Denver Broncos rookie Bo Nix Says Game is Slowing Down

the game is already starting to slow down for Denver Broncos rookie quarterback Bo Nicks he talked about that as well as gave us three words about his thoughts on being third on the initial depth chart that and more on today's locked on Broncos you are locked on Broncos your daily Denver Broncos podcast part of the locked on podcast Network your team everyday Denver Bron rookie quarterback Bo Nicks gave some insight on how the game is slowing down for him we've got that along with the defense looking impressive in some third down situational work and an end of game situation in which Zack Wilson was the only quarterback to throw a touchdown pass welcome Broncos country to another episode of lock on Broncos where we are breaking down day 13 of Denver Broncos training camp thanks so much for joining us today my name is s Binger co-host here at lock on Broncos as well as the site expert over there at predominantly orange.com where I've been covering the Broncos since 2013 it's been a fun ride and it's been a fun training camp so far we're gonna be talking about Bo Nicks and his practice once again another strong showing from Bo Knicks as we get ready for the preseason some good stuff from Jared sidam but some good stuff for the defense as well can't leave these guys out even with the quarterbacks being the focus but today's episode locked on Broncos is brought to you by LinkedIn LinkedIn jobs helps you find the qualified candidates that you want to talk to faster so post your job for free at linkedin.com lockon NFL that's linkedin.com lockon NFL to post your job for free terms and conditions apply and Broncos Country if you haven't already go ahead hit subscribe wherever you get your podcast or on YouTube so that you can get every episode locked on Broncos as soon as it's made a available so the quarterback rotation at day 13 of Denver Broncos training camp was B Knicks with the first team offense followed by Jared stum followed by Zach Wilson and that was the order in which they followed throughout the duration of Camp as the Broncos continue installation type stuff at practice not necessarily getting ready for the Indianapolis Colts of course being a pre-season game you're not necessarily going to see the team game planning like they would in a typical week they're going to take advantage of every rep every practice that they can throughout the duration of training camp and for those keeping track at home B Knicks has had reps with the first team offense in six of the last nine practices so I know the depth chart the initial depth chart that the Broncos released kind of caused a little bit of a stir for some people with B Nicks listed as the third quarterback on the depth chart but not even Bo Nicks really cares about that as a matter of fact he said three words when he was asked about his placement of third on the pecking order on the initial depth chart he said couldn't care less and then somebody asked him a follow-up question and he said once again couldn't care less so I I wonder if Bo Knicks couldn't care less about the uh the initial depth chart and frankly none of us should really care because head coach Shawn pton as he was kind of asked some follow-up stuff about that didn't really like being asked about it again but Shawn Payton said look all the rookies are at the back of the line on the initial depth chart it didn't take them long to put together but it's kind of a common practice he said it's going to change and so Broncos Country fret not because what we're seeing on the field is not indicative that Bo Nicks is the third quarterback as a matter of fact he's only been the third quarterback up once in the last nine days and that was in a day in which he switched places with Jarrett stum so every quarterback has taken the third reps at least once throughout the course of training camp but the question is how did bonick look running with the first team offense once again after practice well he's he's not only looking good as we're seeing some some clips from practice come in from certain people that are filming from the the fan uh grassy Hill over there which we really appreciate for those people like me that aren't able to be at every practice or any practices for that matter uh just able to kind of get a glimpse into some of the things that are happening we're not only seeing bow Knicks practice well and make nice throws make good decisions with the the ball but he says that he's feeling even more comfortable by the day and bonick was asked after practice hey how are you feeling you feeling like the game is is slowing down out there for you and and what does this question mean what does it mean that the game is slowing down because you get you hear questions a lot about for quarterbacks like how how are things coming in terms of processing are you processing things well is the game slowing down for you what it means is that b Knick is really gaining an understanding a better understanding of the offense and he's able to execute more without thinking and and you see this a lot of times with guys who run really fast in the pre-draft process right they're very fast on a track they can run a great 40- yard dash but how fast can they play the game of football because those are two very different things B Knicks is able to process really quickly this is Sean something Shawn pton has noted as one of his best assets and attributes is processing and nicks even said I was I was kind of surprised honestly when you hear him addressing the media and you get asked the question like is the game slowing down for you you expect a little bit more of a uh you know just kind of General generic answer but I mean Bo was like yeah I feel like it is slowing down for me he said that he feels more comfortable with with the Playbook more times than