Want to see the Denver Broncos live? That paper ticket isn’t getting you in. By Nicki Jhabvala Denver Post Feb. 22, 2018 The Broncos are going mobile-only. Printed PDF tickets will no longer be accepted for entry at the team’s stadium beginning with the 2018 preseason, as the team moves to a digital-only entry system like those already in use by the Atlanta Falcons and the Dallas Cowboys. Fans, whether they’re season-ticket holders or single-game buyers, can access their tickets by downloading the Denver Broncos 365 App or through their Ticketmaster Account Manager on their mobile device. And there’s a backup plan for those who do not have a smartphone or email: the Broncos have RFID (radio-frequency identification) cards available through the ticket office. Broncos senior vice president of sales and marketing Dennis Moore said the change is about ticket security and convenience. Digital ticketing reduces fraud and speeds entry, while leaving fans control of their accounts and the ability to transfer or sell tickets. For example, instead of forwarding PDF tickets via email, or printing them out and giving them to others in a group, fans can transfer them with a couple of clicks on their mobile device without running the risk of losing physical tickets. “With mobile, there are no more lost, stolen or forgotten tickets,” he said. “With mobile, you can log on to your account at any time, you can post them for sale, you can forward them and you can manage your account online.” Season-ticket holders will be alerted to the mobile-only change Thursday, when invoices are sent out by the team. Hiccups are expected with the transition, and the Broncos are gearing up accordingly, fully expecting that the change will cause some fans angst. But Moore said the team has been in communication with other organizations, as well as their own ticket holders who have adopted mobile-only entry, to prepare for potential snags in the transition. The Broncos will beef up staffing on game days to help fans and to address any technology issues that arise and, in the months prior, will be accessible to address any questions about the new system. “And we fully recognize it is a big change for our season-ticket holders and we are committed, really starting when we drop those invoices, that it is a one-to-one conversation with every single season- ticket holder that we can talk to from now until the end of the season,” he said. The transition is a league-wide initiative that began last year when the NFL extended its partnership with Ticketmaster. As part of the agreement, Ticketmaster is providing the league with its software, Presence, that uses proximity-based technology and a tap-and-go system for fans to eliminate the need for print-at-home tickets. The shift isn’t completely foreign to Broncos ticket holders, however, and it’s certainly not new within the sports and entertainment world. The upcoming Taylor Swift concert at the Broncos’ stadium will employ mobile-only entry, as dictated by the concert’s promoters. The College Football Playoff title game in January used mobile-entry, as well. And multiple NBA teams have already gone mobile-only. By 2019, all 32 NFL teams will employ barcode-less entry. “This really is a culmination of a process that we started back in 2015,” Moore said. “We have had no printed (non-PDF) season tickets since the 2015 season, so our fans are very accustomed to not having a printed ticket. As of last year, over one-third of our fans have already adopted mobile as their preferred choice for stadium entry.” Last year, the Broncos faced heat for an offseason audit that legally booted season-ticket holders who did not attend a single game. Doing so led to upgrades for approximately 2,000 accounts totaling nearly 5,000 seats and allowed the team to make some season tickets available to fans on the 75,000-person waiting list. “We will always want to put tickets in the hands of people that want to go to the games,” Broncos president/CEO Joe Ellis said in January. “That process last year, we had unveiled a lot of people that,quite frankly, were selling their seats for straight profit. That’s not what we want.” While the Broncos say they will continue to take steps to make sure season tickets are used by fans who go to games, significant changes to the season-ticket base are not expected following last year’s ticket review. But the new technology will provide the Broncos with more information about who is in their building and where, and the team says such data will only help them to improve fan experience. “I think the resounding sentiment from other organizations who have been through this is it’s a very intensive effort to make sure we are over-communicating to our season-ticket holders,” Moore said. “Once somebody tries it for the first time, it really is so simple. It’s very intuitive, and ultimately the convenience it provides our season-ticket holders far outweighs the change that is upon us.” The Broncos could find themselves in need of an inside linebacker. The combine previews a deep pool of them in the 2018 draft. By Nick Kosmider Denver Post Feb. 22, 2018 One of the Broncos’ most important, if less scrutinized, decisions over the next two months revolves around unrestricted free agent inside linebacker Todd Davis. And deciding whether to re-sign Davis, and how hard to pursue a new deal, could have a ripple effect across Denver’s draft blueprint. Davis, the team’s 2017 Ed Block Courage Award honoree who is a former undrafted player out of tiny Sacramento State, figures to command decent salary offers in the open market. Behind him, backup Corey Nelson, who missed most of last season with an elbow injury, is also an unrestricted free agent. The Broncos probable pursuit of a pricey free-agent quarterback next month could weigh heavily on roster decisions across the board. General manager John Elway insisted during his season-ending press conference in early January he would loathe to subtract from the strength of his team’s elite-level defense, even in the name of improving an offense that has sagged toward the bottom of the league since Peyton Manning‘s retirement following the 2015 season. Should Davis and Nelson depart, that means the Broncos would likely peer toward the draft to solidify a position that has been manned in recent years by players who were unheralded coming out of college (Brandon Marshall, Danny Trevathan, Nelson) or even undrafted (Davis). That path could lead the Broncos toward some intriguing prospects. Here are five of them to watch during next week’s NFL combine: Roquan Smith, Georgia: If you watched the Bulldogs in the College Football Playoff, you couldn’t have missed the 6-foot-1, 225-pound Smith flying around the field. He dominated Oklahoma in the second half of the Rose Bowl, lifting Georgia into the national title game while snuffing out the Sooners’ run- pass option. Smith is a stout run stopper with the quickness to cover in the passing game. He had the second-best grade in pass coverage in 2017 among all the inside linebackers in the draft class, according to Pro Football Focus. The No. 5 pick the Broncos own might be a stretch for selecting Smith — most mock drafts predict him landing somewhere after the 10th pick — but he could be a prime candidate should Denver shift back in the draft order. Rashaan Evans, Alabama: Evans was a staple of the Crimson Tide’s title-winning defense. He had 11½ tackles for loss — including 1½ of those stops in the championship game — and six sacks in 2017. The pedigree of success achieved by Alabama linebackers in recent years provides intrigue in Evans by itself. But at 6-3 and 234 pounds, Smith is even bigger — and perhaps just as quick — as the player he backed up for two seasons at Alabama, Rueben Foster (6-1, 228), a first-round pick in last year’s draft by the San Francisco 49ers. Smith is projected to fall anywhere from the middle of the first round to the early part of the second. Tremaine Edmunds, Virginia Tech: Though there is some debate about where Edmunds would play at the NFL level, there’s little doubt he could be an impact playmaker. ESPN draft analyst Mel Kiper Jr. pegged Edmunds — who played primarily inside at Virginia Tech but was also used as a pass rusher — as the first linebacker off the board, at No. 8 overall, in his latest mock draft. At 6-5 and roughly 250 pounds, Edmunds brings intriguing size to the position. His length and quick burst helped him compile 202 tackles and 10 sacks over his final two seasons with the Hokies. Leighton Vander Esch, Boise State: Esch, the Mountain West defensive player of the year in 2017, put his diverse set of skills at the linebacker position on display during his redshirt junior season. The 6-4, 240- pounder had 129 tackles, three sacks, three forced fumbles, three interceptions and four passes defensed. In short, Esch proved he could contribute across the field, and his success in coverage was particularly notable. The MVP of the Mountain West championship game (16 tackles and an interception against Fresno State) has a chance to slide into the back end of the first round. Darius Leonard, South Carolina State: The Broncos had a good look at Leonard during the Senior Bowl in Mobile, Ala., last month.