1,300 miles away, the biggest news of the day inside a quiet Broncos facility in Dove Valley: ?

The Broncos’ brass, of course, all took their seats in the war room for the first round of the NFL Draft on Thursday night. They sat. And continued to sit, for 32 picks, as the rest of the league maneuvered around them. This was the reality all but ensured since March 17, when general manager George Paton and head coach Sean Payton and the rest of the staff decided that trading for Dolphins star receiver Jaylen Waddle would be well worth the ultimate price of their first-round pick.

NFL draft 2026 first-round winners and losers: The Jets QB of the future is smiling somewhere. Matthew Stafford? Maybe not

"We spent a lot of time looking at that selection, and trying to determine ā€” we could safely say that pick wouldā€™ve been one of these 7 or 8 players," Payton said at league meetings in late March. "And we didnā€™t feel like that would help us as much as Jaylen Waddle.ā€

In a pre-draft press conference last week, Paton all but promised that Denver's draft festivities wouldn't start until Day 2 on Friday night, with the Broncos' current capital too limited to swing a massive trade to leap back into the first round from their No. 62 selection. And a handful of potential Denver options already leaped off the board in the first round as the Vikings swung on high-upside but injury-concern DT Caleb Banks at No. 18 (a Broncos top-30 visit) and the Seahawks snagged Notre Dame running back Jadarian Price with the last pick of the first round.

There's even more urgency for the Broncos to hit on their Day 2 selection now, though, as other AFC West teams leveled up Thursday night. The Raiders, of course, took their franchise man in quarterback Fernando Mendoza first overall. The Chargers added a potentially instant-impact edge rusher, Akheem Mesidor, late in the first round. And the Chiefs to take LSU cornerback Mansoor Delane as a new antidote to the Waddle-Courtland Sutton combination in Denver.

The Broncos, however, will enter Day 2 with a slew of targets still left on the board, as Paton said last week, there's "six players we're kinda focused on" that the Broncos feel could fall to them at No. 62. Most of those six should still be there, come Friday night ā€” whether the Broncos move up or back to get them.

Here's a breakdown of the 10 best remaining fits for Denver at their late-second-round slot Friday.

10 best remaining for Broncos at No. 62

RB Mike Washington Jr., Arkansas:Ā One NFL assistant coach who's heavily evaluated this RB class told The Post that "some team will take (Washington) higher than they should" because of his size and speed. Maybe that's Denver. It'd be incredibly hard to imagine Paton spending back-to-back second-round picks on a running back, but Washington's upside ā€” at 223 pounds with a 4.33-second 40-yard-dash ā€” is as high as any RB in his class not named Jeremiyah Love.

WR Germie Bernard, Alabama:Ā Denver won't ā€” and shouldn't ā€” take a receiver here, after the Jaylen Waddle trade. But Bernard is too good, and too perfect a fit in a Sean Payton offense, not to be listed here. The production (64 catches, 862 yards) is solid, the size (6-foot-1, 206 pounds) is good, and the blocking mentality is even better. Alas, in a different timeline.

TE Eli Stowers, Vanderbilt:Ā The Post's second-round selection in our final mock draft of this cycle, Stowers still lingers, an explosive receiving threat who profiles as a hybrid receiver at the next level. But Oregon TE Kenyon Sadiq, the consensus top tight end in this class, went relatively early at No. 16 to New York. That could well mean a team will swing on Stowers early in the second round.

TE Max Klare, Ohio State:Ā This draft, as Payton said in a pre-draft presser last week, is ripe in both in-line "Y"-type tight ends and versatile "F"-type receiving threats. Klare combines the best of both worlds into one tidy Day 2 package, a 6-foot-4 pass-catcher who thrived from both the slot and as a run-blocker last year for the Buckeyes. He's not as athletic as a Stowers, but he'd be an excellent option for Nix.

OL Emmanuel Pregnon, Oregon:Ā Similar to Stowers' situation, Pregnon could find himself flying off the board early in Round Two after Georgia Tech guard Keylan Rutledge went higher than consensus (No. 26 to Houston). The Denver native took a top-30 visit in Denver, but the Broncos might have to move up to grab him.

OT Travis Burke, Memphis:Ā No. 62 might be high for Burke, but Denver's done plenty of work here for a reason. Burke has rare size at nearly 6-foot-9, and a nasty disposition to match. With veterans Garett Bolles and Mike McGlinchey both still locked in as 2026 starters, Burke could be a fascinating investment for offensive-line coach Zach Strief.

LB Jacob Rodriguez, Texas Tech:Ā One of ¶¶Ņõapountry's original favorites at the beginning of the draft process, Rodriguez has risen considerably up boards across the last few months ā€” but not high enough to be off the table before Day 2. That could be good news for Denver, whether he manages to slip into a trade-up situation in the middle of the second round or simply prolongs an inevitable run of linebackers to fall into the Broncos' lap at No. 62.

LB CJ Allen, Georgia:Ā Take your pick of Rodriguez or Allen as the second-best linebacker in this class. Allen revealed to reporter Brett Kollmann late in February that Georgia largely let Allen run calls and checks at the , and he could slot into the heart of Denver's defense for a long time.

LB Anthony Hill Jr., Texas:Ā Everything about Hill, traits-wise, screams star. 4.51 40-yard-dash. 37-inch vertical. Good size at 6-foot-2 and 238 pounds. He led the SEC with 16.5 tackles for loss in 2024, and has some upside as a blitzer in Vance Joseph's scheme. He'd be a perfect fit to push Alex Singleton and Justin Strnad for starting reps while contributing in a third-linebacker role as a rookie.

S A.J. Haulcy, LSU:Ā Not a frequently-discussed option for Denver at No. 62, given the Broncos' positional needs beyond safety. But Haulcy has fantastic ball production across his last two seasons, with eight interceptions total for Houston and LSU. Starting Broncos safety Brandon Jones will be a free agent after next season, and Haulcy played a season for new Broncos defensive backs coach Doug Belk with the Cougars in 2023.

But not for the reasons you might think. It was not a slap in Sean Payton’s face. There is no need to put the quarterback and coach on a couch and let them talk it out.

