The Denver Broncos could have the best roster in the NFL, depending on who you ask, as there really isn't a clear weakness with this group, especially after the 2026 NFL Draft. Despite not picking in the first or second rounds, the Broncos made a ton of progress on day three, especially, snagging players like Jonah Coleman, Dallen Bentley, Justin Joly, and Red Murdock.
It's not a stretch to think that the Broncos had one of the 'best value' drafts in the NFL, and that was truly the ideal situation given how limited capital the front office had. Thanks to the Jaylen Waddle trade, the Broncos parted with their first and third-round picks.
Well, with the dust settling on the NFL Draft, the Broncos have to feel good about this roster at the moment, but there is a massive roster issue staring General Manager George Paton right in the face, and it's right in the heart of the defense.
How will the Denver Broncos sort out the inside linebacker room now?
The Broncos did not address the inside linebacker position until the final pick of the NFL Draft, taking Murdock, a hyper-productive linebacker from Buffalo. Murdock was definitely a steal, as he was more of a mid day three player.
Not only that, but the Broncos managed to land one of the top undrafted free agents in Taurean York, a linebacker from Texas A&M who Lance Zierlein pegged as a Round 6-7 pick. York is still just 20 years old as well, a freshman All-American, and a two-time team captain.
Earlier in the offseason, though, it was revealed that Jonah Elliss would soon be seeing some snaps at inside linebacker. The third-year player is only set to play in his age-23 season and is actually younger than some of the players who were just drafted in 2026.
Elliss is an insanely athletic player who was able to carve out a decent role as a backup pass-rusher, but the amount of talent in that room really made it hard for the talented Elliss to see the field consistently.
With the Broncos also having re-signed Alex Singleton and Justin Strnad, it's clear that the position is now in a big of a logjam. With both Murdock and York being good enough to crack the roster, potentially, and all of Singleton, Strnad, and Elliss likely entrenched on the team, how does Paton sort this room out?
In each year of the Sean Payton era, the Broncos have kept four inside linebackers on the roster, and that seems to be the 'standard' number at the position. This is kind of where re-signing both Singleton and Strnad come into play as head-scratching moves.
This is especially true with Singleton, who just doesn't offer much at all outside of a ton of tackles when the ball-carrier is right next to him. He's got no coverage ability and below-average blitzing prowess, making his re-signing just flat-out odd.
Had the Broncos not done this, the team would have a lot more clarity at the position, and it's not likely that Denver wants to have to pick between Murdock or York, as both could become future starters on the team.
What is interesting is that both Singleton and Strnad have very tradeable contracts after June 1st. However, the Broncos didn't re-sign both players with the idea that one of them would be traded later that same year, right?
Ideally, though, one or both of Murdock or York does make this position tougher to figure out, and if Elliss catches on, the Broncos might be forced to seriously consider trading Singleton or Strnad. But as you can see, there isn't really a clear-cut solution in this room at the moment.
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