One of the toughest position groups to crack on the Denver Broncos roster in 2025 is undoubtedly going to be on the defensive line, where the team has four solidified studs and an incoming third-round draft pick on top of the depth chart.
The Broncos got an All-Pro year out of Zach Allen last year, and trade acquisition John Franklin-Myers was one of the most valuable additions to the team overall. DJ Jones was good enough last year that the Broncos decided to re-sign him to a three-year contract worth $39 million in one of their biggest and most expensive offseason moves in 2025. Malcolm Roach also played a crucial role as a reserve last year, and Broncos GM George Paton has said that he was quietly one of the team's most important free agent signings.
Add into the mix the development of Jordan Jackson, who played a decent amount last year, as well as the addition of third-round pick Sai'vion Jones, and things are not looking good for former Wisconsin star Matt Henningsen, a sixth-round pick back in the 2022 NFL Draft.
Former Broncos draft pick and Wisconsin star Matt Henningsen on the ropes in 2025
The Broncos took Henningsen in the sixth round of the 2022 NFL Draft class, and he wound up impressing the team early on in his career. He played in all 17 games and notched 21 tackles and a sack as a rookie, and looked like he might have carved out a bigger role for himself in the 2023 season as a second-year player.
Unfortunately, Henningsen basically just copied and pasted his rookie year numbers from snaps to tackles and games played. When the Broncos made the impact additions they did in 2024, the writing was sort of on the wall for Henningsen.
He spent most of the 2024 season on Denver's practice squad but is back on the 90-man roster in 2025 for one last shot to prove he can stick around on the roster as a depth piece. And right now, it's going to be brutal to earn snaps on the defensive line in Denver.
Eyioma Uwazurike, another 2022 classmate of Henningsen's, is also on the ropes this offseason in terms of his future roster chances. The Broncos don't have many defensive linemen under contract beyond this season right now, so someone stepping up and looking like a future option for the team would be welcomed.
Henningsen is a former walk-on success story at Wisconsin who has worked incredibly hard to get to Denver, but he's on the ropes this offseason. He might even be especially vulnerable being a contract year player at the end of his rookie contract.
The Broncos open up OTAs in the middle of the week, and Henningsen will get his first real shot this offseason to impress.