What played out this week is not an example of a feud, but rather just the opposite. It is the secret sauce of their relationship.

Spoiler alert: Payton is hard to work for, as a player and a coach. This is why owner Greg Penner likes him. Payton creates high expectations and holds people accountable, which is the fabric of his elite culture building.

But Payton cannot help himself. He is not a vibes guy. He is a mood.

He takes jabs at opponents, media members, and, yes, on occasion, his own players. Earlier this week, Payton said he thought a doctor found ā€œa condition that was, like, predisposedā€ when evaluating Nixā€™s ankle. What he meant, according to those in the know, was that there was stress on the bone, suggesting a fracture was inevitable. This came on the heels of Payton’s joke falling flat after the win over Buffalo when he said he would not have drafted Nix had he known about his previous ankle issues.

Nix, who placed his recovery time at 4-to-6 weeks, pushed back. This is what he does. Remember the sideline shouting match with Payton during his rookie season? How about the multiple times he has yelled at his coach to hurry up with the play calls this year?

ā€œHe doesnā€™t really even know that,ā€ Nix said of Payton’s reference to previous ankle problems. ā€œBut I think it¶¶Ņõap going to be good to get back to work, start from ground zero. Work from the bottom up, get back to training. And there is nothing really that concerns me, nothing that scares me going forward.ā€

Nix stands up to Payton. His position gives him stature, and it is appreciated in the locker room when Nix holds his ground with the coach. It is viewed internally as creative friction, the same back-and-forth that has defined the most successful partnerships in Payton’s career. He and Drew Brees had their disagreements. They came to understand each other, and their sense of humor.

There is a reason that Payton referred to Nix as Ferris Bueller as a rookie. The kid is not afraid to tweak the coach, to color outside the lines. Payton demonstrated the same tendencies as a young play-caller with the New York Giants.

Payton will pop off. And Nix, often with a smirk, will return the volley.

That trust and dynamic clearly did not exist in the Payton-Russell Wilson arranged marriage. Wilson never challenged Payton publicly until last year on social media over a perceived slight when Payton praised Giants starter Jaxson Dart.

Football is not played in an office cubicle. Tom Brady screamed at his coaches. Peyton Manning and Jeff Saturday went nose-to-nose. Payton gets under people’s skin. And Nix is not afraid to give it back to him.

This is their connective tissue, not evidence of a fissure.

Bad Bill: Bill Belichick was not elected into the Hall of Fame on the first ballot. A few writers who did not vote for him explained his omission because of the process that pits coaches against senior players and contributors. The system stinks. But not voting for Belichick to relieve a backlog of candidates is flawed logic. Secondly, if Belichick was punished for Spygate and Deflategate, that would be understandable, save for this issue. The Pro Football Hall of Fame, unlike baseball’s, does not have a morality clause. Voters have not punished previous cheaters in this fashion, and definitely not a candidate with Belichick’s resume. Are they going to apply the same standard to Tom Brady? The worst part of the snub? Belichick will get in next year, meaning Mike Shanahan will have to wait another year, if not longer, before entering Canton.

Final thought: Nikola Jokic is back. The Nuggets went 10-6 in his absence, and with Oklahoma City returning to earth, there is no reason Denver cannot win the NBA Championship if healthy.

At 31 years old, the Broncos pass game coordinator and quarterbacks coach has become a top head coaching candidate. He is viewed as the new Sean McVay, a wonder kid capable of running an offense and a franchise.

As the Broncos prepare to host the Patriots in the AFC Championship Game, it is time to acknowledge two truths: Payton had onions to hire a coach in his 20s, and Webb has never been more important than this week.

Webb stopped playing in 2022 and joined Payton’s staff in 2023. Everything about his hiring hinted that he was a meteor in the business. After the interview, Payton was looking over his notes and wondering why he even let Webb leave the building. He phoned him on his way to DIA and just like that the former top college prospect had a headset.

Webb has been on the fast track ever since. During the past preseason, Payton allowed him to call plays. It went well to no one’s surprise. That Bo Nix posted 53 passing touchdowns and 25 wins in his first two seasons is a credit to Payton’s play calling, but Webb deserves a tip of the cap.

He is a buffer. He is brilliant. And this game plan demands his best work, steeling Jarrett Stidham for the biggest challenge of his career, or any career for that matter. Webb is only two years older than Stidham. But his football knowledge belies his age. He has been keeping notebooks of plays for decades.

It is why he ran the Buffalo Bills’ quarterback room in his final season as a backup, becoming good friends with Josh Allen. So of course he is a candidate there. And with the Las Vegas Raiders.

He has the ability to digest loads of information and make it practical and useful for his pupils. That is critical for Stidham. He is cramming for the test. And while his confidence is real, Webb is a person he can confide in, letting him know what plays he likes, what makes him comfortable.

The Broncos are attempting to reach their ninth Super Bowl. If Payton pulls it off with a backup quarterback, it becomes his magnum opus.

And it will have happened only because he had the guts to hire a backup quarterback a few weeks after he signed Stidham as a free agent.

Pasties, anyone: New England passes the eye test as a good team. But let’s not pretend they navigated Pikes Peak to reach the NFL’s Final Four. They faced the easiest strength of schedule since the 1999 Rams. It is why winning on the road at Denver — something they have never done in the playoffs — remains daunting, even without Bo Nix starting.

Center of attention: The pushback for Andruw Jones’ election to the Hall of Fame was surprising. I voted for him. Yes, his .254 batting average is unsightly. But Jones deserved the honor for this reason: He is one of three center fielders with 400-plus home runs and 10 Gold Gloves. The other two? Ken Griffey Jr. and Willie Mays. There are no qualifiers needed when explaining Jones’ entrance to Cooperstown.

Avs issues: The Avs have finally had their first hiccup with four losses in their past five games. This was always going to happen. And as much as it is annoying, it is necessary. Adversity helps focus expectations, providing a reminder that nothing has come easily for the Avs since winning the Stanley Cup. They will be fine. Now, if injuries surface, especially during the Olympics, it is time for fingernails to disappear.

