I want you to put the word out there...that the Denver Broncos are back up.
The Denver Broncos set out to address some of their biggest needs in 2025 NFL Free Agency and they checked them off of a list one after another. They signed big-name free agents like safety Talanoa Hufanga, linebacker Dre Greenlaw, and tight end Evan Engram to big-money contracts, but their pursuit of these players was more than just giving each guy the biggest deal.
In fact, there is a story circulating from new Broncos beat reporter Luca Evans of The Denver Post, who reported that the 49ers brain trust of GM John Lynch and head coach Kyle Shanahan actually went to Greenlaw's home in Texas as a last-ditch effort to keep Greenlaw with the 49ers.
To no avail.
The 49ers even offered Greenlaw more money than the Broncos, but they still couldn't entice him to return to San Francisco.
Broncos landed Dre Greenlaw despite desperate attempt by 49ers
According to the report from Evans, Greenlaw's adopted dad Brian Early may have also been instrumental in his decision to sign in Denver.
This is Dre Greenlaw at 15 yrs old, after adopted dad Brian Early + Early’s fam took him to a water park. Notice the shirt.
— Luca Evans (@bylucaevans) March 30, 2025
Early brought up this pic when they were talking through Greenlaw’s FA options.
“He’s like, ‘Man, I feel like it’s destiny’”:https://t.co/rjPXwLyrax pic.twitter.com/NjLQO6Jz7e
Greenlaw apparently felt like he could either go back to the San Francisco 49ers and be "Scottie Pippen" or go to the Broncos and be "Michael Jordan". He's obviously referring to playing second-fiddle in a way to Fred Warner with the 49ers while really having a chance to stand out with the Broncos.
And he's not wrong.
There are a number of reasons why Greenlaw is arguably the most critical signing the Broncos made in free agency this year and his coverage ability is one of them. The way Greenlaw flies around the field with athleticism, instincts, and aggressiveness has really been missing from the Denver defense, and it's hard to quantify just how massive of an upgrade he is over what the Broncos have had.
Not even a trip to his house from the 49ers' brain trust and an offer above what Denver was willing to pay were enough to get Greenlaw to choose the 49ers over the Broncos. If you need any stronger indicator that the Broncos are truly back, I don't know what will do it for you.
This wouldn't have happened a year ago. A year ago, the Broncos would have likely been used as leverage for players in NFL free agency, threatening whatever Denver was offering financially to get a better deal from the team a player really wanted to go to. The Broncos had to vastly overpay to get guys in 2023 when Sean Payton was initially hired as the team's head coach.
But culture has been effectively changed, and that's being noticed around the NFL. Having Talanoa Hufanga and DJ Jones (as well as Mike McGlinchey) perhaps helped Denver land a player like Greenlaw as well, but ultimately, it's the direction of the team that would get a player of this caliber to sign for less money than the team that drafted him was offering.
It's a great story for Denver Broncos fans and it's certainly something worth noting as the offseason progresses. The Denver Broncos are a destination team again and this story is proof.