not you know and and what I think he meant by that is like when he's being asked to go out there and execute a play in a situation like he feels comfortable operating all of the play book as opposed to just you know some of it at this point so I think he's really gaining a grasp of this offense which quite honestly was probably the one big Edge that Jarrett stum had over him going into this training camp right is the fact that stum was with the team all of last season working with Shawn pyton working with Davis web working with this offensive coaching staff and having chemistry with some of the teammates that was the big advantage that Jarrett stum had but for bonick to come out and say look I I feel like I'm gaining a better understanding of this offense every single day I feel like I'm I'm able to execute when asked more often than not so the game is slowing down from him in that regard now this is a hard thing to talk about when of course a guy hasn't played uh in an actual game or a preseason game even at this point but you see the signs out there that Bo is making good decisions with the football you could tell in the clips that are getting shared like he's not holding on to the ball too long he not just kind of checking the ball down every single play he's keeping his eyes downfield he's escaping and avoiding pressure which is another thing that may be the biggest asset that he brings to the table as a rookie quarterback for the Denver Broncos and and a big reason why the offense could be upgraded from what it was a year ago right because a lot of people are wondering well how do you take a 10 plus year veteran like Russell Wilson who just threw 26 touchdowns last year out of the mix and say that you're going to improve move at the quarterback position well we know Russell Wilson took 100 sacks over the last two seasons for the Denver Broncos and Shawn pton recently said that he believes sacks are more of a quarterback stat than an offensive line stat and he noted early this off season that taking sacks or taking unnecessary sacks was one of the biggest areas that they wanted to upgrade when they were looking at making a change at the quarterback position so we know that was an an of frustration last year for Shawn pyton and we saw that frustration kind of boil over in a game against the Houston Texans late in the year where the Broncos were over 13 on third Downs Russell Wilson taking some unnecessary sacks not throwing the ball away to live to play another down there was a lot of frustration last year in terms of what he was doing operating the offense this year could be a lot different B knck is running the offense and he's comfortable with it which is great news for the Broncos as we get ready to kind of find out hopefully sometime later this week we'll know who exactly is going to be starting against the Colts kind of expect it to be Jarrett stum at this point but we certainly believe we're going to see a lot of B Knicks and probably quite a bit of Zack Wilson in that game as well but although the quarterbacks are the focus the Denver Broncos defense is putting up a fight at practice believe it or not and they are having guys stand out on a daily basis and the Denver Broncos defense was money on the money down we're going to tell you exactly how the Broncos defense dominated a third down emphasis period up next on today's episode locked on Broncos today's episode of Locked on Broncos is brought to you by game time I love being able to go to a major league baseball game during the summer and create memories with my family I just got the chance to do that a few weeks ago watching the Chicago Cubs take on the Kansas City Royals and you know what we're always looking forward to making those new memories and what we don't want to have to do is all this guesswork leading up to getting tickets for a baseball game and that's where game time comes in game time is an authorized ticket Marketplace of Major League Baseball which makes getting tickets faster and easier and prices on the game time app they actually go down the closer you get to first pitch and so with killer 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of Denver Broncos training camp we're going to talk all about it on today's episode of the show but want to say thank you to every single one of you that makes lockdown Broncos your first listen of the day every single day and you know that you can subscribe to lockdown Broncos anywhere that you get your podcast as well as on YouTube and if you haven't done so already I encourage you to do show to do so it gets the show out in front of more members of Broncos country and that's exactly what we want here on the show and for your second listen of the day maybe you're like me you need help with your fantasy football draft preparation this year check out locked on fantasy football and get all that you need to be equipped and ready for your fantasy draft as well as throughout the season we need to be picking up guys off the waiver wire because you know what as much as much as I listen to people's advice in drafting I'm always going to need to be adding guys throughout the season so go ahead check out lockdown fantasy football for your second listen of the day let's talk about the Denver Broncos defense and I think that you know a lot of times we get caught up in the quarterback conversation and not necessarily caught up in it but I think everybody wants the updates on quarterbacks every single day so the defense can kind of get lost in the shuffle when a lot of times the standout takeaways from practice during a quarterback battle are going to be those areas of the team right but a lot of times the defense does get overlooked but not on this day for the Denver Broncos in which Shawn pyton said they were really emphasizing third down and that's a that's a huge point of contention