Big Blue: Count me among the minority. I don’t see John Harbaugh as the perfect fit with the New York Giants. A blue blood name with a blue blood franchise. An adult in the room. The dots connect. Perhaps too easily. The Giants dissolved last year because they could not hold a lead. No one has been worse at protecting leads over the last few years than Harbaugh. And he had Lamar Jackson. Harbaugh can work. But let me see how his offensive coordinator does with Jaxson Dart before this is celebrated as the second coming of Bill Parcells or Tom Coughlin.

Five NFL teams, including Las Vegas, Arizona, Atlanta and the New York Giants, have lined up interviews with the Broncos defensive coordinator, a source with knowledge of the interview requests told The Post on Tuesday. Those three are in addition to Tennessee, which was reported Monday.

Two of those jobs are particularly interesting.

The first is the Cardinals because Joseph spent four years there as the teamā€™s defensive coordinator under head coach Kliff Kingsbury.

Arizonaā€™s current general manager, Monti Ossenfort, was hired as Joseph was leaving for Denver in early 2023, but Joseph knows Arizona owner Michael Bidwill well from his years with the organization.

Broncos defensive tackle Zach Allen has played all seven seasons of his career with Joseph as his defensive coordinator. He was drafted in the third round by Arizona in 2019, signed a free agent contract in Denver weeks after Joseph arrived and then inked a four-year, $102 million deal this summer.

“I’ve been with him seven years and I only want the best for him,” Allen told The Post last week. “I absolutely think the world of him and I think he deserves it all. Whatever he wants, he’s earned it and he deserves it.”

The other intriguing job interview for Joseph is the Raiders. Las Vegas is starting over after a failed one-year run with Pete Carroll. The Raiders’ general manager, John Spytek, is a former Broncos front office executive, though he and Joseph never actually crossed paths in Denver. In addition to Spytek, the Raidersā€™ search involves heavy influence from minority owner Tom Brady.

Coaching in Las Vegas, of course, would mean coaching against the Broncos and head coach Sean Payton twice per season.

The Giants represent one of the more compelling job openings of the cycle because they appear to have a young quarterback in place after Jaxson Dart showed promise as a rookie. Not only that, but they have a disruptive, talented defensive front that features Dexter Lawrence in the middle and the likes of Brian Burnes and Kayvon Thibodeaux on the edge.

ā€œThey have, like, four werewolves in there,ā€ Denver offensive coordinator Joe Lombardi said of the Giants before the teams played in October.

The head-coaching job in Atlanta, meanwhile, came open after the franchise fired Raheem Morris Monday despite ending the 2025 regular season on a four-game win streak. Atlanta also canned general manager Terry Fontenot, who has longstanding ties to Broncos head coach Sean Payton from days as an executive in New Orleans, amid sweeping organizational changes after two straight 8-9 seasons.

The Falcons also present an interesting option for Joseph, with young offensive talent like superstar RB Bijan Robinson and wide receiver Drake London. There’s plenty of defensive promise, too, with rookie outside linebacker James Pearce (10.5 sacks in 2025) and first-year safety Xavier Watts (five interceptions). But Morris was a defensive-minded coach, and Atlanta could look to the other end of the spectrum for their next hire.

That means Joseph’s set to interview for five of the NFL’s current seven head-coach openings. A source told The Denver Post that neither Cleveland (who fired Kevin Stefanski Monday) or Baltimore (who fired longtime HC John Harbaugh Tuesday in a stunning move) have reached out to formally request a Joseph interview as of Tuesday evening.

Because the Broncos played Sunday and have a bye this week, Joseph can begin interviewing virtually with teams on Wednesday. Those initial interviews must be completed by the wild-card round. Subsequent interviews can follow either after Denver has been eliminated for the playoffs or, if the Broncos make the Super Bowl, on the bye week between the conference title games and the start of Super Bowl week.

“He’s the ultimate professional. That’s where we all get it from,” Allen said. “So, obviously, we’ll be playing for stuff while that’s all going down, but he’s the absolute best. Selfishly it’d be great (if he stayed) but we’ll see how the cookie crumbles.”

Broncos activate Karene Reid, sign McCalister. Denver will have a key special-teamer back for the playoffs, as the organization made the decision to elevate rookie inside linebacker Karene Reid off injured reserve Tuesday.Ā Reid played 59% of the Broncos’ special-teams snaps before landing on injured reserve in early November with a hamstring injury.

Denver also signed safety Tanner McCalister to its practice squad, a familiar face. McCalister bounced around the Broncos’ practice squad in 2024 before being cut in June 2025, and offers some safety depth with starter Brandon Jones on injured reserve and backup P.J. Locke suffering a leg injury in Week 18.

This story will be updated.Ā 

After Denver ground out a 19-3 win over the Chargers in Week 18, ESPN reporter Kris Rhim posted a video to Twitter of Los Angeles safety Tony Jefferson walking back in an Empower Field tunnel with a few very choice words aimed at the Broncos.

“They suck, bro,” Jefferson said, seemingly aimed at nobody in particular. “I don’t care. I have no respect for them. I don’t like nobody on the Broncos.”

Jefferson then appeared to acknowledge the camera, pointed, and called Broncos safety JL Skinner a “homie” before continuing with a flurry of shots.

If Chargers beat Patriots in playoffs, they get another shot at Broncos

"Broncos suck, though," Jefferson continued as he walked into the locker room.

Denver fell miles short of a top-tier performance against a Chargers team that rested several key players Sunday, including quarterback Justin Herbert. The Broncos didn't score a single touchdown on offense, and Sean Payton's unit averaged just 4.1 yards per play in a sleepy gameplan against a conservative Los Angeles defense.

Jefferson, for his part, recorded a team-high eight tackles for Los Angeles.

These Broncos have fed all season off national narratives -- perceived or otherwise -- and any dose of bulletin-board material. When the Broncos' and Giants' fanbases got into an online sparring match in Week 7 over a few dismissive comments by outside linebacker Jonathon Cooper towards quarterback Jaxson Dart, Broncos defenders went on a social-media victory lap after a comeback win. And head coach Sean Payton has effectively planted an "underdog" mentality inside a 14-3 team that's now the holder of the AFC's No. 1 seed.

