The Denver Broncos are making a big coaching change on the offensive side of the ball, and new offensive coordinator Davis Webb was said to be “very involved” in meeting with college prospects, according to a report written by Luca Evans of the Denver Post.
The comments came from Oregon tight end Kenyon Sadiq, who set a speed record for his position at the NFL combine this week. Sadie said coach Sean Payton was “watching” as Webb was conducting the interval, which is actually common for the Broncos, according to Evans, as positional coaches often lead conversations or white board work with prospects.
What’s not common is the role Webb will play this year. Payton said Webb will be calling plays this year, which is a big shift, although Sadiq added that the conversation didn’t necessarily include a deep dive into the X’s and O’s.
“Just seeing how much ball I know, seeing what kind of person I am,” Sadiq said. “But no, it was a good conversation, a lot of laughter, a lot of stuff going on.”
Everyone’s trying to read the tea leaves in this situation, including the other college players who might be drafted by the Broncos in April. One of them was Texas A&M receiver KC Concepcion, who’s considered a consensus first-round pick, said Webb was trying to test his football knowledge, along with “how much I love football.”
Alabama receiver Germie Bernard, who could also be on Denver’s draft-day radar, echoed the new coordinator’s approach, adding that Webb asked him “a lot of questions.”
None of this is front-page news. These kinds of conversations and questions are common at the combine, but Webb’s version this year is under the microscope because of Payton’s recent play-calling change.
“We were just breaking down film,” Bernard said. “He was getting to know — picking my brain a little bit, seeing what I knew.”
Another intriguing aspect of this process, according to Evans, is that Payton’s teams have long drafted talent geared for his specific system. A tight end like Sadiq would be a great fit as the “joker” tight end Payton currently covets although Sediq will almost certainly be gone by the end of the first round when the Broncos’ representative steps to the podium.
It’s unclear at this point how much freedom Webb will have to make shifts or changes, but we may learn more about that during the draft and free agency.