for this team last year I mean sha pton noted earlier in the week that one of the areas this team was terrible at this past year was the short Red Zone area well third down offensively wasn't far behind that and certainly early in the season defensively they got a little bit better as the season went along but third down on either side of the ball was not necessarily an area of strength for the Denver Broncos if we can put it as nicely as possible but the defense won the day here I'm going to pull up Cody's notes from practice to kind of paint the picture exactly for you what we were looking at here B Nick took the first series for the Denver Broncos and a third and two bonick tried to hit an out to Greg dolit may or may not have been sacked by Jonathan Cooper in a game situation the very next play Nicks was forced to scramble out of the pocket because of Cooper Jonathan Cooper giving Chase on the backside a bad snap on Third and seven led to a low throw throw by Bo Knicks to Michael Bandy and on Third and 11 another sack somebody else tweeted I believe it was I can't remember who it was who tweeted during during the course of practice but I remember seeing somebody tweet out to the effect that Jonathan Cooper kind of just wrecked an entire Team Series out there so Broncos Country Jonathan Cooper He's heating up and and not at any better time than right now as the season is Drawing Near Jonathan Cooper out there looking good for the Denver Broncos on the money down as he is in line to potentially make a lot of money if he can earn an extension from the team Jarrett stum got the second series the first pass play incomplete second play lavel Bailey the undrafted linebacker out of Fresno State who's impressed at times throughout the off season he got a pressure inside on Third and eight followed by an incompletion and a drop on Third and 12 by Thomas yasman the rookie tight end uh out of Utah so not uh nothing going on for Jarrett sdm's third down emphasis series Zack Wilson gets onto the field and this is where we got our first forced fumble of training camp uh Blake Watson unfortunately the the the victim here by Art green and underrated cornerback who I know Cody has mentioned on the show before somebody to watch for during the preseason art green forced to Fumble on Blake Watson the rookie who was kind of fighting for some extra yardage the ball was recovered by Tanner mallister who's one of those young safeties that Shawn Payton said maybe they like their depth at the position Tanner mallister coming up with the recovered fumble and the next play Brandon Johnson bobbles the ball and a Defender dropped a near interception next Play No Gain on a screen that was designed toward the middle of the field and the the very next play just a short gain in the flat so the defense really holding up here in this third down emphasis period the most notable aspect of this Beyond the force fumble from AR green which you love to see defensive backs making plays on the ball looked like he would have stopped him for a pretty short gain even if there wasn't a forc fumble on the play wasn't like it was 10 15 yards down the field the biggest takeaway that I have from this Jonathan Cooper and I think it gives us an opportunity to talk a little bit about Jonathan Cooper because all offseason Cody and I have been talking about well it seems like the most likely breakout player off the edge is Baron Browning although we've certainly given our flowers to Jonathan Cooper after a strong year last year but it just it kind of feels like you know Nick Bonito was he had 20 quarterback hits eight sacks a year ago Baron Browning kind of has that elite athletic trait profile so you expect one of those two guys to become maybe a double digit sack player for the Broncos but I believe Cody actually said his prediction is that Jonathan Cooper becomes the next double- digigit sack player for the Denver Broncos and something that this team hasn't had since 28 18 when both Von Miller and Bradley chub did it in the same year so we could be in line for another big year from Jonathan Cooper who has been an ascending player ever since he got into the league out of Ohio State just a really exciting overall athlete somebody who fell in the NFL draft back in 2021 due to some potential issues with his heart uh health checks out obviously Cooper has been a key contributor for this Denver Broncos team and somebody who he's not only can win with speed he can win with power physicality he's a smart player he's very very exciting in terms of younger guys on this team that could step up and become second contract players and and you love to see the the stretch of dominance and and that's something that we've kind of gotten used to from Cooper is is these heat check stretches where he he suddenly is just Unstoppable off the edge for periods of time not that we necessarily see Cooper disappear at times but there are definitely stretches where man he can take over a series he can impact all three plays he get a pressure get a quarterback knockdown he could have a sack could have a forced fumble could have a a pass batted at the line of scrimmage whatever the case may be Cooper is one of those guys that can get hot for the Denver Broncos defense and I do believe he could be the the whole situation with this team right now is so many guys that you're relying on well can he be the best version of himself can he take that step forward can can the Broncos take this player and become you know a known who was previously an unknown I think Jonathan Cooper is one of those guys who is a known commodity on this team but is steadily ascending we have seen that from him in his game since he was a rookie making an impact remember that Dallas Cowboys game that he had as a rookie where he just I mean he's just torching the Dallas Cowboy offensive line and