It's hard to find a notable flaw with the Denver Broncos on paper, but even the best rosters in the league are far from perfect. Denver's might be the second-best in the NFL, perhaps only trailing the Los Angeles Rams' group. It would not shock many if Denver and Los Angeles met in the Super Bowl this coming season.
The Broncos, though, have had a tougher time finding stability at a few positions, and for more than a year now, units like running back, tight end, and inside linebacker have all needed some notable help, and it wasn't until this offseason that the wide receiver room finally got figured out.
While there still might be time to get this unit fixed for good, the Broncos have kind of boxed themselves in at a key position that hasn't had a ton of success in recent years. Some odd roster moves have left them with virtually nowhere to go.
The Denver Broncos have had an odd offseason with the inside linebackers
The Broncos have not had the best offseason with the inside linebacker position. Earlier this offseason, it was unofficially announced by head coach Sean Payton that third-year linebacker Jonah Elliss would be seeing some snaps at inside linebacker.
However, with OTAs now underway, Payton went back on his word and said that Elliss would remain on the outside as an EDGE rusher. Moving Elliss to inside linebacker would have made a lot of sense, as he's got an ideal body type for the position, is very athletic with sideline-to-sideline ability, and has two older brothers who are both playing inside linebacker in the NFL right now.
But even before that, the Broncos re-signed two of their own players at the position in Alex Singleton and Justin Strnad. While bringing Strnad back was a solid move, re-signing Singleton was one that still feels a bit confusing to this day.
Denver cut Dre Greenlaw after one season and clearly didn't even want to bank on his being able to stay healthy in 2026. But this isn't the only factor that was at play here, as the free agent inside linebacker class was incredibly deep, and it felt like the Broncos had a sensational chance to totally remake this room for the better.
Some of the top free agents at the position included Devin Lloyd, Quay Walker, Nakobe Dean, Tremaine Edmunds, Kaden Elliss (Jonah's brother), Leo Chenal, and Demario Davis, who played for Payton before. Given how much talent was at the position, it felt like a slam-dunk guarantee that the Broncos were going to improve this unit.
Well, on paper, the room got worse this offseason. Greenlaw was the team's most talented player at the position, but he got cut, leaving the team with, yet again, an underwhelming starting duo with Strnad and Singleton.
And with Elliss now remaining at EDGE, the linebacker room feels shaky once again. The Broncos did use a seventh-round pick on Red Murdock in the 2026 NFL Draft, and also landed a key undrafted free agent in Taurean York.
While fans have every right to be excited about those new additions, they were low-cost additions for a reason, so the expectations should probably be a lot lower. At the moment, you struggle to see how the team upgraded at the position this offseason.
The linebacker group was the worst position on the team, and it's remained that way for 2026. There are some ways to potentially fix this, though. Free agents like Bobby Okereke, Bobby Wagner, and Matt Milano are still on the open market. All three are reliable veterans and would raise the floor of the room.
Another potential solution would be to again fire up trade talks with the Miami Dolphins - the team did business with them to land Jaylen Waddle in a trade, and they happen to have an All-Pro linebacker in Jordyn Brooks on the roster.
Brooks is in the final year of his deal and would surely fetch a solid return on the trade market. At the moment, though, there doesn't appear to be any substantive movement on a potential trade involving Brooks.
So, right now, the most realistic way this team could improve the position would be to sign an aging free agent. It's been a rough offseason at the position, and it could not have come at a worse time.
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