INDIANAPOLIS, Ind. \u2014 The man in the head chair sat back and watched, for the most part, when the Broncos\u2019 brass first met with Kenyon Sadiq.<\/p>\n
That wasn\u2019t unusual for Sean Payton. Specific Denver positional coaches often lead conversations or whiteboard work with prospects in formal meetings at the NFL Combine. Payton was simply \u201cwatching,\u201d Sadiq told The Denver Post, and introduced himself to the Oregon tight end after the short interview.<\/p>\n
The man who\u00a0was\u00a0\u201cvery involved,\u201d though, as Sadiq put it? New Broncos playcaller Davis Webb.<\/p>\n
\u201cJust seeing how much ball I know, seeing what kind of person I am,\u201d Sadiq said. \u201cBut no, it was a good conversation, a lot of laughter, a lot of stuff going on.\u201d<\/p>\n
![\"Kenyon](\"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/02\/GettyImages-2255470884.jpg\")
Kenyon Sadiq #18 of the Oregon Ducks is tackled by Isaiah Jones #46 of the Indiana Hoosiers during the first quarter in the 2025 College Football Playoff Semifinal at the Chick-fil-A Peach Bowl at Mercedes-Benz Stadium on Jan. 9, 2026, in Atlanta, Georgia. (Photo by Kevin C. Cox\/Getty Images)<\/p>\n
In keeping with Sadiq\u2019s interview, multiple top offensive prospects in this 2026 draft class have told The Denver Post this week that Webb has been a focal point of conversation with them in combine meetings. Texas A&M receiver KC Concepcion, an All-American in 2025 and consensus first-round pick, said Webb was trying to test his football knowledge and \u201chow much I love football.\u201d Alabama wideout Germie Bernard, who could be a name to keep an eye on for Denver, said Webb asked him \u201ca lot of questions.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cWe were just breaking down film,\u201d Bernard said. \u201cHe was getting to know \u2014 picking my brain a little bit, seeing what I knew.\u201d<\/p>\n
As Payton officially ripped off the Band-Aid and minted Webb as Denver\u2019s play-caller<\/a>, the defining narrative of the Broncos\u2019 lead-up to 2026 becomes how much influence Webb actually has on Payton\u2019s overall offensive design. Payton\u2019s organizations have long drafted or signed talent to fit his specific system, from tight ends like Adam Trautman to receivers like Lil\u2019Jordan Humphrey. Webb\u2019s clear level of involvement in combine meetings, though, could well indicate that he\u2019ll have a greater hand in personnel packages in Denver.<\/p>\n \u201cI\u2019ll still, I\u2019m going to have opinions with plays \u2014 mine\u2019ll be the bad ones, his will be all the good ones,\u201d Payton cracked on Tuesday. \u201cBut I want to support him in that.\u201d<\/p>\n After an initial run of defensive prospects, Denver has now held formal meetings with some of the top skill players in the draft as it looks to level up, specifically at running back and tight end. Sadiq, in particular, has widely impressed at the combine, and told reporters he already knows how quarterback Bo Nix thinks from overlapping with him at Oregon in 2023.<\/p>\n Here\u2019s a collection of Broncos-related intel from the combine on Friday.<\/p>\n New Broncos formal meetings with combine prospects<\/p>\n Each NFL team is allowed a maximum of 45 total formal meetings at the NFL Combine. Note: these are conversations solely intended to gather more information on different prospects, and usually have little correlation to which players teams actually draft.<\/p>\n RB Jadarian Price, Notre Dame<\/p>\n RB Jonah Coleman, Washington<\/p>\n RB\u00a0Emmett Johnson, Nebraska<\/p>\n WR KC Concepcion, Texas A&M<\/p>\n WR Germie Bernard, Alabama<\/p>\n TE Kenyon Sadiq, Oregon<\/p>\n TE Max Klare, Ohio State<\/p>\n Five takeaways from Friday<\/p>\n 1. Could the Broncos take a run at Breece Hall?\u00a0The New York Jets seem unlikely to let the RB walk, with constant buzz swirling that New York wants to extend Hall and could elect to franchise-tag him. General manager Darren Mougey, formerly the Broncos\u2019 assistant GM, said at the combine that New York would \u201cfind a way to keep Breece here\u201d if they couldn\u2019t get a deal done, which would heavily indicate that the Jets would tag him<\/a>.