Broncos Send Message After Rookie Draft Pick Gets Notice From NFL
Posted November 19, 2025
The Denver Broncos have seen their young playmakers take leading roles in critical moments this season, and one of them, Pat Bryant, garnered attention from the NFL after his performance against the Kansas City Chiefs in Week 11.
The No. 74 overall pick of the 2025 draft, Bryant arrived amid lofty comparisons.
And while it has taken time, Bryant has seen a tremendous uptick in production over the last four weeks for the Broncos, who boast the best record in the NFL at 92 entering their bye.
Pat Bryant Sparks Message From Broncos After NFL Notice
“WR @PatBryant is up for @NFL Rookie of the Week!” the Broncos posted on X on November 18, urging fans to “congratulate” the youngster by reporting and to “vote” for him.
DenverBroncos.com’s Aric DiLalla called it the “most productive performance of his young career, noting Bryant “led all Broncos receivers in receptions in Sunday’s 22-19 win over the Chiefs, with grabs, turning them into 82 yards.
Bryant had a critical 48-yard grab to set up a score, and four of his catches went for first downs.
Bryant is facing stiff competition from his fellow rookie playmakers who were also nominated for their Week 11 showings.
The other nominees are linebackers Carson Schwesinger (Cleveland Browns) and Cody Simon (Arizona Cardinals), running backs Bhayshul Tuten (Jacksonville Jaguars) and TreVeyon Henderson (New England Patriots).
Carolina Panthers wideout Tetairoa McMillan is the final contender Bryant must beat out.
Bryant has 15 receptions for 231 yards and 1 touchdown this season. However, he has a 10-185-1 line on 15 targets over the last four games.
DiLalla noted that Broncos rookie running back RJ Harvey, the No. 60 overall pick of the class, won the award for his 3-TD effort in Week 8 against the Dallas Cowboys. However, Eddie Royal (2008) is the last Broncos receiver to win it.
For Bryant, this is the payoff of what Broncos head coach Sean Payton has said all along.
Sean Payton Was Always High on Pat Bryant
Payton compared Bryant to former New Orleans Saints star Michael Thomas, which the Broncos rookie appreciated while making it clear he wanted to carve out his own lane.
However, Payton’s affinity for Bryant went beyond surface-level comparisons.
“There’s little things that we’re coaching up. But you like what you see. I like what I see. And so, he’s tough. And look, there’s things that … you’re immediately on these guys, and that’s good to great. That’s coaching. But interview him, be around him. It’s so important to him,” Payton told reporters following mandatory minicamp in June.
“I would say that’s probably the case with so many of these young guys. It’s not an accident. There’s a profile we’re looking for. And it’s not easy, always. Sometimes that requires more trips and visits. But we’re looking for a certain profile.”
Payton name-dropped Bryant when praising Harvey ahead of the Broncos’ Week 11 showdown against the Chiefs, saying they were “watching Pat Bryant grow right in front of our eyes.”
Bryant can follow up his strong outing in Week 13 against the Washington Commanders.
Lions Deliver Promising Injury News on Versatile Linebacker
After several weeks of setbacks on defense, the Detroit Lions are finally getting a big addition.
The team announced on Tuesday that linebacker Malcolm Rodriguez was coming off the Physically Unable to Perform (PUP) list, paving the way for his return to the field for the first time in nearly a year. Rodriguez has been an important reserve and special teams player and appears ready to return for the home stretch of the season.
Lions Bring Back Malcolm Rodriguez
The 26-year-old linebacker has been out since suffering a torn ACL last Thanksgiving, which led to a long recovery. Rodriguez saw time on defense last season, making 43 tackles with two sacks and a pass defensed in 10 games prior to his injury.
The Lions have suffered several key injuries this season, especially in their secondary, but Rodriguez’s return could bring an important element back to the defense. Lions defensive coordinator Kelvin Sheppard has been high on Rodriguez, praising his preparation and focus and saying last year that he believes Rodriguez is good enough to start.
“I’m always reminded, even last year (2023), before you guys all said it — Malcolm Rodgiuez is a starter in my mind,” Sheppard said last season as the team’s linebackers coach, via MLive.com. “And I have never wavered from that since his rookie year, when he took over and hit the scene running and took every veteran spot in the room until right now. He’s a starting-caliber linebacker, and now he’s ascending to a place where a lot of people are viewing him a on the topper end of linebackers of the league when you really watch him play.”
Rodriguez has also earned praise from special teams coordinator Dave Fipp for his contributions on return and coverage units.
“He’s a great player, or has been a very good player on teams, I’ll say that for sure. Anytime you get a good player back, that obviously helps the whole group,” Fipp said, via SI.com. “So, it’ll be good. The better player that’s out there, the less load everyone else has to carry. So, it helps pass the load or share the load around.”
Lions Facing Unfamiliar Spot
After winning the NFC North in back-to-back seasons leading up to this year, the Lions have stumbled this season and fell out of the playoff bracket entirely with last week’s loss to the Philadelphia Eagles.
They have an opportunity to rebound on Sunday against a struggling New York Giants team, though head coach Dan Campbell said they need to turn things around on offense. Campbell took over play-calling duties from John Morton earlier this month, but said his own calls contributed to the loss against the Eagles.
Campbell added that the Lions have yet to play their best football this season.
“I’m still to that point where I feel like we still have not quite played our best game, our best games. And I’m talking about in all three phases,” Campbell said, via MLive.com. “That’s the one thing, win, lose, where you just want to feel like, alright man, all three units contributed and we really complemented each other. Chicago was pretty dang good, Washington was good last week, but there were some things we wished we could have done a little bit better. It wasn’t like that in all three units, and that was good, believe me. But I just really feel like we haven’t played our best ball yet, collectively across all three units.”
