With the Senior Bowl wrapped up this past week, most of the “All-Star Road Trip” is finished. I’m traveling to the Super Bowl later this week and then will be home for a couple of weeks before heading to the NFL Scouting Combine at the end of February.

I like traveling to find the best talent in the country. It’s a fun process, but is still a ton of work. I was in Tampa a couple of weeks ago and didn’t even have time to walk on the beach. I was in Mobile this past week, but had food poisoning at the beginning of the week and was not able to go out for cold pops as much as in years past.

I also like contemplating life and sports when driving around with the top down on my old Jeep TJ – even in January! The following is a result of those trips during the week.

Buckle up, let’s take a ride through my thoughts.

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Progress for Chubb

Broncos general manager John Elway was in attendance for the Senior Bowl and he revealed that outside linebacker Bradley Chubb has made “really good” progress in his recovery from a torn ACL. In talking to the Denver Post, Elway expressed his confidence that Chubb would be firing on all cylinders by the time OTAs get here in May.

In fact, there is a chance that Chubb could be available for spring workouts in April. If that’s the case, the Broncos would likely ease Chubb into action and not rush him back too soon regardless of his progress.

Either way, Chubb is very likely to be 100 percent ready by the start of training camp in the summer. Chubb had 12.0 sacks as a rookie in 2018, but only made it through four games in 2019 before injuring his knee.

The Broncos defense, including Von Miller, will be much more dangerous with Chubb out on the field. We got a glimpse as to what Vic Fangio could do with the Denver defense – and it’s going to be even better with a fully healthy Chubb getting after quarterbacks early and often in 2020.

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Shula is a Good Get

The Broncos were not yet done making changes to their coaching staff this offseason. Last Friday, multiple reports came out about something most had been speculating on – Mike Shula was hired as the Broncos quarterback coach. Shula had worked as the offensive coordinator of the Giants under then head coach (and new Broncos OC) Pat Shurmur.

This is a great hire for the Broncos and it further emphasizes how this offseason is all about building around Drew Lock. Shula is a long-time offensive coach with a reputation for getting the best out of the quarterbacks that have worked under him like Cam Newton with the Panthers (Shula was his QB coach or OC for the first eight years of his career). Last year with the Giants, Shula’s guidance helped rookie quarterback Daniel Jones play a lot better than most expected.

Lock is going to have a great offensive staff around him with Shurmur and Shula. We should see a handcrafted offense built to Lock’s strengths as a passer. The Broncos are doing everything in their power to find upgrades on offense and they should see the results in the play of Lock in 2020. We’ve yet to see the tip of the iceberg with Lock’s game and it could be much better this season with the additions to the staff like Shula.

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Falling Into Place

The Broncos are sitting at the No. 15 overall pick in the 2020 NFL Draft and there could be better talent available at that spot than some think. At the end of a lost season, like in 2019, some in Broncos Country did not want the team to win so they would get a better draft pick. While some out there mistakenly think that’s the way I feel, nothing could be further from the truth.

I’ve always felt that if you like a guy, move up for a guy. The Broncos could have 12 draft picks in the 2020 NFL Draft and they should use that draft capital to maneuver through the draft for players they covet the most. Sitting at No. 15 overall, the Broncos are within striking distance of players some felt they would have no chance of drafting.

In fact, with as many as four quarterbacks potentially going in the top 10, that only pushes more high-quality talent back to the Broncos. This past week in Mobile, I watched two potential top-10 quarterbacks in Oregon’s Justin Herbert and Utah State’s Jordan Love. Add in LSU’s Joe Burrow and Alabama’s Tua Tagovailoa and you can see how four is the magic number in the top 10. Even if someone like Love goes No. 13 to the Indianapolis Colts, it’s still a quarterback – a position the Broncos thankfully don’t need anymore because of Drew Lock – and not another position of need (and there are many) for the Broncos.

If someone like Georgia offensive tackle Andrew Thomas falls within range of the Broncos, they need to move up and strike. The team cannot rest on their laurels and let a franchise tackle like Thomas get away if he falls within a few picks of them. The quarterback frenzy is going to push guys like Thomas or South Carolina defensive lineman Javon Kinlaw back towards Denver. They need to be fluid with their draft plan and be ready to strike, trade up and get one of the best players in the draft.

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RIP Kobe

The sports world was shocked on Sunday when it was announced that basketball superstar Kobe Bryant and his 13-year-old daughter, Gianna, were killed in a helicopter crash. As a lifelong basketball fan, I enjoyed watching Bryant play for the Lakers for nearly 20 years.

My favorite player of all-time is Michael Jordan, and I consider him the best basketball player in NBA history. Bryant had a ton of qualities that he learned from watching Jordan growing up, so seeing Bryant hit a trademark fadeaway jump-shot did have a Jordan flair. I’m not a Lakers fan, but I do love Shaquille O’Neal, and watching Bryant win titles with and without Shaq was a ton of fun.

I loved the way Bryant took natural talent and combined it with incredible effort and determination that few in the game have. It was a joy watching Bryant play basketball, and those close to him have also commented how he was a great father and friend.

Statement from Michael Jordan: pic.twitter.com/oI7w6e7HLI — Estee Portnoy (@esteep) January 26, 2020

Sunday was a sad day for basketball as we lost one of the greatest. RIP Black Mamba, you will be missed but your mark on this great game will never be forgotten.

Follow @CecilLammey