At least the Denver Broncos are no longer in purgatory, but in the ever-elusive quest to build the "perfect" roster, one position has eluded the team for years: Linebacker.
The Broncos have tried bringing in solutions at the linebacker position every possible way. They spent a Day 2 pick on Drew Sanders in 2023. They brought in Dre Greenlaw as a big-money free agent in 2025. They've added veterans, scoured the waiver wire, and everything in between. Still, the linebacker position remains a question mark once again going into the 2026 season.
The Broncos were expected to once again be active in bringing in free agents and looking to the early rounds of the 2026 NFL Draft to address the position, but instead, they stuck with their own guys. They brought back both Alex Singleton and Justin Strnad in the 2026 offseason, giving Singleton a two-year contract and Strnad a three-year deal.
The decision to re-sign Strnad, who has never actually been a full-time starter for the Broncos before, could be the under-the-radar move that takes the position to the next level in 2026.
Denver Broncos' decision to re-sign Justin Strnad could fix their linebacker issues
Sure, the Broncos used a draft pick (the final pick of the entire draft) on Buffalo's Red Murdock. Sure, they have the biggest UDFA guarantee in franchise history to Taurean York, a captain at Texas A&M. But the expectation this year is going to be that Justiin Strnad does what he's never done before, and becomes a full-time starter for the team.
Up to this point, Strnad has only been an injury replacement or spot starter for the Broncos.
Over the last two seasons, he's played 33 regular season games, and has started 16 of them (8 each season). Strnad played 100 fewer snaps in 2025 than he did in 2024, and has never even hit 60 percent of the defensive snaps played in Denver.
While the Broncos seem to have a really good idea of what they've got in Strnad, everyone is going to be seeing him playing a full-time role for the first time in his NFL career. It's actually a bit of a shocker Sean Payton hasn't been asked about this. Because Strnad is one of the longest-tenured Broncos players (drafted by the team in 2020), it's probably just assumed that we all kind of know what to expect from him at this point in his career.
But Strnad has gone from being an intriguing backup option who flashes when given the opportunity to being an integral starter of one of the best defenses in the NFL. Based on how many snaps Alex Singleton has played in the past, the Broncos might be asking Strnad to play nearly double the number of snaps he played this past season.
The good news? When Strnad plays, he's one of the team's most productive off-ball linebackers in a variety of categories. The top trait Strnad brings to the table is his ability to rush the quarterback from his position. He has 7.5 sacks over the last two seasons and has been sent on 79 total blitzes. Vance Joseph really trusts him with that responsibility.
Strnad also does a great job in coverage, which doesn't come as a big surprise at all. He was initially drafted by Vic Fangio with hopes that he could come in and contribute in the team's nickel package immediately as a rookie. Only an injury got in the way of that.
Strnad's special teams prowess is his greatest strength, but he will likely be phased out of that role as he takes on a bigger responsibility at linebacker, and perhaps becomes one of the top free agent steals of 2026.
The Broncos signed him to a 3-year, $18 million deal, and at just $6 million AAV, the price is already a bargain for what Strnad has contributed. But this move has flown under the radar for one primary reason: Strnad has never had the kind of opportunity within the defense that he's looking at in 2026.
Very quietly, Strnad had the 17th-best overall grade among off-ball linebackers in 2026 (per PFF). He can fill up the stat sheet as a pass rusher, making plays behind the line of scrimmage, or in coverage. If he can play at the level he's shown himself capable of as a full-time starter, he could fix this major roster issue once and for all.
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