Acquiring a penguin must provide cameos for a joker.

Let me explain. The Broncos landed receiver Jaylen Waddle in a trade this week. He makes their offense better on first down, third down, against zone coverage and over the middle because defenses know he can bust them over the top.

When Waddle does score, he celebrates with a “Penguin Waddle” dance. Waddle’s ability to create space will force opponents to shade coverage in his direction. That means more openings for teammates, most notably Courtland Sutton.

But it also needs to unlock Evan Engram’s potential.

Last season he was the most disappointing Joker since Jared Leto.

Billed as a player capable of creating mismatches on linebackers and safeties, Engram filled a truncated role, catching 50 passes for 461 yards and one touchdown. Because the Broncos lacked confidence in Engram’s blocking, Adam Trautman took the majority of snaps. Engram played 42% of the time, a stunning decline from his 76% average over the previous eight seasons.

With Davis Webb given a chance to put his stamp on this offense with Waddle’s arrival, Engram should benefit. Webb helped recruit him to Denver. It does not require a leap of faith to believe Webb has a vision for his former teammate even if Denver drafts Ohio State’s Max Klare in the second round.

When Engram was on the field, it became a tell that the Broncos were passing. That might be the case this season, but teams will have way more difficulty choosing how to guard Engram with Waddle and Sutton on the outside.

Let’s be fair. Engram’s salad days from Jacksonville are over. But he needs to eat. Give him 50% of the snaps, and it should translate to 60 catches for 650 yards and four touchdowns.

His improvement will help determine if the Broncos offense is good or dynamic.

Thin Ice: The NHL’s ridiculous playoff format, which will again pit top teams against each other in the first two rounds, might goose ratings, but it hurts coaches. The Avs should face the Stars in the Western Conference Finals. If Colorado gets bounced in the second round, it is hard to see Jared Bednar surviving. He is the best coach in franchise history, but like Michael Malone a year ago, will become a victim of expectations. It’s not unfair given the Avs’ talent. But it remains stupid that the NHL’s playoff bracket plays a role in this.

Lake Show: Reading this next sentence aloud is nauseating. It is no longer a given that the Nuggets will beat the Lakers in the playoffs.They have owned them of late. That has changed this month, explained through the MVP race. Luca Doncic now boasts the second-best odds — Shai Gilgeous-Alexander is the runaway favorite — ahead of Victor Wembanyama and Nikola Jokic. Jokic should have four MVPs, but he has no case this year because of Denver’s recent slide and his career-high 3.9 turnovers per game. With LeBron James buying into a supporting actor role, the Lakers are a legitimate threat because Doncic is more focused on scoring buckets than whining to officials.

U-S-Hey Now: Giants pitcher Logan Webb took issue with the narrative that Team USA did not share the same passion for winning the World Baseball Classic as champion Venezuela, Dominican Republic, Japan and Italy. “That’s complete (BS). I think we probably cared the most of any team, to be honest with you. We do things in different ways than some of the other teams, but we care a lot.” The way to show it? Convince the best starting pitchers to sign up. And get a manager with prior big-league experience.

On the Road Again: It’s OK to note the difficulty of the Nuggets’ travel schedule and the number of back-to-back games, especially this month. The problem is that it feeds into a victim mentality of a first-time head coach dealing with a battery of injuries. If it makes you feel better as a way to explain the season, fine. Just know that it will sound like an excuse if Jokic never wins another championship in Denver.

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