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  Speaker 2: much as the Broncos want him back and they do that,
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  Speaker 2: they're not going to be able to compete with what
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  Speaker 2: he can get in the open market.
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  Speaker 3: Is that gonna be a little of the story with
• 12:10
  Speaker 3: Alex Singleton.
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  Speaker 2: I think they'll try really hard to get Alex back too,
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  Speaker 2: But we're not talking about that level of John Franklin
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  Speaker 2: Myers is going to get. He's gonna get the bank.
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  Speaker 2: You know. I think he's gonna ring the bell maybe
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  Speaker 2: as high as any interior d lineman in free agency
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  Speaker 2: this year.
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  Speaker 1: Talking to Jeff Legwold here on a Monday afternoon post combine, Uh,
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  Speaker 1: Jeff tight end continues to be and again we already
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  Speaker 1: talked about Kenyon Sadik, but in terms of the veteran
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  Speaker 1: tight end market, How aggressive could you see Denver being
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  Speaker 1: in a trade scenario?
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  Speaker 2: Uh?
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  Speaker 1: You know we saw what not a tight end or
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  Speaker 1: running back, but we saw that David Montgomery trade look
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  Speaker 1: like today in terms of tight end how how aggressive
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  Speaker 1: could you see Denver work in that angle? Or could
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  Speaker 1: you see them wanting to hang out of their draft
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  Speaker 1: picks and just using some of their cap space to
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  Speaker 1: go and pay a tight end?
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  Speaker 2: Well, I mean some of it is you know, who
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  Speaker 2: among that group of free agents you know out there
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  Speaker 2: is you know worthy of that kind of of a
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  Speaker 2: lot of picks. I mean that the wild card is
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  Speaker 2: and look, I know you you play for now, you
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  Speaker 2: make your moves now. But next year's draft is roundly
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  Speaker 2: considered so good people. That's what Those are the picks
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  Speaker 2: people are going to ask for. And those are the
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  Speaker 2: picks you're not really going to want to give up.
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  Speaker 2: And you know, you know the guys who aren't free agents,
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  Speaker 2: you know that you would have to trade for. I
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  Speaker 2: don't know if the impact guy they could get, I
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  Speaker 2: don't know if anybody would be willing to part with
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  Speaker 2: the the kind of player they they'd be willing to
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  Speaker 2: give up a lot for if you know what I.
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  Speaker 1: Mean, Jeff, Jeff, Jeff Andy wants a tight end.
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  Speaker 2: Jeff. Yeah, the free agent group isn't great, you know.
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  Speaker 1: So that that's where I was going.
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  Speaker 3: I'm glad you said that. Could we be looking at
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  Speaker 3: a bigger trade as a move rather than like, do
• 14:22
  Speaker 3: you think they're in the mood to trade rather than
• 14:24
  Speaker 3: hit the free agent market or what do you what
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  Speaker 3: do you think me going there?
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  Speaker 2: I think you know they're looking in the draft. I
• 14:31
  Speaker 2: mean they you know, Sadiq's obviously Sadique, but you know
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  Speaker 2: they're they're checking out a pretty deep group of tight
• 14:40
  Speaker 2: ends and that second, third, fourth round range and you know,
• 14:45
  Speaker 2: well that may not be fire up people. Uh, it
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  Speaker 2: is worth noting that they are looking at that avenue
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  Speaker 2: and I think they think, you know, getting the play
• 14:58
  Speaker 2: calling that Davis Webb, than being more vigilant about how
• 15:02
  Speaker 2: quick you're moving on offense and all of these other
• 15:06
  Speaker 2: things they're doing on the other side of it will
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  Speaker 2: improve production if they you know, if they can add
• 15:12
  Speaker 2: a a good free agent and get somebody in the draft,
• 15:18
  Speaker 2: or you know, is Caleb Loner going to be ready
• 15:20
  Speaker 2: next year to participate in the offense. I think they
• 15:25
  Speaker 2: think all of that together could lead with two more production.
• 15:30
  Speaker 2: But you know they got three touchdowns from the position
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  Speaker 2: this year, and that that's just got to be in
• 15:36
  Speaker 2: this day and age, when you're facing nothing but nickel defenses,
• 15:39
  Speaker 2: you got you gotta have a lot more than that
• 15:42
  Speaker 2: from your side. End, all right.
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  Speaker 3: So what about a Dallas Goddard or spacing the kids
• 15:46
  Speaker 3: name of Detroit. Allegedly he's on the market to would
• 15:48
  Speaker 3: either guy him Laporta Laporta? Would either guy interest him?
• 15:52
  Speaker 2: Laporta would take a lot to get That's what I mean.
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  Speaker 2: And uh, I was just talking to people informally about
• 15:58
  Speaker 2: you know, hey, how are you gonna work of the
• 16:00
  Speaker 2: draft and stuff, and everybody felt like a lot of
• 16:04
  Speaker 2: folks are going to ask for those twenty seven picks,
• 16:08
  Speaker 2: the picks in twenty twenty seven, and those are the
• 16:11
  Speaker 2: gonna be the ones people aren't gonna want to really
• 16:13
  Speaker 2: give up because it is a good board. Now, Goddard's
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  Speaker 2: a free agent, correct, I mean I think he is.
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  Speaker 3: I think.
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  Speaker 2: I mean, you look at the best tight ends in
• 16:24
  Speaker 2: free agency. You know, Kelsey's thirty six, the Djoku's almost thirty,
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  Speaker 2: Goddard's thirty one. You know it's Higbee is thirty three,
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  Speaker 2: zach Ertz is thirty five. I mean, these are the
• 16:38
  Speaker 2: guys that are on the market. So you're not a.
• 16:42
  Speaker 3: Fan if it's not a second contract. Quite often, right
• 16:45
  Speaker 3: like you used to you to me years ago when
• 16:47
  Speaker 3: Gasquez signed, it's a second contract, you want.
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  Speaker 2: Its history is against you if it isn't. That's all
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  Speaker 2: I'm saying. We all love free agency because we know
• 16:57
  Speaker 2: the names, we know the production, we know what they did.
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  Speaker 2: But you're signing for what they're gonna do, not for
• 17:04
  Speaker 2: what they did. And I think you're you know, and
• 17:08
  Speaker 2: it's not a long term solution anyway, you know, you
• 17:11
  Speaker 2: you just want to keep recycling a bunch of guys
• 17:15
  Speaker 2: on one year deals. Then yeah, then you know, sign
• 17:18
  Speaker 2: the sign the oldest free agent you can find. But
• 17:22
  Speaker 2: I don't think the successful teams live that way beyond uh,
• 17:27
  Speaker 2: let's just get the final piece type of free agent.
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  Speaker 2: And I don't see this as as that right now.
• 17:35
  Speaker 1: Jeff Lakewold, everybody ESPN dot com go check out his
• 17:39
  Speaker 1: latest after covering the Combine. The draft prep is in
• 17:42
  Speaker 1: full swing, Jeff, excellent work has always man.
• 17:44
  Speaker 2: Thank you, Thanks, but let's we'll see it.