ENGLEWOOD, Colo. — While nearly every NFL player dreams of one day competing in a Super Bowl, very few ever have the opportunity to do so.
For even the best of the best in the league, a postseason run is never guaranteed — and particularly not multiple trips.
Just ask Broncos defensive end John Franklin-Myers. The seventh-year player made a Super Bowl appearance during his rookie season with the Rams, but he has not returned to the postseason since.
"I definitely took that for granted [and] didn't understand what I was really getting into," Franklin-Myers said Thursday. "Looking back on it, hindsight is 20-20. [I] definitely would appreciate it a little more. It definitely gives me a little more drive to sit here and say it's a hard thing to do, but my main goal is to get back there."
Right tackle Mike McGlinchey shares a similar sentiment. After making three NFC Championship appearances and one Super Bowl appearance with the 49ers, the seventh-year player knows what it's like to compete amongst the best of the best. However, he recognizes just how difficult it can be for teams to continue to compete at that level.
"It's incredibly rare," McGlinchey said. "… I've been coached by guys that have been in this league for 30 years and have been there [to the Super Bowl] once. It's not guaranteed. It's not something that just comes easily. It takes every ounce of effort, work and detail to be able to make a run like that and certainly a little bit of luck."
As Denver boasts a young and hungry roster that is ready to work hard in 2024, McGlinchey is confident that the team possesses many of the traits necessary to compete at the next level. And while gaining experience playing on the biggest stage certainly has its benefits, it is the eagerness and naivety of younger players that McGlinchey believes can be difference-makers for Denver this season.
"You have a lot of guys that are young and don't really know what success or failure feels like," McGlinchey said. "They just know how to do their job, and they do it fast and for real and as hard as they can. The bliss of not knowing where we could be, or the expectations put [on] our shoulders because of whatever the outside perception is, I think is an advantage to us. I think it just allows you to play free."
While Franklin-Myers may have the resume of a veteran player, his approach to the game is one that also allows him to play free and mirrors that of Denver's younger players.
"I think there's a different level of physicality [and] there's a different level of effort playing with guys who are young and hungry," Franklin-Myers said. "That's kind of understood … that when you first get into the league, we're all excited. We all just want to run and hit. You see that a lot here. Guys just want to run, they want to hit and they play with extreme effort and physicality. … If you ask anybody about my game, that's what they're going to tell you I play with. So, I fit right in with these guys, and [I'm] looking forward to the season."
While McGlinchey is confident that this mindset can bring the team success in 2024, he also noted that it will be important for the Broncos to "stay the course" when faced with the inevitable ups and downs of a season.
"It's not overreacting or underreacting to anything, no matter what the results are as they come and as they go," he said.
As Denver now prepares for the upcoming season, McGlinchey said it will be important for the veteran players to step up during these critical moments and continue to lead the team to success. And with that, make room for the younger players to show what they can do.
"I think there are a lot of guys in this building with a lot of talent who haven't necessarily gotten a shot to prove that to the rest of the world yet," McGlinchey said. "It's awesome to have them overlook us, because it's going to be a lot of fun when we prove them wrong."
