Denver Broncos MUST DECIDE Ben Powers' Future Or Pursue Cost Effective Options

0:00with NFL free A&C hitting next week. The Debra Broncos might have a tough decision with Ben Powers that could come here very shortly. You are locked on Broncos. Your daily Denver Broncos podcast. Part of the locked on podcast network. Your team every day. What's up Broncos country? I'm Cody Rourke. Welcome into another episode locked on Broncos. Your daily Debra Broncos podcast. Part of the locked on podcast network. Your team every day. The number of sports podcast network in the country. Today's bonus episode show. We're talking about Ben Powers as NFL free A&C approaches. Will he stay? Will he go? Will the Broncos embrace the youth movement? We'll talk about how the Broncos might be nearing their decision here on Ben Powers and why that could be coming sooner rather than later, especially with the cost of that end. Whether or not Denver will look at the cost effective approach at left guard considering they've paid Garrett Bulls, Luke Wattenberg, Quinn Miners, and Mike McGlinchee's cap hit being where it is

1:00could cost effective be the way here's the Broncos look to maximize all things for their offense and why that cost effective approach could be Alex Poucheski. So let's get into this here. I've seen with NFL free A&C beginning on March 11th, ideally as the Broncos go into that day and if they want to be aggressive like they say they do, they're gonna have to make some changes between now and then we're talking about restructures. We're talking about potential roster cuts, so to speak. So what do the Broncos do here? When it comes to Ben Powers, who in my opinion last year at left guard, he ended up becoming a very valuable asset to the offense and specifically the Broncos run game. And as many shows as we have done here talking about how frustrating the Broncos inconsistency in the run game is that didn't have as much to do with the offensive line more so than I think it did with play calling, flow of game development based on how the defense was playing. But let's look at the first five weeks of the season here for Denver, specifically one thing you saw on film when it came to Ben Powers and the Philadelphia Eagles game was a great example.

2:01You look back as well as the Monday night football game the week prior against the Cincinnati Bengals, the Broncos, they love pulling Ben Powers from left to right to be able to create open holes there for their running back. And that's where JK Dobbins and his patients as a runner really came into play here. You saw that in Monday night football, you saw that in week five and unfortunately after week five he suffered that bicep injury he had surgery on that and he missed a large portion of the season didn't return till probably mid December just a few weeks before the Broncos had their playoff run against the Buffalo Bills and for Ben Powers, the reason why the Broncos are facing this decision right now, as it stands here today on Tuesday, he's going to cost 18.1 million dollars towards the salary cap next season which is the third highest on the team right now and he's on the last year of his deal, right? If there were two or three more years remaining on his deal we would be talking about a simple restructure and in theory the Broncos could restructure this deal here

3:01but it doesn't seem like the likely path that they take. Now things could change but the Broncos, if they maybe want to go with the cost effective approach here at left guard, let's look at the big picture here. Luke Wattenberg just got into a four year extension. If they view him as the center and they don't view him as a guy they want to kick to left guard, okay, that makes sense. But the Broncos at this point could either extend Ben Powers which in my opinion you want to keep continuity, I think you do that, he's a proven guy, he's a vet, get him to that second contract, he has been durable minus the bicep injury which was something that was beyond his control there but he has been a durable lineman for you. So I think that kind of plays into the favor of what you want to do here. However this is all aimed at maybe the Broncos making a decision. Now the Broncos cap space right now is around 20.9 million according to spot track, you get different models from things like over the cap as well. If they were to release him so to speak and not do a post June 1st designation that would free up space. That would jump them to about 28.4 million dollars in cap space.

4:01They would incur a dead cap hit of 9.7 million dollars, right? Obviously they want to pee away from the dead money narrative because they just came off the Russell Wilson dead cap. You don't want to add 9.7 to that. You want to be as in the green as possible in that category. So I can see that. But I talk about his value there as an offensive lineman and what it meant to Denver's run game early on. And certainly I think the loss of JK Dobbins, the rotation so to speak of what we saw with Ben Powers and Alex Pouchesky when Powers initially returned from his injury. You know, it messed with the continuity on the offensive line a little bit. Dobbins injury impacted things where RJ Harvey had a little bit more of a workload on there. I do feel like though, Jolimic Loflin had several big runs against the chiefs. I liked what we saw from him. I liked some of the stuff we saw in space from RJ Harvey. And that was when Ben Powers got a little bit more run back into the starting lineup. And then obviously in the playoffs, Denver's got to find a way to run the ball more. And if you want to go younger, I understand that. Does that mean that you're going to lead to more run game success?

