4 Broncos players who could lose their jobs to rookies in 2024

EDGE Baron Browning/Nik Bonitto/Jonathon Cooper (Jonah Elliss)

The Denver Broncos went into the 2024 offseason obviously feeling pretty confident in their group off the edge. The Broncos have a young rotation that really got the chance to shine for the first time during the 2023 season.

Jonathon Cooper led the team with 8.5 sacks last season, and Nik Bonitto wasn't far behind him at 8.0. Baron Browning started the year recovering from a meniscus injury but rebounded by racking up nine QB hits in 10 games along with 4.5 sacks.

There's talent there, but the Broncos seem to understand there's also a bit of a "wild card" element to this group. There's not yet an individual player who looks like a true top-flight edge player in the NFL, although all of these players have proven themselves capable of playing really well in stretches and as a group.

Jonah Elliss was dominant last year at Utah with 12.0 sacks and 16.0 tackles for loss. He caused a ton of grief for opposing quarterbacks and gives the Broncos another potential instant-impact player off the edge. It doesn't feel overly likely that we're going to see him come out as a rookie and be an immediate starter, but the Broncos did have a second-round grade on him.

If the team is that high on him, it wouldn't be surprising to see him get a lot of opportunities to run with the 1st-team defense throughout training camp and see what he can do with reps against guys like Garett Bolles and Mike McGlinchey. If he can get to the QB regularly, the Broncos won't be able to afford keeping a player like this on the sideline and it will cost somebody else a share of their snaps.