The Lead
As he enters his 11th NFL season, Kareem Jackson has become the Broncos' elder statesman.
No player has more experience on the roster, and with that in mind, he joined former NFL defensive back Darius Butler on his “Everything DB” YouTube show to share his perspective. That included some lessons that young players can take from him, like what he looks for when he watches film.
"I think learning how to basically break things down in terms of grouping things [is big]," Jackson said. "I like to group things. For me, that's the easiest [way]. So whether it's second down or a third down, just learning how they like to use different guys. Whether it's a speed guy or a guy that's crafty or a guy that's more of a possession guy, a guy that's not as fast. Basically recognizing who we're going against on a week-to-week basis and learning how they like to use them, and as far as their offense, what they like to do early on, on first and second down, as opposed to third down, [which] is your money down. Those are the big things that they should learn right off the rip."
Specifically for this season, though, Jackson put the emphasis on maintaining proper conditioning.
"Your conditioning has to be A-one," Jackson said. "That's one of the things I place a lot of emphasis on. Definitely as much conditioning as you can do. You can do that outside in front of your house on the street or whatever. It's not ideal, but at the same time, that's what we're going through right now, so you've got to get that conditioning done. Once you get in there, you don't want to tweak something because you haven't been running or conditioning-wise you're not able to keep up. You definitely want to go in there in shape and not trying to get in shape once you get there."
For more from the extensive conversation — including the story of how Nick Saban recruited him to Alabama and why Jackson says LeBron James is the greatest basketball player of all time — check out the full interview.
Below the Fold
According to ESPN Analytics writer Seth Walder, the Broncos have the toughest schedule in the NFL this year. With that in mind, his season projection says Denver has a 32-percent chance at making the playoffs. Hey, that'll make success all the sweeter, right?
NFL.com's NFL Throwback is counting down the top 10 receiving seasons of the 2010s, and former Bronco Demaryius Thomas' 2014 season (111 receptions for 1,619 yards and 11 receiving touchdowns) came in at No. 10.
What are the biggest challenges a rookie receiver will face as they adjust to the NFL? To find out, ESPN's Jeff Legwold asked former Broncos WR Brandon Stokley and former Broncos head coach Mike Shanahan and looked back on some words of advice from Hall of Fame cornerback Champ Bailey.