Keeler: Broncos, make us Bo-lieve! If QB Bo Nix plays like he did vs. Chargers, Denver is 1-and-done in NFL playoffs

When asked Sunday night if he felt these Broncos were still underdogs or now "overdogs" -- a nod to a coined late-season slogan -- quarterback Bo Nix answered the latter.

"They'll still give you all the reasons," Nix muttered, "why we're gonna lose the game."

Jefferson's comments could certainly wash away in the span before the AFC divisional round. But if Los Angeles beats 14-3 New England this coming Sunday, they'll be guaranteed to return to Denver in two weeks.

"Weā€™ve got, like, backlogs of tape on the Chargers," Broncos head coach Sean Payton said Sunday night, in a discussion of Denver's bye-week plans. "They could very well be here in a couple weeks.ā€

Pour one out for Two-Way Travis:Ā On Tuesday, former Colorado gamebreaker and Jaguars rookie Travis Hunter had season-ending surgery to repair a ligament in his knee, which could bring a swift end to his NFL career as a two-way player. It’s a shame. Hunter had just started to get going and will finish his rookie year with 28 catches for 298 yards on offense and 15 tackles on defense in seven games. But there’s little chance that his camp and the Jaguars will view two-way stardom as the best thing for his long-term health.

Joe Shiesty about to replace Joe Cool:Ā The brief dream old-guy run in Cincinnati might be over for 40-year-old Joe Flacco, as franchise QB Joe Burrow has returned to practice after missing most of the season with turf toe. The Bengals opened Burrow’s 21-day window to return from injured reserve, meaning he could play again as soon as Sunday against the Steelers (much more likely in the following weeks, though). The Flacco trade didn’t exactly save the Bengals’ season, as they’ve gone 1-3 with Flacco starting. Still, he’s again resuscitated his career with a 102.6 quarterback rating in Cincy.

Trouble in Buffalo?: Dolphins head coach Mike McDaniel didn’t , but he certainly didn’t deny it, either. It was a terrible loss for the Bills, who look suddenly vulnerable at 6-3. Quarterback Josh Allen has been typically excellent, but Buffalo’s offense has scored 20 points or less across a 2-3 stretch in its last five games.

Around the NFC

Giants throw in the towel on Daboll: The 2-8 Giants canned fiery head coach Brian Daboll on Monday, a few short weeks after blowing a 26-8 fourth-quarter lead to the Broncos in a game that could’ve saved his job. Instead, they blew another fourth-quarter lead to Chicago this past Sunday, and Daboll’s gone. Now, with franchise rookie QB Jaxson Dart in concussion protocol, former Broncos not-so-standout Russell Wilson got benchedĀ ²¹²µ²¹¾±²ŌĢż— this time for QB3 Jameis Winston. There this year.

Good, better, best: Speaking of Chicago: How about Dem Bears? This year’s officially for real with Chicago sitting at 6-3 and rivalling Denver in sheer fourth-quarter magic. Sophomore QB Caleb Williams has taken a step forward in sack avoidance and decision-making, and is now tied with Bo Nix for the most fourth-quarter comebacks and game-winning drives (four) of any NFL QB this season. First-year head coach Ben Johnson’s electric postgame speeches — — are one of the best things going in the league.

McBride needs better marriage: CSU product Trey McBride might well be the best tight end in the NFL at 61 catches for 603 yards and six touchdowns through nine games. But he’s stuck in purgatory in Arizona, where the 3-6 Cardinals have a near-Broncos-era-Wilson-level contract problem with perpetually hurt Kyler Murray. Backup Jacoby Brissett has been serviceable, but not a ceiling-raiser. McBride’s four-year, $76 million extension in April was great value for Arizona, but might be holding the Greeley native back.

Game of the Week

Seattle at L.A. Rams

Easy pick here. The NFC West is an absolute dogfight, and this game Sunday could decide the division, as the 7-2 Seahawks travel to Los Angeles to take on the 7-2 Rams. Seattle has a legitimate MVP candidate in QB Sam Darnold; the Rams have 37-year-old Matthew Stafford playing better football than at any point in his 17-year career. Plus, veteran WR Cooper Kupp will make his first return to Los Angeles as a first-year member of the Seahawks. Really good TV in the afternoon window.

Seattle 27, L.A. Rams 24

Lock of the Week

Baltimore at Cleveland

Lamar Jackson has been back the last couple of weeks, and the Ravens have survived a nightmare start to ride a three-game winning streak into a matchup with the hapless Browns. Head coach Kevin Stefanski has stuck behind rookie quarterback Dillon Gabriel despite an overwhelming mountain of evidence he might be the worst starting QB in the NFL, and Colorado product Shedeur Sanders has still not seen the field. Baltimore could run the score up big-time here.

Baltimore 34, Cleveland 10

Upset of the Week

Houston at Tennessee

Why not? C.J. Stroud is out another week after suffering a concussion against the Broncos in Week 9, leaving the entirely mediocre Davis Mills to start another week as Houston heads to Tennessee. The Titans have been utterly miserable in a 1-8 start, but actually managed to hang with the Chargers last week. Rookie QB Cam Ward’s been playing better ball the last four weeks. This could send Houston into a spiral.

Tennessee 20, Houston 14

The fourth year of Cooper’s Broncos career ended in splendor last season. He set a career high with 10.5 sacks and signed a four-year extension worth $60 million, changing his and his family’s lives forever. Bruce Ward, Cooper’s old high school coach back at Gahanna-Lincoln High in Ohio and still a friend, gave him a call to offer his congratulations. Man, that’s a great season.

Cooper didn’t bite.Ā I gotta be better,Ā he told Ward.Ā I want the sack lead next year.

“Okay, Coop, I hear you,” Ward remembered telling him, “but it’s February, man.”

Nah, Coach, Cooper insisted.Ā I gotta be better.

“Like, just relax and enjoy the offseason, you had a great season,” Ward said months later, reflecting. “‘Cause, you’ve outlived the expectation.”

