The Denver Broncos may field the best defense in football in 2025. Let's predict the unit's starting lineup. The Broncos added to their defense this offseason with major additions in Dre Greenlaw, Talanoa Hufanga, and Jahdae Barron.
Denver stole both Greenlaw and Hufanga from the San Francisco 49ers, which is also where Mike McGlinchey used to play. Anyway, this unit led the NFL with 63 sacks in 2024 and also really shored up their run defense as well.
There may not be a single weakness with this unit as 2025 gets underway. Let's predict the starting defense for 2025.
Predicting the Denver Broncos starting defense
Defensive Line - Zach Allen, DJ Jones, John Franklin-Myers
The Broncos are likely going to field the same exact starting defensive line from the 2024 NFL Season with the trio above. With Vance Joseph also back for another season, the amount of chemistry this entire unit has is flat-out incredible. Zach Allen actually led the entire NFL with 40 QB hits in 2025.
Outside Linebackers - Jonathon Cooper, Nik Bonitto
The Broncos have an incredible pass rush duo in Jonathon Cooper and Nik Bonitto, who both notched double-digit sacks in the 2024 NFL Season. With both players enjoying career years and getting better each year of their NFL careers, it's on the table for another jump from both players in 2025.
Inside Linebackers - Dre Greenlaw, Alex Singleton
This is probably the unit to keep an eye on in 2025. Dre Greenlaw does have an injury history but is one of the best in the NFL when he's on the field. Alex Singleton is returning from a torn ACL, so both players do have some type of injury concern hovering over them for 2025. If both are on the field and playing most weeks, their availability will do wonders for their defense. But the flip side here is one or both players struggling to stay on the field in yet another season where the ILB play is inconsistent.
Secondary - Patrick Surtain II, Brandon Jones, Talanoa Hufanga, Riley Moss
If the Denver Broncos come out in their base 3-4 package, expect to see this starting secondary, but as we know, NFL teams are constantly changing personnel on both sides of the ball, and with Jahdae Barron being in the picture, he is going to absolutely see the field, so you could probably view him as a de-facto starter in the secondary.
But the only major change here is PJ Locke III being replaced by Talanoa Hufanga, which could be the single-biggest upgrade the Broncos made this offseason.