When the Denver Broncos take the field for OTAs at the beginning of June, most of the attention will rightfully be paid to one of the most solidified rosters in the entire NFL. The Broncos are returning more snaps in 2026 -- 94 percent -- than any other team in the league.
But don't sleep on this year's undrafted free agent class.
This is not only one of the most interesting UDFA classes for the Denver Broncos, but the most expensive in franchise history. Every year, the prices for undrafted players seem to go up, but the Broncos didn't just set a new record for total guarantees with one of their priority UDFAs this offseason. They did it three times over.
Before the 2026 class, the Broncos' biggest UDFA guarantee of all-time was Johnny Walker, who raised the bar in the 2025 class. This year's group had three players who surpassed Walker's total guaranteed money ($234,000), including another weapon for the defense who might immediately draw attention at OTAs.
Denver Broncos UDFA Dasan McCullough could be a diamond in the rough for the defense
When it comes to undrafted free agents -- always follow the money.
Dasan McCullough was given the third-highest contract guarantee ($265,000) by any Broncos UDFA this offseason, behind only linebacker Taurean York and offensive tackle Tyler Miller.
McCullough's journey to the NFL was a fascinating one, to say the least. He was a four-star prospect who decided to stay in his home state of Indiana to play college ball, flipping from his initial commitment to Ohio State to play for the Hoosiers.
After just one season at Indiana, McCullough transferred to Oklahoma where he played in 2023 and 2024, before another transfer to Nebraska in 2025. After earning honorable mention All-Big Ten recognition as a freshman back in 2022 at Indiana, McCullough's production in the coming years didn't match his talent level.
But the flashes were there.
A slender 6-foot-5, 240 pounds, McCullough played all over the defensive formation at the college level. At Indiana and Nebraska, you see him playing a lot more on the line of scrimmage, where at Oklahoma, you see him playing more off the ball and as a big slot type of defender. At every stop, one thing was consistent: McCullough played all over the place.
At Oklahoma, he played the Brent Venables "cheetah" role, which is effectively a big safety/big nickel role that we've seen a number of notable players play through the years. Perhaps the most famous example to play it for Venables was Isaiah Simmons when Venables was at Clemson.
Playing that role, you see McCullough lined up as an off-ball linebacker, in the slot, and coming off the edge. And he has the right combination of size and athletic traits to play that type of hybrid role, but McCullough's home seems to be as a linebacker/edge type as opposed to a linebacker/safety type.
Dasan McCullough is a LB prospect in the 2026 draft class. He scored a 9.45 RAS out of a possible 10.00. This ranked 192 out of 3460 LB from 1987 to 2026.https://t.co/OGitskBGUn pic.twitter.com/xyeA7DqU47
— RAS.football (@MathBomb) April 6, 2026
A player like this is going to immediately stand out -- even without the pads on -- for a variety of reasons. When you see a 6-foot-5 linebacker, he's going to draw attention. When you see someone who is that big and has explosiveness in the top 10 percentile of his position group, he's going to draw attention.
But what stands out the most when you watch McCullough play the game is his length. His arms are nearly 34 inches long, giving him an elite wingspan and he uses it to his advantage. When this guy shoots a gap to bust up a screen pass, or when he gets a path to make a play in the backfield, nobody can escape his grasp.
For my money, the best landing spot for McCullough in the NFL is going to be as a hybrid off-ball linebacker and pass rusher. The Broncos call these guys "pressure players" under Sean Payton, though every defensive coordinator seems to have a different name for them nowadays.
At Oklahoma, it was the "cheetah" role. At Nebraska, it was the "jack" role. McCullough is wearing Dre Greenlaw's old No. 57 and will be a player to monitor all throughout the offseason program, no matter what the Broncos call his position.
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