Broncos' painful roster weakness won't go away after mandatory minicamp

The Denver Broncos are now finished with OTAs and minicamp here in the 2026 NFL Offseason, and until training camp in late July, the team isn't going to gather on the field for practice. The players are still likely going to spend a lot of time at the facility and doing their own thing, but the next major milestone to hit this offseason is training camp.

All things considered, OTAs and minicamp seemed to go well. This coaching staff is now in year four together, so at this point, things are operating like a well-oiled machine. On paper, the Broncos boast a top-3 roster as well, so this team is simply in a better spot than most.

The front office also made quite the effort to fill in the most urgent needs this offseason. Even after OTAs and minicamp, though, it still feels like the team has a clear, obvious weakness at a position that has plagued them for over a year now.

Denver Broncos still clearly have a linebacker weakness following OTAs and minicamp

Was there much coming out about the linebackers recently? It feels like that position really didn't get much 'pump up' from the media, especially following practices. We did hear a lot about a ton of players, namely Que Robinson, Jaylen Waddle, Tyler Onyedim, Jonah Coleman, and others:

Despite offseason additions in Taurean York and Red Murdock, and re-signing Alex Singleton and Justin Strnad, there doesn't appear to be anything out there to indicate that the linebackers stood out this offseason.

Now, yes, the other side of this argument could be that the linebackers showed up, did what was asked, and can only make so much of an impact without full pads on. That is absolutely a fair argument, but if other players have stood out, why can't the linebackers do the same?

Now that there is a bit of time before training camp rolls around, about six-ish weeks, the Broncos front office could, in theory, seek who else is out there on the trade market for a potential addition, and even a late free agency move could be on the table.

Given that the Broncos essentially made four separate linebacker moves this offseason with the two re-signings and two rookie additions, a fifth might be a bit much. However, this team did appear to have plans to give Jonah Elliss some looks at the position earlier in the offseason, but Elliss will remain at the EDGE spot.

The Broncos could look to sign Bobby Okereke, for example, if they desire a high-floor, veteran free agent at the position. The big fish on the trade market might be Jordyn Brooks of the Miami Dolphins, who has not gotten a long-term deal from the team despite Miami doing just that with De'Von Achane and Aaron Brewer.

Denver already did business once with Miami for Jaylen Waddle, so I suppose there is always a chance that another trade could happen. The only downside with a potential Brooks' trade is that he has just one more year left on his deal, but might cost a third-round pick.

The Broncos already re-upped two linebackers on multi-year deals, so it would feel like a borderline over-investment at the position, unless, of course, they'd be able to send Strnad or Singleton back in the hypothetical deal.

There is a lot that could potentially happen with this position in the coming weeks, but there is also a solid chance that the team does nothing and rides with their own guys into the season.

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