and we've seen that go from just say Okay that was a cool kind of flash in the pan but now we've seen him grow into an every down player for this defense and I think he's become a core player for this roster going forward so not trying to overreact to a pra a couple of practice reps just kind of using those practice reps as an opportunity to highlight Jonathan Cooper and what he brings to this Denver Broncos roster speaking of the Denver Broncos roster there's a couple of guys no longer on the team Kaden Sterns and Justin Simmons we may know now where those guys are going going to be playing coming up next season potentially both of them resurfacing in the NFC South we're going to tell you about that as well as other observations and notes from day 13 of Denver Broncos training camp up next locked on Broncos Today's Show is brought to you by LinkedIn and when you're hiring for your small business you want to find quality professionals that are right for the role that's why you have to check out LinkedIn jobs LinkedIn jobs has the tools to help you find the right Professionals for your team faster and free and we all want to build the right team and Linkedin it's just it's not just a job board right LinkedIn helps you hire professionals that you can't find anywhere else even those who aren't actively searching for a new job but hey they might be open to the perfect role and in a given month over 70% of LinkedIn users don't visit other leading job sites so if you're not looking on LinkedIn you're looking in the wrong place and on LinkedIn 86% of small businesses they get a qualified candidate within 24 hours so you're able to find the right new teammate fast hire professionals like a professional on LinkedIn LinkedIn knows that small businesses are wearing so many hats and might not have the time or the resources to do things like this and Linkedin is constantly finding ways to make the process easier and they even just launched a feature that helps you write job descriptions making the process even easier and quicker so post your job for free at linkedin.com lockon NFL that's linkedin.com lockon NFL to post your job for free terms and conditions apply we may know exactly where Denver Broncos former safeties Justin Simmons and Kaden Sterns could be ending up this season could see them in the NFC South with some familiar faces on a couple of different coaching staffs down there we're going to tell you about Kaden Sterns Justin Simmons where they could be landing next on today's episode lock on Broncos as well as other news notes updates and uh just notable goings on from day 13 at Denver Broncos training camp as we ramp up toward this first preseason game against the Indianapolis Colts but Broncos Country thank you so much once again for rocking with us every day here at lockon Broncos subscribe if you haven't already done so and certainly we appreciate you sharing the show with all your other Broncos fan friends out there who want to stay updated and informed on the team every single day right here on the lock on podcast Network your team every day let's talk first really quickly about a couple of former Denver Broncos safeties Kaden Sterns and Justin Simmons could be resurfacing in the NFC South in case you missed the news Kaden Sterns appears to be re uh resurfacing with the Carolina Panthers and old friend eiro evero so certainly a a connection there with evero coaching the defensive backs or having a defensive back specialty while being the Denver Broncos defensive coordinator in 2022 love that landing spot for him the Panthers were first on the waiver order so they get first dibs and they grabbed Kaden Sterns immediately he didn't hit free agency so his contract is officially off the books and on the Carolina Panthers books now as of as of this this point in time so that's good news for the Denver Broncos go as far as there could be any good news from cutting Kaden Sterns one of the more surprising developments of the week but one of the most surprising developments of the offseason has been the lack a general lack of interest at least from the outside looking in uh for Justin Simmons the Broncos former All Pro safety Pro Bowl safety uh Walter pton Man of the Year nominee 30 interceptions since 2016 more than any other player that's come into the league since that so Justin Simmons is getting an opportunity potentially with the New Orleans Saints where he would be reuniting with an old friend Joe Woods the defensive coordinator there in New Orleans as well as defensive backs coach Marcus Robertson both of those guys were with the Denver Broncos as recently as 2018 and Justin obviously played for Joe Woods for three years in Denver so there's familiarity there in New Orleans which seems to be sort of a place that you know the Broncos kind of get a a reputation for a lot of older guys coming to Denver and finishing out their careers in Denver it feels like a lot of Broncos defensive backs go to New Orleans to finish out their careers because we saw chant Bailey go play at least he was there for a little bit in New Orleans we've seen Chris Harris Jr went there in 2022 and then before that Bradley Roby who played probably the most significant role for the Saints out of any of those guys another former Denver Broncos defensive back head to New Orleans so maybe Justin Simmons will be the latest of course there was there's the connection between the Broncos and and Saints head coach Dennis Allen but no connection there with with Justin Simmons uh and we've seen the Saints kind of pick up quite a few former Denver Broncos over the last handful of years I know there's a lot of jokes that get thrown around by Shawn Peyton adding a lot of former Saints which is certainly true but the Saints have also picked up quite a few former Denver Broncos players so I think that it's kind of a you know a little