Latest news with #DenverBroncos
USA Today
31 minutes ago
- Sport
- USA Today
PFSN ranks all 32 NFL defenses (Broncos are No. 1)
Sean Payton has worked hard to help turn the Denver Broncos into a turnaround story, taking the team from a disastrous 5-12 season with Nathaniel Hackett in 2022 to a 10-win season in 2024 that came with a playoff birth. While Payton and his offense, run by Bo Nix, has gotten a lot of praise, the Pro Football Network is here to remind you not so fast: can't forget about the Broncos' defense. Pro Football Network recently ranked its top defenses in the NFL going into the 2025 season. The website placed the Denver Broncos' unit as their top defense, citing Pat Surtain and the drafting of Jahdae Barron as reasons for their No. 1 ranking. 'The Denver offense gets plenty of attention because of its young quarterback and creative head coach, but this defense was as good as it got from start to finish a season ago, after grading 23rd in Defense+ in 2023. Patrick Surtain II is the reigning Defensive Player of the Year and projects to stifle pass games for a long time. The Broncos also showed a lack of compliance during the draft, as they not only added Jahdae Barron (a corner out of Texas) with the 20th overall pick but also a pair of high-pedigree edge rushers in the middle of the proceedings. This is the gold standard for defense right now, and that doesn't appear likely to change given the roster they've constructed.' On Sept. 7, the Broncos will get a chance to put their top defense to the test against the Tennessee Titans when they open up their regular season (view the full schedule here). Related: These 25 celebrities are Broncos fans.
USA Today
2 hours ago
- Sport
- USA Today
Mark Schlereth gives his take on Broncos' 2025 outlook
The Denver Broncos head into the 2025 NFL season with high hopes after an impressive season in 2024 with 10 wins and a playoff appearance. The team is returning second-year quarterback Bo Nix, and they added some high-profile free agents on both sides of the ball. Former Broncos offensive lineman Mark Schlereth recently appeared on The Rich Eisen Show to talk about the Broncos' 2025 expectations, improvements and fixes the team needs to make going into the year. Eisen asked Schlereth about some legitimate expectations for Denver going into 2025. "I think that you got to look at them, they go to the playoffs last year, win ten games, get throttled by Buffalo in the playoffs," said Schlereth. "I would look at two things: defensively, they were a top defense last year, they've addressed (Talanoa) Hufanga in the middle of the football field at the safety position and (Dre) Greenlaw -- and if Greenlaw is healthy, after coming off that Achilles tendon that he only played a handful of games last year -- if that dude is healthy, he is a football-playing Jesse. That guy can flat play, so I love watching him. They also went out and got a tight end, and they have not had a tight end, really since Owen Daniels, maybe the last guy who was really productive at the tight end position." The Broncos signed former Jaguars tight end Evan Engram to a two-year contract back in March, hoping that he can play the "Joker" role that has been so sought after by head coach Sean Payton. One of the areas Schlereth pinpointed as an issue in 2024 was the Denver running game. "They've got to fix the rushing game, Rich," said Schlereth. "Bo Nix was their best rusher last year. They were not very good at running the football. If they can do that -- I don't know how much better their record will be, because of the division they play in -- I don't know if their record is going to be much better than 10-7, maybe they gain a game, maybe they win one extra, 11 games, but I do think they'll be more competitive, and they'll be better when they get into the playoffs" (emphasis added). You can view the three-minute clip from the show below. What are your expectations for the Broncos going into the 2025 season? Let us know on Facebook and Twitter/X! Related: These 25 celebrities are Broncos fans.
