3 most important players on the Denver Broncos who are not starters
Denver Broncos important non-starter no. 1: Baron Browning, EDGE
I don’t think it would be fair or correct to say that Baron Browning is picking up the mantle left by Von Miller.
That can be for Bradley Chubb and Randy Gregory.
One thing is for sure — the Denver Broncos need help off the edge, and they need it quickly.
The majority of the last three seasons, the edge position in Denver has been plagued by injuries.
In 2019, it was a torn ACL for Bradley Chubb.
In 2020, it was the ankle injury for Von Miller.
In 2021, it was an ankle injury for Chubb.
The 2022 offseason has brought plenty of additional question marks to the edge position with big-money free agent Randy Gregory healing from a shoulder procedure and Bradley Chubb obviously coming back from all he dealt with last year.
Then there’s Baron Browning, a super-athletic playmaker at the linebacker position at Ohio State who came into the NFL with no real positional ambiguity, but certainly some flexibility to play off the edge or off the ball.
He did both well at Ohio State, and he did both well at the Senior Bowl last year as well.
Now, Browning is making the transition to edge on a full-time basis. Is there anything inherently wrong with that?
No, other than the fact that fans are a little upset that Browning might not be playing an every-down role whereas if he stayed at off-ball linebacker, he could be.
I still think we should reserve judgment until we see what kind of role the Broncos have planned for Browning because with his speed and explosiveness, I view him as a very important piece off the edge.
He’s arguably the most athletic player on the team and now he’s going to be playing one of the most important positions as well.
It should be exciting to see how quickly Browning can make an impact and how much the Broncos are able to keep him on the field.