In late October, the Broncos outside linebacker sat in his locker in Denver, far beyond the expectation. Far to a mother, Jessica, who hadn’t finished high school. Far beyond the man who had two heart surgeries in high school, fell to the seventh round of the NFL draft five years ago, and had three more heart surgeries before he ever arrived in Denver. That past stays with him forever, Cooper reflected. It drives him.

It drove him so far that he had to leave that motivation behind and find a new one. He is no longer an underdog story. The 27-year-old Cooper is knocking on the door of the NFL’s best, with six sacks through eight games in 2025. He wants to be the best in the league.

A total of 238 players were drafted before Cooper in 2021. He now has more sacks through five years than all but one of them (Micah Parsons). Every camp, Broncos inside linebacker Justin Strnad said, brings a “new version of Coop.” This 2025 one is the best yet: The 257-pound Cooper has unlocked a potent speed-rush, with a faster average get-off time (0.74 seconds) than any of the NFL’s top 35 leaders in quarterback pressures, according to the NFL’s Next Gen Stats.

For years, his strength coach Jackson Hayes said, Cooper was focused on measurables. I gotta get bigger. I gotta get faster. I gotta get stronger. Eventually, there was little left to unlock in his 6-foot-4 frame.Ā But Cooper has ascended to the NFL’s elite because of his continued search for every minuscule mechanism of improvement — one that brought him this summer to a gym in Plain City, Ohio, and into the hands of a 24-year-old mental performance specialist.

ā€œI see my mom work,” Cooper told The Denver Post on Thursday. “My mom worked hard, like, really hard. Single mom. Really smart, independent woman who just worked her ass off. Like, truly, truly did. And she instilled that in me.

“So, Iā€™m not going to stop working,” he smiled. “Until I die.”

ā€¢ā¶Ä¢ā¶Ä¢

Every year, Ward tells Cooper’s story to his team at Gahanna-Lincoln. Specifically, one game in Cooper’s junior year, when he briefly lost his mouthguard.

An official told Cooper he had to sit until he had a mouthpiece. He looked around, snatched a dangling mouthpiece from the facemask of the first teammate he saw, and re-entered the game.

“Coop’s Coop,” Strnad said. “That’s the only way I could put it. Heā€™s a different guy, you know what I mean? He thinks differently. Acts differently.ā€

A couple of weeks before Cooper was set to rejoin the Broncos for camp, he was working with Hayes in July at his gym, the Relentless Collective, back in central Ohio. Across the way, a young trainer named Logan Scheider was working with a couple of high school baseball players, all sporting a wristband. The strap flashed white, and Scheider’s trainees opened their hands as quickly as possible. It flashed orange, and they kept their fingers tucked into a fist.

Eventually, Cooper wandered over, interested.

Scheider had just received a Master’s degree in sports and performance psychology at Pennsylvania Western University and moved up to Columbus, Ohio, to start his own business. For the most part, he began working with baseball players. Scheider’s . But Cooper struck up a conversation with him, and Scheider suggested that the concept of training reaction time could be important to his quickness off the snap.

That day, Cooper began telling Scheider about the purpose of his offseason. He just got paid. His expressed goal, Scheider recalled, was to prove he deserved that money.

“He thought he could help me out,” Cooper recalled. “And he really did.”

The outside linebacker slapped on one of the wristbands. they track the brainwaves of a user through light sensors, Scheider said. He had Cooper do an initial test.

His overall reaction time was roughly .25 seconds behind Scheider’s high school baseball players.

ā€œLogan was explaining, like, ā€˜Man, the success heā€™s had in the NFL — Iā€™m shocked that his reaction time is that slow,'” recalled Ward, who visited Cooper one day at Relentless Collective. “And that¶¶Ņõap all you need to say to Cooper. It¶¶Ņõap on, from then on out.ā€

For the next week or so, Cooper wore a wristband and took its cognitive test at several points throughout his workout. Hayes, meanwhile, built specific reaction-time challenges into every phase of training. Sprints came on cue of a hand-clap. Bench-presses came on cue of a go–call. They ran change-of-direction drills where Cooper stood in the middle of a collection of multicolored cones, Hayes called “red,” and Cooper had to dart to the red cone.

Eventually, they ran mock get-offs. And both his wristband cognitive-reaction time and his average get-off time dropped by about .15 seconds. By the end of his time in Ohio, before leaving for Denver, Cooper was trash-talking Scheider’s baseball group.

It was hilarious, Scheider chuckled. These were 15-year-old kids.

“I started beating them, and they was getting upset,” Cooper said. “ā€˜Cause, like, that¶¶Ņõap they whole thing. That¶¶Ņõap they whole thing. So, like, the fact that I was beating some baseball players at it made me feel like Iā€™m actually reacting fast, like Iā€™m supposed to.”

ā€¢ā¶Ä¢ā¶Ä¢

Every year, Nate O’Neal tells Cooper’s story to his defensive-line group in pre-draft training at XPE Sports in Florida. Specifically, how Cooper earned himself a $60 million deal because a seventh-round pick simply never stopped developing.

Back when Cooper was coming out of Ohio State, when all pass-rush expert O’Neal knew of him was his tape, he saw a good player. He saw a possible NFL starter. He did not see a 10-plus-sack-a-year guy, as O’Neal put it. Cooper rushed with wasted movement and played out of his natural position as a hand-in-the-dirt defensive end at Ohio State. He had just 10 sacks across five college seasons.

Four years later, though, O’Neal’s appraisal of Cooper had changed.

“Iā€™ve had dudes go in the first (round) that canā€™t even hope to have his amount of success,” said O’Neal, a trainer who works with over 100 NFL or pre-draft clients a year. “I just knew at the end of the day that Coop was going to be okay, because he was always going to want to get better. ā€¦ A lot of these cats canā€™t say that, man.

“But Jonathon Cooper can.”

In London in mid-October, with the Jets facing a do-or-die fourth down on their last drive of the game, Cooper toed the line a few yards off the ball. Jets quarterback Justin Fields went into his cadence, picking up and dropping his back foot. As soon as Fields’ cleats touched back down to the turf, Cooper °ł¾±±č±č±š»åĢżoff the line, his first step coming before the snap even hit Fields’ hands.