Yahoo
3 hours ago
- Sport
- Yahoo
Bengals risk being only NFL team with 1st-round pick unsigned
Not that the Cincinnati Bengals pay much attention to outside public opinion, but the team is now one of just two franchises yet to sign their first-round pick this year. The Bengals with Shemar Stewart and the Denver Broncos with cornerback Jahdae Barron are the two teams left standing without a signature from their first-round picks. Advertisement Jacksonville shoved the Bengals into this bucket over the weekend by signing Travis Hunter, the No. 2 overall pick. RELATED: Bengals, Shemar Stewart nuclear option includes 2026 NFL draft route The Bengals had to watch as Stewart bashed the organization publicly before leaving minicamp early recently. According to reports, the Bengals want to reset contractual language regarding guarantees, starting with Stewart as the first. The defensive end and his reps, naturally, don't want to be the first. It's hard to imagine the standoff bleeds too far into training camp, but it's equally hard to imagine the Bengals care that they're just one of two teams yet to wrap up what should be nothing more than a minor offseason bit of work. RELATED: Bengals standouts after mandatory minicamp includes surprises This article originally appeared on Bengals Wire: Bengals risk being only NFL team with 1st-round pick unsigned
The Herald Scotland
a day ago
- Sport
- The Herald Scotland
Ex-NFL player retired from league at 30. His new calling? Psychology.
Thomas took it as a sign. At just 30 years old, he decided to walk away from the bruising world of the NFL to pursue a new career in a notably less bruising field: Clinical psychology. After seven seasons of pro football, including two as a go-to target for Peyton Manning with the Denver Broncos, Thomas retired in 2018 and enrolled in psychology courses at Nova Southeastern University in Florida. He learned about behavioral neuroscience, contributed to a study on chronic traumatic encephalopathy (CTE), launched a high performance and wellness company and, earlier this month, graduated with a doctoral degree in clinical psychology. It's been a welcome change for someone who, for so much of his life, was viewed through the lens of his athleticism and powerful 6-foot-5 frame. "That was the hardest part of being an athlete for me: I felt like my real talent was mental, but I wasn't able to show it, and I wasn't able to develop that side of who I was," he told USA TODAY Sports. "It's really cool to be able to have the (psychology) degrees and the training, to show that I have that side of me, too." Though Thomas, now 36, walked across the stage at graduation earlier this month, he said his academic training won't completely end until he wraps up his one-year clinical residency at Nova Southeastern's Psychology Services Center in September. He's amassed more than 2,000 hours of real-world experience this year alone - teaching classes, working in clinics and seeing patients in therapy between the ages of 10 and 71. "I've got to get some great perspective that I never could've imagined having," Thomas said. "Going from being around millionaires and billionaires to serving people in community mental health clinics that can only afford $10 for a session or sometimes no money at all. Getting to see that juxtaposition in peoples' lifestyles and their challenges, but then getting to see the commonality, right? "It doesn't matter what you have, it doesn't matter what you've earned. The experiences mentally and emotionally can be challenging." 'A big nerd!' Thomas never thought he'd come back to school - let alone to study subjects like psychology and behavioral neuroscience. He was a business administration major during his undergraduate days at Portland State, where he primarily played Division I basketball. After being drafted by the Broncos in the fourth round in 2011, despite having played just one year of college football, Thomas soon established himself as a major contributor with Manning under center. He racked up 12 touchdown catches and made the Pro Bowl in back-to-back years in 2013 and 2014. But after joining the Jacksonville Jaguars in free agency on a big-money contract, the injuries started to hit. The Jaguars traded him to the Miami Dolphins, who cut him after one season. It was around that time that Thomas said one of his now mentors, a sports psychologist, invited him to sit in on some classes. By the time the start of the 2018 season rolled around, Thomas had decided to retire and move on to his second career. In an essay for The Players' Tribune announcing his retirement, he described the move as a "journey into self." "For me, stepping away wasn't as hard as I've seen it be for other people," he explained. "Even when I was in college, I was always interested in how I would do outside of sports. What would I get into?" Psychology courses quickly allowed Thomas to stretch his mind in new ways. They also opened the door for him to seek answers to some of the other questions that had popped up