give and take there and and a little pipeline between these two teams so we'll see if Justin ultimately does get a deal there the Saints had a top 10 offense and defense last season but they don't strike me as necessarily A a Super Bowl Contender which is what I from what I understand Justin you know he wanted to get with a contending team uh if he wasn't going to get that big money contract I don't know I don't know him personally I don't know what he's personally looking for but New Orleans could be the landing spot for Justin Simmons so we'll certainly keep you updated on that even though he's not playing for the Denver Broncos that could be an interesting story to monitor throughout the rest of the offseason Shawn pyton was asked after day 13 of Denver Broncos training camp what his thoughts were about the defensive front as it does seem like the defensive front meaning the defensive line and Edge players have been rather impressive during training camp Shawn Payton kind of got excited when he was asked that question he said he's looking forward to seeing the defensive front in actual game situations but specifically he said that what's standing out so far during camp is the defensive Line's leverage and physicality and I think that is huge news for the Denver Broncos because they were losing the the battle at the line of scrimmage all throughout last season and why is that well because you don't get leverage and you're not physical enough that's those are the two categories when you're losing at the line of scrimmage you're either getting out leveraged or you're getting out physical or you're getting outb and that's what the Denver Broncos defensive line really struggled with last season as we saw them get gashed the first seven weeks followed by kind of a they tailed off a little bit at the end of the season as well and I know injuries and the suspension to Yoma wazar last year played a role in that but at the same time it it wasn't enough to say okay yeah that that Denver Broncos defensive line you know they needed a talent influx they needed new players to come in and bring the heat and that is exactly what guys like John Franklin Meers Malcolm roach and other have done for this unit and you put those guys in addition to the already talented players that you have like Zack Allen DJ Jones Baron Browning U Jonathan Cooper who we mentioned before you get those guys all together that attitude is infectious the physicality can be infectious and and certainly those guys are attacking aggressively throughout the course of training camp we've seen a lot of you know potential wouldbe sacks on the quarterbacks at times or tackles for loss at the very least so the defensive front is is impressive at camp now we get to see them in game situations coming up on Sunday against the Colts wide receiver Devon V the rookie out of Utah stacked another good day on Wednesday his name came up multiple times in different practice reports and certainly on Cody's practice notes Here had a uh had a couple of good plays throughout the day of practice including a long catch and run a stum strike to V for 21 plus yards in that final team period where the Broncos are trying to score from down 2620 got to have a touchdown to win the game the very first play from Jared stum in that second offensive unit Devon V goes for 21 yards and he also drew a pass interference that Shawn pton says would have got them to the one yard line in that situation so although Jarrett stum ended up throwing an interception on his last play of that Team Series Devon V's two big plays a 21 yard catch as as well as a pass interference drawn on a fourth down play that would have given the Broncos a chance at one yard away with about 12 seconds left on the clock to potentially score the go-ahead touchdown so Devon V continues to impress for the Denver Broncos which is so exciting because you want to see the rookies step up and speaking of Troy Franklin had another couple of big plays including the only touchdown in that end of game scenario when Zach Wilson was the quarterback back Troy Franklin caught a touchdown pass for the last play of practice a third and down third third and 12 down and distance with nine seconds remaining Zack Wilson throws it up to Troy Franklin sounds like it would have potentially been a close play whether or not Troy got his feet in for the touchdown or not but that was how the Denver Broncos ended practice and after practice head coach Shawn pton said there's no update on cornerback Levi Wallace No update on safety Brandon Jones both both of those guys are dealing with hamstring issues right now uh backup running back Tyler batty was injured during a special teams drill had to be helped off the field we'll see what happens with that situation and linebacker Justin sternad returned to practice after missing the last handful of days so the Broncos getting some of their guys back at linebacker along with the addition of as we talked about yesterday undrafted rookie free agent Alec mock out of Air Force who is back on the roster and ready to contribute in the preseason here but Broncos Country we're so appreciative of every single one of you for rocking with us every day make sure you subscribe or follow for free on YouTube or wherever you listen to your podcast to make sure you get the latest episodes as soon as they're available and don't forget for your second listen check out lockon fantasy football where you can get equipped and ready for your upcoming fantasy football drafts we will be here after day 14 Denver Broncos training camp to tell you all about what went down and any more quotes from Shawn Peyton any more standouts at practice as the Denver Broncos get ready to face off against the Indianapolis Colts in week one of the preseason Sunday 11:00 a. mountain time kickoff Broncos Country we'll see you soon