7 breakout candidates for the Denver Broncos during 2021 season

4. Justin Strnad, linebacker

Somewhat similar to the way that Justin Simmons and Kareem Jackson really played all of the defensive snaps for the Denver Broncos in 2021 out of necessity, I also think Alexander Johnson and Josey Jewell played most of the linebacker snaps out of necessity as well.

I don’t think that would have necessarily been the case had Justin Strnad been able to stay healthy through training camp and into the regular season.

Strnad, a 2020 fifth-round pick out of Wake Forest, suffered a season-ending injury in his final year on campus and then suffered a season-ending injury his first year in Denver.

Rough.

He was back in 2021 for the entire offseason program and he looked really good throughout training camp and preseason play.

The Broncos gave Strnad the green dot in preseason play, meaning he was relaying the defensive calls in the huddle.

Would it be shocking to see Strnad in the Denver Broncos’ nickel package?

Absolutely not.

As a result, I think we could see a breakout season from the former Demon Deacon.

Strnad was known in college for his abilities in coverage as well as attacking the line of scrimmage. He did a good job in the preseason at working off of blocks and making plays in the run game as well as showing some nice things in coverage.