during his NFL career, including those around CTE, the neurodegenerative disease caused by repeated blows to the head. Thomas started taking neuroscience classes, in addition to psychology, and contributed to research about CTE in current and former football players, boxers and fighters. He said researching the disease actually somewhat eased his nerves, by illustrating cases in which former athletes had evidence of the disease without the major symptoms. "We don't know how many people may have had the pathology and didn't have the symptoms," said Thomas, who is also president of the Society for Sports Neuroscience. "So I do think there's a connection between severe symptomology and CTE, but from what I've studied and learned, I'm less nervous about CTE than I've ever been. Just because I think there's a lot of things combined in CTE symptomology that you can help with by staying on top of your health." Professor Jaime Tartar, who collaborated with Thomas on that research, said he brings a rare combination of skills and experiences to his work - an ability to call on his experiences as an athlete when needed, but also thrive in academic and clinical settings without it. "It's easy to forget that Julius had a career in professional football because he's such a thoughtful, curious and deeply analytical person," Tartar, who chairs the department of psychology and neuroscience at Nova Southeastern, wrote in an e-mail. "In other words, he is a big nerd!" The complexity of humanness Thomas said the motivation behind his new career is to help people become "solid from the inside out." He's fueled by the moments he spent looking across the locker room at a teammate and thinking "man, somebody should help that guy." But his experience in the NFL doesn't mean he wants to be known as only "the athlete psychologist." In fact, as he worked towards his doctoral degree, Thomas was struck by the common threads between athletes and working professionals in other careers - writers, producers, accountants, lawyers. "Being a human is hard. It's always been hard," Thomas said. "Study history. Read some of the most successful, high-performing people of status. Read their memoirs. There is no protection from inner struggle." Thomas is trained in the type of work that people often associate with therapy - the unpacking of past experiences or traumas - but said he is most interested in the part of the process that comes after: Helping people find new ways to level up in their lives or careers. So, in 2023, he founded a high-performance and wellness company called Optimal Performance, which aims to provide resources for everyday working professionals. He speaks and consults with companies and teams, and is in the process of assembling a group of experts who can provide advice on everything from sleep and stress to personal finance. "Every industry, every discipline has different sets of behaviors that help you be really great in that," he said. "I love helping people dial in on what are the behaviors that are going to help you get towards where you want to go, professionally. But then also, what are the behaviors that are going to help you create the vision for your personal life?" Thomas said he hopes to expand and focus more on Optimal Performance after completing his clinical residency this fall - the next step in what he called "a phenomenal life journey." He figures he's probably one of the few people lucky enough to play in an NCAA tournament game, catch a pass in the Super Bowl and wear a white coat as a doctor at a hospital. "I pinch myself all the time," he said. "I don't know how my life has twisted and turned this way, but I'm very grateful." Contact Tom Schad at tschad@ or on social media @
USA Today
2 days ago
- Sport
- USA Today
Brian Baldinger breaks down Quinn Meinerz's impressive blocking
NFL Network's Brian Baldinger recently released a video breaking down the impressive, powerful blocking of Denver Broncos star guard Quinn Meinerz. "[Watch] Quinn Meinerz taking this one-technique and moving him off the ball," Baldinger says at the beginning of the video. You watch the feet of the New Orleans Saints right here. Watch him -- he can't stay in front of [Meinerz]. The feet are sliding and he just keeps giving up ground all the way to the point where The Mighty Quinn and Javonte Williams score together. And it's a great, great look." Baldinger then switched to an angle from the offense's side. "Now watch what he does here," Baldinger says. "Just watch his feet and his hips, and watch the movement that he gets -- watch him climb. ... That is The Mighty Quinn. One of the more powerful people in the NFL because he moves big people in the NFL." Meinerz was named a first-team All-Pro last season, and Pro Football Focus ranked him as the NFL's third-best guard this offseason. The 26-year-old lineman is entering his fifth season in the NFL, amazingly still seeking his first Pro Bowl nod. He seems likely to make the all-star game in 2025. Related: These 25 celebrities are Broncos fans.
