The Denver Broncos have had one of the quieter offseasons in all of football, but are still set to enter the 2026 season as contenders for the franchise's fourth Super Bowl title. General manager George Paton made a big splash, possibly the biggest in the league this spring, by adding wide receiver Jaylen Waddle from the Miami Marlins in the middle of March. Aside from the great addition, the Broncos have also had to deal with notable departures from their roster.
It became clear as day as the regular season was winding down, and he was still not on a new contract, but John Franklin-Myers departed for the Tennessee Titans in free agency, leaving the Broncos with a significant hole on their defensive line to try to fill. Franklin-Myers had been a key contributor over the past two years, totaling 14.5 sacks in his time as a Bronco.
Paton used his first draft pick this year on rookie defensive lineman Tyler Onyedim. This backfield disruptor totaled 8.5 tackles for loss and 2.5 sacks in his senior season at Texas A&M. He figures to be the long-term answer at the spot for the Broncos, but not everyone seems to agree that he can help the 2026 team right away. In particular, one piece of analysis from a major name at ESPN paints a much more grim outlook on the Broncos' plans.
ESPN claims that the Denver Broncos made a mistake in how they replaced John Franklin-Myers on the 2026 roster
In evaluating the best and worst moves of each AFC team so far this spring, ESPN's Bill Barnwell examined how the Broncos tried to replace the contributions of pass rusher Franklin-Myers, who now plays for the Tennessee Titans. Exactly what he said about the Broncos was a little harsh, and certainly wasn't complimentary of Onyedim potentially being a contributor this year:
Worst: Failing to address the departure of John Franklin-Myers.
"It wasn't a surprise that Franklin-Myers left for former coach Robert Saleh's Titans this offseason, especially after Tennessee cleared out a space in the lineup by trading T'Vondre Sweat. But the Broncos haven't done much to replace the veteran, as their only addition so far was third-round pick Tyler Onyedim.
There's nothing wrong with asking Onyedim, second-year lineman Sai'vion Jones and 28-year-old Eyioma Uwazurike to take on some of Franklin-Myers' workload, but this is a team with championship aspirations given the Jaylen Waddle trade. General manager George Paton probably was trying to protect the compensatory picks the Broncos earned for losing Franklin-Myers and P.J. Locke in free agency, but with that formula now locked, it's a surprise that Denver wasn't more aggressive in pursuing a veteran such as Calais Campbell, who signed with the Ravens, to help become part of the defensive line rotation."
- Bill Barnwell, ESPN
Barnwell made it clear that he doesn't see the upside in the Broncos' current pass rush depth on the defensive line, and it is clear he might not see the same value in Onyedim that the Broncos' brass does. Jones and Uwazurike both have chances to contribute this year, but also showed up in limited action last year. The Broncos' depth on the defensive line isn't quite the issue that Barnwell is making it out to be, especially if you believe in the skills of Onyedim.
The Broncos are going to need to find a handful of sacks elsewhere on their roster this year, but to say that their plan to replace John Franklin-Myers was bad feels like an overreaction, or at least a reach. The Broncos have made a living with defensive line rotations in the past few years, and the coaching staff deserves the benefit of the doubt in their talent evaluations.
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