Schlereth: Broncos rookie class gives hope for the future, present

Nov 21, 2018, 9:51 AM

Royce Freeman (28) of the Denver Broncos celebrates scoring a touchdown with Phillip Lindsay (30) during the third quarter against the Oakland Raiders. The Denver Broncos hosted the Oakland Raiders at Broncos Stadium at Mile High in Denver, Colorado on Sunday, September 16, 2018. (Photo by Joe Amon/The Denver Post via Getty Images)

(Photo by Joe Amon/The Denver Post via Getty Images)

In the Thanksgiving spirit, Mark Schlereth said on Wednesday that he is thankful for this current Denver Broncos rookie class.

The “Schlereth and Evans” co-host said that the likes of Phillip Lindsay, Bradley Chubb, Josey Jewell, Royce Freeman, and Courtland Sutton not only give him “hope” for the future of the team but also for this season.

“There’s hope for the future. This rookie class gives you hope for the direction this direction this Broncos team is going in,” Schlereth said. “And not only for the future seasons to come but the future of this season because of the way they’ve performed.”

Schlereth pointed specifically to undrafted running back Phillip Lindsay, who has turned into a three-down rusher for the Broncos over the past 11 weeks.

“That gives you hope,” Schlereth said of Lindsay’s production. “That creates a hope that this team can put something together against the Steelers and go on a run. And isn’t that really what you want.

“You want to tune in on Sunday and have hope that this team can do something special like they did last Sunday against the Chargers.”

After the win against Los Angeles on Sunday, wherein Lindsay accounted for two touchdowns, head coach Vance Joseph said the running back is “growing up before our eyes.”

“He’s an NFL first-, second-, third-down back. It’s amazing, with his size, what he can do on all three downs — catching the ball, protecting, running through, running in the A-, B- and C-gap,” Joseph said. “He’s a good little football player, and, obviously, it’s no fluke. I mean, we’re in Week 11, and he’s still doing it.”

Follow digital content producer Johnny Hart on Twitter: @JohnnyHart7.