5:03It doesn't necessarily guarantee that. And that's where the dilemma is here, Broncos country. So the ideal option I think from my perspective would be extend Ben Powers. Give them a two to three year contract extension that lowers the cap paid obviously for you. Keeps your offensive line continuity intact. But if they release him, as I mentioned, it frees up around $7 to $8 million in cash base, $9.7 million in dead cap. But let's talk about cost effective approach. That's what we're going to dive into here next on Lockdown Broncos, including my outspout Chesky might be the best option for that. You're going to get that here in today's episode of the show. Today's episode Lockdown Broncos is Broncos' friends over there, indeed, whether it's workplace chaos, deadline stacking up, the inbox overflowing on the one position you have to fill, it's still sitting open. When the pressure is on and you need to ride higher, this is a job for sponsor jobs. Indeed, sponsor jobs helps you reach to people who actually fit what you're looking for, whether it's the skills, the experience, or the location. So you're not just hoping the right candidate stumbles across your posts. You're making sure that that right candidate, they find it. And here's a stat that says that on the minute that I've been talking to you, companies like yours made 27 hires

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8:08and game time they pick the seat for extra savings. Two taps and you have great seats locked in. Fast, easy, done, take the guesswork at a buying tickets, download the game time app, create an account and use code locked on for $20 off your first purchase. Terms apply again, create an account and redeem code, LOCKED, oh, and for $20 off, download game time today. Alex Poucheski might be the Bronco's best cost effective approach when it comes to addressing left guard. If in fact, they do move on from Ben Powers here, let's talk about what that looks like. But first off, Alex Poucheski is the time that we're sitting down. We're talking about this. Alex Poucheski is, in fact, a restricted free agent here for the Broncos. I would expect them to place a tender on Poucheski because of what he's proven since coming in the NFL. Obviously, when he signed as Nundrat, the rookie for agent, they gave him one of the larger signing bonuses. He's got so much experience in terms of playing games at the college level where he's near Bonix in that category of college games played, but also think the most college starts by an offensive tackle in NCAA history, something along those lines.

9:09So he goes through his rookie season in the NFL and doesn't see much playing time with Denver, right? He spent a majority of the year on injured reserve, even though he necessarily wasn't injured. He suffered an injury in the preseason, but in 2024, we saw him play a little bit more. Have some roles here and then where he has to fill in, especially after Mike McGlinch, he went down with an ankle injury and they missed him for some time, four weeks on IR. He did a really good job. He held his own against some really good pass horses as a right tackle. Sean Peyton classified him specifically as, he's a right side guy only. That changed in 2025 after Ben Powers injury. Now it wasn't necessarily Poucheski being the first man up after the injury there to Ben Powers. It was Matt Parrot. Matt Parrot in his first game suffered an injury that ended his season against the New York Jets and then it forced the Broncos with their offensive line depth as is to move Poucheski from a right side player to having to play left guard. And I would say he impressed the Broncos coaching staff in that category. And if you watch him on film, there are a lot of things to like about Poucheski

10:11and the growth and the step that he took having to play a position. He never even got time at realistically on the left side during the preseason. He saw some time at right guard, but it's just being able to translate that over to the left side position. You have all these different rules inside of Zach Street's blocking scheme here, which could change this upcoming season for the Broncos. But Poucheski proved to be more than serviceable at that point. Even when Ben Powers was ready, they were giving a majority of the reps even though they were rotating to Poucheski. He is, in my opinion, if the Broncos want to go cost effective while you have Vonix on a rookie deal. And if you want to go out there and free A&C this year and spend money on running back, linebacker, tied in, or even wide receiver, this is the move to make here where you're going all in with Poucheski and you're hoping that maybe Nick Garjulo can be ready to play at some point this season be a depth option for you here. And that allows Frank Krum to stay in that tackle eligible role where he's reporting as eligible. And obviously we saw him catch a touchdown in the playoffs. But Poucheski was that guy before Pert Gott injured and then because of that had to slide over.

