A player to know at Broncos training camp: P.J. Locke

P.J. Locke got noticed during offseason work.

During an OTA when Kareem Jackson did not take part, Locke stepped onto the first team. He worked with steadiness and composure. He played with intelligence, which should be no surprise, given that he had an Ivy League offer from Yale coming out of high school.

With Locke on the field, there was no drop-off. The veteran of two previous Broncos seasons was everything you would expect from a “next man up.”

“P.J. is the epitome of that comment,” safety Justin Simmons said during OTAs. “… Obviously, there’s no replacing a Kareem or replacing other players, but was easy-flow communication with him. You can see his instincts kind of just take over when he’s out there playing.

And then, at the end of practice, he made a play that got everyone’s attention. With the offense in the red zone, Russell Wilson bought time for his receivers to break off their routes. Courtland Sutton flashed open in the back of the end zone. Wilson fired. It looked like a sure touchdown.

Locke wouldn’t allow it. He leapt and swatted away the pass in the back of the end zone. It was the exclamation point that ended the practice but also served as a reminder that if asked, Locke is ready for a bigger role on defense.

“We were joking about how I looked at the quarterback and I’m like, ‘Alright, I’m wide open,’ and then all of a sudden, I see a flash of white come across my eyes and it’s P.J. making a play,'” Sutton said.

This will be Locke’s third training camp in Denver, and his fourth in the NFL overall. After breaking into the league in Steelers camp in 2019, the Beaumont, Texas native is ready to blossom, and his teammates see it.

“He’s always been a special player and I’m glad,” Simmons said. “A lot of people here (in the Broncos organization) know — he’s going to be a special player for a while.”

Added Sutton: “You love to be able to see guys like P.J. going out there and being able to make plays and making a name for himself — continuing to make a name for himself. You just love to see it.”

That praise meant a great deal to Locke. But there’s more to the story.

***

The natural cycle of life and the NFL dictates constant churn. Today’s newcomers are tomorrow’s starters and leaders. And then they pass on what they’ve learned.

Locke sits at the intersection of it all. In the safety room, he’s not the youngest, but veteran starters Jackson and Simmons have a combined 18 years of prior experience. Locke learns from them.

But on special teams, Locke is a linchpin. Nobody played more snaps for the Broncos last year in that phase than him. Locke played 320 snaps — 78.8 percent of all special-teams repetitions.

During OTAs, Locke said one of his goals was to be “that guy” on special teams.

What does that entail? In short, it’s leadership — something new coordinator Dwayne Stukes wants to see from players on the unit.

“Me, I feel like I’m a show-by-example type of leader,” Locke said. “I’m vocal when need be, but I’m going to lead by example. Whether that’s by going hard in my drills, whether that’s just being on top of my game and helping others, helping the rookies. Now, I’m considered pretty much a vet going into my fourth year playing [in the NFL]. So, just picking up everybody’s play.”

Locke’s father helped instill that mindset.

“Dad always told me, ‘When you get to the top, don’t pull a ladder up. Help people up the ladder,'” Locke recalled.

But as he leads, he continues to learn. Such is the dual role that many players have when they have significant special-teams responsibilities.

It’s not just that Locke asks questions — it’s what he asks. He’s one of those players who thinks on a high level.

“Just in the three years that we have been around him — the questions he asks [and] the attention to detail,” Simmons said. “We’re coming and we’re asking (a) coach a question and he’s like, ‘What made you think of that question?’

“It’s questions like that and it’s the reason why when he steps onto the field, I felt like there was not a step lost.”

This makes Locke a perfect fit for a secondary whose meetings can be like doctorate-level discussion groups for football, and where the Kahoot! quizzes can be intensely competitive.

“You might mess it up on the field, and J, Caden [Sterns], K-Jack, whatever, we’ll all be like, ‘Have you seen this? Play it like this. Be aware of this.’ Stuff like that,” Locke said.

“Iron sharpens iron everywhere.”

And with younger safeties and his special-teams teammates, Locke takes that advice and pays it forward.

“I think it’s pretty cool,” Locke said with a warm smile. “I learned so much from Justin and K-Jack, it’s like, man, they pretty much showed me the ropes — and they continue to show me the ropes.

“Why would I try to withhold information when they were showing me all of the information? I don’t have a bone in my body that reacts like that.”

***

Locke’s pinned Tweet tells a story.

My old man told me It’s only a DREAM until you put it on paper! Put your mind to it and go get it!

PS: this not a destination for me🙏🏽 pic.twitter.com/xpD7b4cl2p

— James "PJ" Locke III (@PjLocke4) April 29, 2019

It’s a contract on the wall of his bedroom at his family’s home in Beaumont. He wrote it at the age of 14, not long before he entered Central High School, where he eventually became a standout.

But what you don’t see is what surrounded the contract.

“Anything somebody said about me, I put it on a sheet of paper and I pinned it on the wall,” he said. “So, literally, I have the contract in the middle that I made in 2011, and around the contract, it’s different things that people said negatively about me.”

Instead of stewing on derogatory sentiments, Locke turned them into fuel.

“With how I grew up, I was always pretty much an underdog, in a way,” Locke said. “I was a three-star (recruit) coming out of high school. I had people telling me I shouldn’t go to Oregon, I shouldn’t go to Texas because it’s a bunch of five-stars. And then I ended up starting my freshman year.

“So, even through high school, people were saying that I was slow, and I had to prove it to people. I had to run track and blow everybody out of the water.”

Step by step, he progressed through the levels. And unlike some early-round prospects who, let’s face it, can get opportunities even without making the progress one hopes to see, Locke clawed his way up the NFL ladder.

After the Steelers cut him in 2019, Locke kept working and got his first practice-squad chance with the Broncos that December. He played in his first regular-season game the following season, and spent the final 15 weeks of that campaign on the 53-man roster.

He lived up to his contract.

“I accomplished that goal, so now I’ve made another one,” he said.

What’s on that?

It’s “confidential,” Locke said.

“But it’s going in the right direction.”

Given how far Locke has come, one wouldn’t bet against him as he works toward a larger role.

“Me, I’m looking at just improving on last year. I found a role on the team last year. I was in all special-teams phases,” he said. “This year, man, it’s just trying not to be afraid of being that guy on special teams, whatever the case my be. And obviously finding a role within the actual defensive scheme — whether that’s the dime or the nickel, I don’t care.

“Whatever it is man, find a role somewhere. Because I feel like I have all the tools to be a great safety. As long as I’ve got the game down mentally, everything will fall in place.”