Rookie tight end Mason Taylor, trying to block, couldn’t even whip his head around fast enough before Cooper was already past him. Taylor grabbed at Cooper’s jersey like he was trying to catch a moving train, but Cooper took down Fields to seal a Broncos win.

Here's 21 stationary guys and Jonathon Cooper blowing off the ball on the game-sealing sack ā€” the ninth of the day against the Jets.

— Parker Gabriel (@ParkerJGabriel)

Cooper’s get-off time has shortened in every single season of his NFL career. That rep in London doesn’t happen in 2021, his rookie year. Maybe not even in 2024.

ā€œThat¶¶Ņõap what we was working on,” Cooper said when asked about that Jets sack. “That was like, all credit to that system, and what we were doing.”

Reaction-time work, as Scheider explained, is much more prevalent in baseball, where modern hitters must train their brains to effectively pick up triple-digit mile-per-hour fastballs. The concept is no different for pass-rushers in the NFL.

ā€œIt also aids decision-making,” Scheider said. “So, if Coop sees a tackle set a certain way, or set an angle the wrong way, Coopā€™s able to react.”

Last Sunday, on one rep in a 44-24 drubbing of Dallas, Cooper burst from the outside against Cowboys right tackle Terence Steele. As Cooper approached, Steele’s right foot dropped behind him, anticipating a speed-rush to the outside. Without breaking stride or slowing, Cooper gave aĀ “Ē²Ō±š-³Ł·É“ĒĢżstep and swam his arms past Steele back to the inside, getting on top of quarterback Dak Prescott and forcing an incompletion.

Back in July, Scheider goaded on Cooper during workouts with comparisons to two of the pre-eminent pass-rushers in the NFL, Ward recalled. This is Micah Parsons time, Scheider said. This is Myles Garrett speed.Ā 

Through eight weeks, Cooper now has a faster average get-off time than Parsons or Garrett.

“If Coop finds something that motivates him or pushes him,” Ward said, “heā€™s never going to stop.”

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By the end of his time at Gahanna-Lincoln, Cooper’s letterman jacket was stitched across the back with nods to his time on the football team. And the basketball team.

It also readĀ A capella.

“Like, no other kid in America is walking around with those three on the back of their jacket,” Ward chuckled.

Cooper was in the school choir since middle school, and was one of the group’s best bass singers, teacher Jeremy Lahman said. He prepared intensely for tryouts every year while also developing as a five-star football recruit. If anyone ever joked about it, Ward said, Cooper told them he was going to be great at singing.

“I love music,” Cooper said. “So, yeah, it just kinda had me. So I mean, I enjoyed that.

“And plus, the choir teacher was a hardass. So that’s what made it better.”

Cooper has long found kinship with those who push him as hard as he pushes himself. O’Neal is an aggressive coach and self-described “not very likable guy.” Cooper has become his favorite player he’s ever had in draft prep. In Denver, rookie Sai’vion Jones — two lockers down from Cooper ā€” has watched the veteran bicker constantly with his fellow outside linebackers for months.

“When you see him all turnt up,” Jones grinned, “you donā€™t have no choice but to be turnt up with him.ā€

Cooper told The Post he came into the year wanting a Pro Bowl, an All-Pro nod and 10-plus sacks. Maybe 15-plus. In training camp, Jones watched Cooper lose a rep, pull the offensive lineman aside to show him what he did, and then go pull rookie Que Robinson to stand in as a mock offensive lineman off to the side so he could drill it again. Cooper’s coaches and trainers acknowledge his physical gifts are limited: Not super long, not super tall, not super heavy, as Hayes said. And yet he is dominating.

ā€œIt¶¶Ņõap the only reason why Iā€™m here, because of my mindset,” Cooper said. “So I donā€™t feel like I should change. I donā€™t want to change when it comes to that. And … thereā€™s always something to get better at.

“The moment you start feeling it, like, ā€˜Oh, Iā€™m good, Iā€™m fine,ā€™ complacency starts to kick in,” Cooper continued. “It¶¶Ņõap just human nature. So, if you keep the mindset of, ā€˜I have to get better,ā€™ then you donā€™t even allow complacency to ever slip into your mind.ā€

Legendary Ohio State defensive-line coach Larry Johnson still tells Cooper, often: He has two hearts beating in him.

“Because he only knows one way to go,” Johnson said. “And that¶¶Ņõap full speed ahead.ā€

“That comeback against the Giants was incredible,” the former Broncos coach and QB said of watching Denver’s bonkers, beautiful 33-32 win over the G-Men on Alumni Weekend at Empower Field. “When you’ve got a young QB playing well in the NFL, it allows you to do a lot of things with your football team.”

Except, apparently, sway the national pundits.

The Broncos are the Rodney Dangerfields of the AFC West, a paper tiger caged below the fold. When the talking heads see the Broncos’ 6-2 start — the franchise’s first 6-2 mark through eight games since 2016, Kubiak’s final season at the helm ā€” they become royal pains in the asterisks.

Well, the Bengals had Jake Browning. Well, the Eagles got too cute. Well, the Giants haven’t learned how to win yet. Well, the Cowboys were a walking infirmary.

The Broncos might as well be 2-2-4: Two wins, two losses, and four caveats.

Kubes, though?

Kubes sees something else.

He sees belief, the most dangerous, dearest virus in an NFL locker room, the hope for which there is no cure. He sees a smile unfurling like a rainbow from one side of Dove Valley to the next.

“When you play 17 times, man, it’s so hard to be that consistent and keep that going,” Kubiak said of the Broncos, who visit another of his old clubs, the Houston Texans (3-4), on Sunday morning at NRG Stadium, just down the road from the family ranch.

“You look around the league, you see some teams that are bit by the injury bug so bad … the NFL is a war of attrition. You survive for 17 weeks. These middle weeks of an NFL season are so key — in Weeks 10-11-12-13, it’s just so key that you stack some wins up.”