11:12And then he ended up losing that spot. The Frank Krum once Ben Powers came back because Frank Krum was getting a majority of the reps there even though Poucho knew what that role was. In my opinion, I like what I saw from Poucheski and the sample size that we saw last season at left guard. And I think one specific game granted it was against the Dallas Cowboys defense. But all Broncos country to go back to that. I encourage you, please get NFL pro and go to watch the film where you can see the all 22. You can see the different angles. The Dallas Cowboys match up where we saw RJ Harvey bounce off for a touchdown off the left side. Watch Poucheski, look, Quinn Miner was doing damage from the right guard spot, but Poucheski did a really great job of attacking the double team there initially working up to the play side linebacker, getting up to that second level and then burying a guy deep into the third level in terms of blocking that sprung RJ Harvey open for a touchdown. I think Poucheski's knowledge of this offense, him having time on task at a position he previously never played and excelling at it is a gamble here for Sean Payton,

12:13Davis Webb and the Broncos. But I also think it's a worthwhile gamble for them to potentially take a look at. And then obviously in this year's NFL draft, if Denver wants to look at that position long-term, you have the opportunity to draft guys. Heck and free agency, if you wanted to sign a veteran late in that third wave that can come in and be that solidified support depth or a guy who could potentially compete to start with Poucheski at this position, go ahead and do that. But I'm saying if the Broncos want to make big splashes elsewhere, they either have to extend Ben Powers, which is not necessarily on Power's timeline, both sides have to be in agreement on that. Maybe this is the way where you go to Poucheski approach by tendering him and then you go out and you sign a veteran guy, you have some competition, but then you kind of go the cost-effective approach of addressing that left guard position on your offensive line. And does that mean that, hey, just because you take the cost-effective approach, it means that your offensive line is gonna take a step back? No, not necessarily. I mean, it's a gamble and it's a risk that I think is worthwhile for the Broncos to at least look at and see what it can do for them.

13:14This doesn't even take you away from going out as well on the NFL draft and adding guys at this position where you think a lot of the interior offensive lineman this year could be a little bit more of a premium position as the Broncos look to keep this unit as they believe as they look and George Payton and Sean Payton have openly said, going back to the NFL combine, we always have to take a look at our offensive line and our defensive line. It always starts in the trenches. And with obviously Garrett Bulls being at his age, even though he just got a contract extension, Mike McGlinchee, him there in the end of his contract in the next couple of years, you just extended Quinn, you just extended Luke, okay, you have continuity there, but you need to address the depth there. You need to address beyond maybe if these guys go elsewhere or if someone decides to suddenly retire, you have to at least have a plan in place and let a guy maybe build and develop in your system. Then when that happens, they can step in and you're not having as much, I would say, turnover, so to speak. And you have guys that know the offense, that know the system that can execute it. And maybe that transition plan isn't as scary

14:17that I think as we all think about in theory, like what happens if the Broncos were to move on from Mike McGlinchee? What happens if Garrett Bulls or them suddenly decide to retire? Although I don't think that's gonna be the case would Garrett, he's indicated he wants to play at least another five or seven years. Maybe he can, but the Broncos, the smart business move here would be to say, hey, we need to address really good depth, but we also maybe need to look at an in-house transition plan that maybe a couple years down the road, this guy's gonna be ready to step into this role and play. Maybe that is already the approach, maybe that's a thought they have with Poucheski, and that's just based on conversations I've had with people looking at what we saw from Poucheski last season. This doesn't hurt the Broncos to take a chance at something like this. Now, Broncos Country, I wanna hear from you here on today's episode of the show. Let me know your thoughts on Alex Poucheski as a potential cost-effective approach, or not they should add a veteran, if they in fact do decide to make a decision to move on from Ben Powers. But that will wrap up today's bonus episode of the show. Broncos Country, appreciate you for staying locked in every single day all year long. Make sure, hey, if you wanna add free version of the show,

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