One of the biggest needs for the Denver Broncos in the 2025 offseason is at the inside linebacker position. The Broncos lost starter and captain Alex Singleton to a knee injury early last season and the two guys who started the majority of the year -- Cody Barton and Justin Strnad -- are pending unrestricted free agents.
Interestingly enough, a potential solution at the linebacker position going forward may already be on the roster, but the Broncos' vision for the player has already changed a couple of times. Former third-round pick Drew Sanders, who played late this past season after an Achilles injury in April, is apparently being moved back to inside linebacker permanently after the team experimented with moving him to the EDGE.
According to Mike Klis of 9News in Denver, Sanders is in the mix at off-ball linebacker again...
Broncos giving Drew Sanders another shot at the linebacker position in 2025
"The good news is that Singleton returns, and it appears the Broncos have settled on Sanders, their talented third-round pick in the 2023 draft, moving back inside after flirting with him at outside linebacker for a year. As Singleton is coming off a serious knee injury and Sanders is unproven, the Broncos need to find a legitimate, three-down inside linebacker this spring. It’s a strong free-agent class led by Bolton and Baun."
- Mike Klis, 9News
As Klis points out, the need for the Broncos to add at this position is not changing regardless of Sanders's status. He's a total wild card at the position. With that in mind, he's a wild card who could end up being a big-time playmaker for this team.
The reason? Vance Joseph is coming back.
Why does that matter? Well, under Joseph, the Broncos blitzed more than just about any other team last year. Brian Flores of the Vikings never saw a blitz he didn't like, but he and Joseph are apparently cut from a similar cloth in that regard. Because we know that Joseph loves to blitz his linebackers -- Cody Barton and Justin Strnad were sent on a combined 107 blitzes -- Sanders could really thrive in this defense.
He's athletic, he's got great range, and he's what the Broncos have called a "pressure player" in the past. It's one of the reasons why they believed he could be an asset off the edge, and even in limited reps this past year (18 defensive snaps), Sanders had a sack on Justin Herbert.
The marriage of Vance Joseph's defensive scheme (heavy blitzing from the off-ball linebackers) and Sanders's skill set (effective pressure player from the off-ball linebacker position) could end up being a massive deal for the Broncos without anyone really even knowing about it.
The Broncos don't need to bet the farm on Sanders becoming the every-down player they need at linebacker but they should give him every opportunity to win a job this offseason.