Any way you can. The Broncos’ offense slept through a 13-11 snoozer over the Jets in Week 6. It woke up in time to save the day in a come-from-the-abyss victory over a red-hot Giants bunch in Week 7.

“We won games all kinds of ways (in 2015),” the 64-year-old Kubiak recalled. “That season, I remember going to Kansas City (and winning 31-24) after we beat Baltimore 19-13. That’s a thing for teams that are really built well — they have that ability to (win) in a lot of ways.”

The Super Bowl 50 Broncos, Kubes’ masterpiece, took the scenic route to 12-4. Bradley Roby’s game-winning fumble return in KC. Ronnie Hillman’s two TD runs against Green Bay. Von Miller’s two sacks in San Diego. DeMarcus Ware’s recovery of A.J. McCarron’s botched snap in Week 16.

“I would describe it this way,” Kubiak continued. “You watch these great coaches in the NFL, it’s about winning the game. It really is. There are so many ways on Sunday you could win. Teams that are built to win have the ability to win on offense or win defensively or go over (to London) and win a game 13-11.”

During a 4-0 streak that dates back to Sept. 29, the Broncos haven’t just been stacking up wins. They’ve been stacking faith, one brick at a time. What you call miracles, they call mortar.

“Teams get really close when they can go and win 13-10 and then go out and win 35-31,” Kubiak explained. “There’s a closeness on a team of, ‘Hey, it takes all of us.’ (If) we have a bad game on defense, then the offense puts it together.”

It’s left tackle Garett Bolles jumping into a media scrum a few days ago to give tailback J.K. Dobbins grief in Spanish. It’s offensive coordinator Joe Lombardi referring to 41-year-old tight end Marcedes Lewis as “the eighth wonder of the world.” It’s Sean Payton comparing rookie wideout Pat Bryant to a nipping puppy.

“It’s about finding a coach that says, ‘This is how we beat this team.’ It’s not saying as a coach, ‘This is what we do all the time,'” Kubiak said.

“You look at any good team and they have the ability to win in three ways … Whether it’s blocking a kick or returning a punt, when you have that ability, when you’re not just an offensive team or you’re not just a defensive team. When you’ve got some consistency in what you’re doing, that’s a great feeling when you walk out there on Sunday.”

We’re not saying the 2025 Broncos are singing from 2015’s hymnal. But you can hum the tunes from memory now, old psalms that get a little sweeter, a little louder, by the week.Ā And a road win without Pat Surtain II would be the surest hallelujah yet.

“They’re in great hands,” Kubiak said. “Sean is such a good football coach, a detailed football coach. Just watching them practice, I know half that staff — VJ (Vance Joseph), Joe and all of them. It’s fun to watch right now.”

“Who’s picking on you more right now?” I asked the Broncos cornerback after Denver’s 44-24 thrashing of the Dallas Cowboys on Sunday at Empower Field. “NFL quarterbacks? Or NFL referees?”

Moss just smiled.

An Iowa guy knows when he’s on the cusp of getting fined.

“It’s a great question,” Moss replied.

“And?” I countered.

Another smile.

“It’s a great question.”

“And?”

“It’s a great question. Leave it at that. It’s a great question.”

Moss has gotten some great slaps up the side of the head from the zebras lately. The pass-interference call at the end of the Giants game would send most defensive backs into therapy.

On the Cowboys’ first drive of the second half this past Sunday, the refs were at it again. Moss racked up two flags inside the Broncos’ 3-yard line thanks to a pair of pass-interference whistles while chasing All-Pro wideout CeeDee Lamb.

“It’s not even PTSD,” the Broncos cornerback told me. “It’s just, at this point, it’s like, ‘You’re kidding me.'”

Things came to a comical head with 11:47 left in the game and the Broncos up 37-17. Prescott misfired to wideout George Pickens with Moss in coverage at the Dallas 44. Out came the laundry. Moss looked borderline apoplectic.

“They were trying to throw at (Pickens), and I absolutely clamped him up, and then the flag is thrown,” he recalled. “And I’m like, ‘God, for what? Like, at this point, you’re kidding me, right?'”

Turns out, he didn’t do anything.

It was on Pickens. Illegal shift.

“It didn’t end up being on me,” Moss laughed. “But, holy cow, dude, like, (you’re) killing me.”

Softly.

A flag at a time.

Pickens, a 6-foot-3 high-riser, finished with 78 yards on nine targets. Lamb logged 74 on 10 targets. Neither scored.

“(Sunday is) a good confidence booster, for not only me but for (Kris Abrams-Draine) coming in there late, for Pat (Surtain II), for (Ja’Quan McMillian), for our back end,” said Moss, who logged a game-high four pass break-ups and six tackles.

“We’ve gone against probably three of the best receiving corps in the league in Philly and Cincinnati, and then now the Cowboys. And we’ve handled our business. And that’s exciting for us.”

Bengals: 106 passing yards. Zero passing TDs.

Eagles: 257 passing yards. Two passing TDs.

Cowboys: 231 net passing yards. One passing TD.

Yeah, yeah, Jaxson Dart, yada, yada.

See the pattern?

Sunday was probably Moss’ most impressive step yet, given the context. NFL Defensive Player of the Year Pat Surtain II, the Broncos’ CB1, made a stellar play to bat away a potential TD catch on Dallas’ first drive. Only he landed awkwardly on the turf during his descent.

PS2 returned to the fold, but not for long. The Broncos star suffered a shoulder injury that knocked him out of the second half entirely.

Trailing 27-10 at the half, with Prescott running the show and needing to throw to get out of the ditch, the Cowboys collected a whopping 147 passing yards in the second half. Without PS2 on the field.

“I didn’t even realize Pat went out until two or three plays in,” Moss recalled, “and we kind of changed up. We played a little bit more 2-man just to protect us over top and stuff. But (Abrams-Draine) came in and did a great job, great job. Didn’t miss a step.”

And the calls?

“You just got to keep playing,” Moss chuckled. “We won the game, bada-bing, bada-boom.”

If the Broncos looked jet-lagged during a short-turnaround, post-London matchup vs. the Giants, the bounce was back Sunday. It was there all week during Dallas prep, too.

