The Denver Broncos had a wide variety of opportunities in the 2026 offseason to go out and upgrade the linebacker position. Instead, they decided to maintain the status quo.
The question is a simple one: Why?
During the 2025 offseason, the Broncos told everyone that their linebacker position wasn't good enough and needed a significant upgrade. So what did they do? They went out in free agency and signed Dre Greenlaw to hopefully be the missing piece of the defense.
And here we are today. Dre Greenlaw was cut in the offseason. Alex Singleton and Justin Strnad were somewhat shockingly re-signed. The Broncos' process at the linebacker position has been flawed, and while there are a number of situations and numbers that prove it through just three games in 2026, one in particular stands out.
Alex Singleton's missed tackles force Broncos to face a tough reality
Through the first three games of the season, Alex Singleton has been credited with six missed tackles, which is tied for the most in the NFL so far this season.
According to Pro Football Focus, the linebacker with the most solo tackles without a single missed tackle so far in 2026 is New Orleans Saints linebacker Kaden Elliss, a player many in Broncos Country campaigned for the team to sign.
The Broncos' failure to sign a player like Elliss starts with an apparent lack of true desire to make changes or upgrades to that position in the first place. It was clear before free agency even got underway that the Broncos' priority was to re-sign both Alex Singleton and, if possible, Justin Strnad.
While Strnad has been solid so far this season for the Broncos, many of the same issues that have long-plagued Alex Singleton have remained issues. He's missing a lot of tackles and he's getting circled by the other team as a player to be targeted in coverage.
And he's been the nearest player in coverage on many big plays the Broncos have given up so far this season.
But we're boiling this case down to strictly missed tackles.
Elliss has none, and Titans rookie linebacker Anthony Hill Jr. -- the NFL Defensive Rookie of the Month for September -- is also among the league leaders in total tackles (34) with just one missed tackle to his credit so far this season.
Even another free agent the Broncos passed on -- Raiders linebacker Nakobe Dean -- has the same number of missed tackles (6) as Singleton, but far more impact plays. He's got 3 QB hits, 3 tackles for loss, 1.5 sacks, and 3 forced fumbles already this season.
Dean is also 25 years old, and Singleton is already going to turn 33 in December.
The Broncos prioritized bringing back Singleton because of his knowledge of the defense, but at some point, playmaking needs to be their priority there.
Through three games, Singleton has 1 QB hit, 0 tackles for loss, 0 sacks, and 0 forced fumbles.
To put it simply and bluntly, Singleton has to play better.
The problem is, there's no "or else" to go with that statement, because the Broncos have so poorly constructed the roster at the linebacker position.
They waited all throughout the second round of the 2026 NFL Draft as Anthony Hill Jr. dropped down the board, and thought they could just sit back and let him fall right into their laps, but the Titans were wise to it and traded up two spots ahead of the Broncos to snag him. Considering the only linebacker the Broncos drafted -- Red Murdock -- didn't even make the 53-man roster, it wouldn't have been worth trading up a handful of picks to get Hill?
The team has absolutely no depth and no real options behind Singleton, and therefore, the only solution is for him to play better or reevaluate after the season.
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