<\/p>\n If Hall manages to hit free agency, though \u2014 watch out for Denver. The former Iowa State RB has a pre-existing relationship with Broncos running backs coach Lou Ayeni from Hall\u2019s recruiting process in high school, when Ayeni was Iowa State\u2019s RBs coach. And a source with direct knowledge of the situation told The Denver Post this week that Hall has plenty of interest in joining the Broncos. It\u2019d be a splash move for Denver, as Hall has totaled over 1,350 yards from scrimmage in each of his last three years in New York.<\/p>\n 2. A receiver that\u2019s a perfect fit in all but timing.\u00a0In the ninth grade, Louisville WR Chris Bell was cut from his football team. In an effort to simply be back in a football atmosphere, he joined his school\u2019s band \u2014 and learned to play the baritone horn, he told The Denver Post Friday.<\/p>\n \u201cI knew the band is always at the game in high school, and always playing,\u201d Bell said. \u201cI didn\u2019t have the funds when I was younger to pay for the game. And so, that was my way of getting in the game. It was free.\u201d<\/p>\n Sounds like a guy Denver and Payton would love. The receiver who totaled 72 catches for 917 yards in 11 games in 2025. Also in Bell\u2019s favor? size (6-foot-2, 220 pounds), run-after-catch ability and blocking ability. He checks all the boxes, except one. Bell tore his ACL late in the 2025 season, and if the Broncos swung on a receiver in the first or second round, they\u2019d need an instant-impact player. Bell, for his part, said he hopes to be cleared by training camp in 2026.<\/p>\n \u201cLike I told every team, don\u2019t let this injury fool you,\u201d Bell said. \u201cI\u2019m still that dog.\u201d<\/p>\n 3. Washington RB could step in right away. Coleman, who\u2019s been the lead back for Washington for the past two years under head coach Jedd Fisch, told The Post on Friday that the Broncos said their pass-protection schemes were \u201cpretty much the same thing\u201d as what Coleman did with the Huskies. That\u2019s a huge point in Coleman\u2019s favor, as Denver needs a power back who has between-the-tackles juice and pass-protection ability to pair with RJ Harvey in their backfield.<\/p>\n \u201cTaught me the way they formatted the blitzes,\u201d Coleman said, recounting his meeting with the Broncos. \u201cAnd then \u2014 \u2018OK, Jonah, if we got this look right here, who are you blocking? If you got this look, we make this call, now who are you blocking?\u2019 So just being able to recite that to them was great.\u201d<\/p>\n A Broncos source said Coleman did a \u201cgood job\u201d in the meeting, and this would make a lot of sense for Denver. Coleman stands 5-foot-9 and weighs 220 pounds. Han for 15 touchdowns last year, and caught 31 passes for 354 yards out of the backfield.<\/p>\n 4. John Franklin-Myers could have a major suitor.\u00a0Just a day after Tennessee made a splash by trading young defensive tackle T\u2019Vondre Sweat to the Jets for defensive end Jermaine Johnson, Johnson hopped on Twitter and quote-tweeted the \u201ceyes\u201d emoji on a post of Franklin-Myers\u2019 stats in Denver<\/a>.<\/p>\n The tie here is all too obvious. Johnson played with the Broncos\u2019 defensive lineman in New York. Titans defensive line coach Aaron Whitecotton, too, coached Franklin-Myers with the Jets. If Tennessee can afford to pay Franklin-Myers \u2014 in a weak defensive-tackle market, his camp will look to command over $20 million per year \u2014 look for him to land with the Titans.<\/p>\n 5. Broncos could retool their entire RB room, save Harvey.\u00a0Denver has elected not to offer a tender to running back Jaleel McLaughlin, a source confirmed to The Post on Friday. It\u2019ll mean McLaughlin will hit unrestricted free agency, even as the Broncos could easily still look to re-sign him. Veteran J.K. Dobbins has said he wants to return to Denver, too, but his status is more uncertain. The interesting name here is reserve Tyler Badie, who showed up on tape as the only back on the roster that quarterback Bo Nix trusted in pass protection in 2025. Nix loves Badie, a source told The Post, which could influence Denver\u2019s calculus there.<\/p>\n![\"Louisville](\"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/02\/AP26058616256064.jpg\")
Louisville wide receiver Chris Bell speaks during a news conference at the NFL Combine in Indianapolis on Friday, Feb. 27, 2026. (AP Photo\/Julio Cortez)<\/p>\n