“This was by far our best week of practice since I’ve been a Bronco,” Moss gushed. “Everyone was dialed in. Everyone was practicing with (intensity). And we came out here and we killed it. So the biggest thing is just attention to detail during the week and (again) on Sunday.”

Speaking of details, yes, Lamb left him in the dust at one point. And there was the end, when

That got the socials barking. Shannon Sharpe ripped Moss in an ‘X’ post, calling him “the lone cloud over the Broncos’ impressive (game today). He’s been awful. From start (to) finish.”

Not sure about that one, Unc.

OK, so who’s picking on Moss more right now: NFL QBs, NFL refs, or Shannon Sharpe?

Alex Singleton grinned at that one.

“You know what? What Riley does is special,” the Broncos linebacker said. “Anyone that plays across from Pat has to be an incredible player. And Riley’s playing out of his mind this year. It’s really special. And it’s fun to watch.”

Even when the hankies fly. Bada-bing. Bada-boom.

The Broncos cannot keep winning this way, by stinking for long stretches, then creating goosebumps that leave us running for the history books. It is not sustainable, like making every green light when late for work.

Denver is the player hitting .300 with 15 bloopers. Regression looms without a course correction.

Blame Sean Payton’s play-calling if you must. But here’s the thing: Bo Nix has to play better.

Time for the captain, who is a dude in the fourth quarter, to prove he’s The Man for a full game. It is something we have not seen since the rout of the Bengals. Want to be considered a top 10 quarterback? Outplay the Cowboys’ Dak Prescott, who is on a career heater.

This is not what ¶¶Ņõapountry wants to hear. For a fan base that grew restless and desperate for a reason to believe after 13 quarterbacks failed to replace Peyton Manning, Nix represents hope. He is the reason the Broncos are relevant, a notion enforced by his spectacular rookie season.

But this year has looked different, uneven.

Nix has given us all the feels with his nervy finishes, and this cannot be ignored.

The Broncos boast a four-game winning streak, but the last three defy logic.

Nobody is demonstrating consistency on offense. Not the coordinator (Dick Monfort will sell the Rockies before Payton gives up play calling). Not the running backs. Not the receivers. Not the marquee free-agent tight end (Evan Engram) the coaching staff maddeningly ignores in the first and third quarters (Engram has 12 targets in those spots in six games).

But Nix deserves blame, too. It comes with the expectations this season.

“We know we have an execution problem,” Nix acknowledged Wednesday.

The statistics over the last 12 quarters reveal splits more common for the Rockies at home and on the road. Of how Bo Nix has been forced to overcome No Nix.

In the fourth quarters against the Eagles and Giants, and first quarter against the Jets, Nix completed 35 of 46 passes for 389 yards and four touchdowns, including two rushing. In the other nine quarters, Nix is 35 of 73 (below 50 %) for 306 yards and zero scores.

Tom Brady becomes Brady Quinn. Greg Maddux becomes Mike Maddux.

There has been so much chatter about starting faster. The issue is the middle of games. Where’s the beef?

The Broncos have not scored in the third quarter since Week 3. They have not scored in the second quarter since Week 4.

Nix makes us forget these donuts with his late work. Nobody has to be a star — Courtland Sutton is the closest thing the Broncos have among the skill players ā€” when he goes video game mode.

Truth is, Nix cannot keep making up for the deficits on the scoreboard and deficiencies around him. Not against good teams. Sorry, Giants fans, your team is plucky, but little else. The Cowboys are average, but their offense is not.

Nix is not going to be able to cover for another barren stretch against a Dallas offense that averages 24.3 points per game on the road and features the triple-threat of Jake Ferguson, George Pickens and CeeDee Lamb.

What has to happen?

First, Nix needs to hit a few deep balls. He has been inaccurate on those throws. Payton, for all of the customer in-box complaints, schemes guys open. Nix has to nail a few or at least give his targets an opportunity to make a play or draw an interference call.

We know he can do it, as evidenced by his work against the Browns, Bengals and Bills last season.

Not connecting leads to an overreaction. Payton leans on passes behind the line of scrimmage — nobody does it at a higher rate ā€”Ā and screens. Those require elite execution, blocking, play-making. That rarely happens.

Is some of this on Nix with ball placement and timing? Yeah. Can it be fixed? Sure.

But there is a more viable solution. Get Nix into rhythm with the mid-range game and play-action passes. The completion that got him right against the Giants came with 1:25 left in the third: a 16-yard out to Sutton. Then the run game happened. And Nix was part of it. Until last Sunday, his designed rushing attempts were down from a year ago.

There is no good reason Nix should run for less than 40 yards per game. He is one of the best athletes on the field.

If teams want to use man coverage — the Cowboys experimented with more of it last week ā€” then Nix should take off. And Payton has to dial up runs for his quarterback, not waiting until the final minutes when everyone is frantic and desperate.

Franchise quarterbacks make everybody better. There are times Nix has made things worse.

In the first two games, he struggled. He wasn’t seeing the field, and he was reacting to pressure that wasn’t there. He found himself against the Bengals, but it has been a mixed bag since. Payton, for sure, creates issues by asking too much of Nix — he is in his second season, not his 10th ā€” and getting him to the line of scrimmage late, a process muddied by personnel changes.

But Nix has dealt with mechanical flaws and become too structured, forcing throws instead of taking easy first downs with his legs.

Because of the dumpster fire that preceded him, many want to give Nix an out when things don’t look right, myself included.

Things have changed. The Broncos want to play into February. So, when Nix leads an offense that went 16 straight possessions without a touchdown over the past two weeks, we cannot excuse it.

Nix is not having the same year, even if his projections (27 touchdowns, 10 interceptions) are close to 2024 (29 and 12).

He goes into a cocoon for long stretches. Then he goes Canton in the fourth quarter.

Last Sunday, he was outplayed by Jaxson Dart for 50 minutes. He wasn’t getting a lot of help. Again, we expect more from a franchise quarterback. We expect him to make everyone better, like he did in his latest comeback.

Nix is talented, smart and clutch. But if he wants to move into the league’s upper crust, taking this team with him, do it against Dak.