Heading into the 2025 season, many of us, myself included, overlooked safety Devon Key and did not think he belonged on the Denver Broncos 53-man roster. A lot of this stemmed from Key’s performance in 2024 in spot duty vs. the Baltimore Ravens. Lamar Jackson and company had their way with the Broncos’ secondary, and Key was unfortunately in the center of that mess. However, Key bounced back from that and made the Broncos’ 53-man roster in 2025 and would go on to become an often-overlooked but key
member of the team.
I say often overlooked because what he did, and did very well, came on special teams. He set a single-season franchise record with 26 special teams tackles, beating Keith Burns’ previous record of 24, and established himself as one of the premier special teams players in the NFL.
Key would receive his flowers as he was named to the AP All-Pro team in 2025 as a special teamer.
Denver Broncos head coach Sean Payton met with the media a day before the announcement of the All-Pros and was hoping someone would ask him about Devon Key. He was obviously aware of the coming news and had some high praise for the Broncos All-Pro special teamer.
“I was hoping you were going to say his name. I just realized he’s had more special-teams tackles than anyone in the history of the Broncos. Every week, we give awards. Special team game balls, offensive and defensive game balls. His name comes up, and even in his play last week when he came on defense, he just steadily, quietly… Is he at [26]? We can talk about the extended game. I get it, but that’s hard to do in the kicking game now. That’s hard to do. Tomorrow we’ll get to talk about the other stuff… When I hear something, ‘In the history of,’ depending on where you’re at, but when you’re at Denver and you say, ‘In the history of,’ well then that means something. This place has played a lot of good football for a long time, and he’s tackled more people in the kicking game than anyone in the history of. I think there’ll be a lot of former special teamers, former defensive players, that would be like, ‘Wow. That’s something.’ There’s a grit to that and a toughness to that. I always love that story that [Pro Football Hall of Fame Coach Bill] Parcells told when they were beating somebody, but they were having trouble covering kicks. [Pro Football Hall of Fame LB Lawrence] Taylor had gotten tired of seeing these kick returns in this game, and he basically dismantled the kick coverage unit, and he picked 10 others, and it was the ‘Best we got,’ he called them. These guys just lined up across the field and covered a kick. They didn’t have lane integrity or anything. They just went down. Taylor was tired of seeing that ball start at midfield. I asked Bill, ‘What did you do?’ He said, ‘I just let him pick the other 10.’ (Laughs) Devon’s one of those guys that… Remember, it’s not like the opponent doesn’t recognize who they have to double team. So, that’s what’s impressive.”
Now, Key enters 2026 in a much different spot than he was a year ago. He is locked into a roster spot, viewed as a leader and key member of the special teams, and could potentially even earn a larger role on the defensive side of the ball. With P.J. Locke signing with the Cowboys during free agency, that third safety job is up for grabs, and Key seems like the early favorite to win the job.
Player Profile
Devon Key | Safety/Special Teams | Denver Broncos
- Height: 6-0
- Weight: 208 pounds
- Age: 28 years old
- Experience: 3rd NFL season
- 2025 stats: 28 tackles, 1 forced fumble, and was named to the AP All-Pro team
Devon Key’s 2026 outlook with the Denver Broncos
I would expect Key to be the leader of the Broncos’ special teams unit and once again be a standout player for them on that side of the ball. That part of the game is often overlooked, but very important to a team’s overall success throughout the year, and it appears the Broncos have a good one here in Devon Key.
That’s the easy part. The harder part is figuring out his potential role on the defensive side of the ball. With P.J. Locke now in Dallas and the Broncos, as of this writing, not adding much to the position, he seems like the favorite in-house option.
His competition is former Bengals special-teams standout Tycen Anderson, who hasn’t played much defense at all during his career; JL Skinner, 7th-round rookie Miles Scott; and UDFA safety Parker Robertson. On paper, this isn’t the most exciting group, and his strongest competition could be 7th-round rookie Miles Scott. He is a former wide receiver who switched to safety and is still learning, viewed as an ascending talent. Even then, Key likely has the edge here and will need to be clearly outplayed by this current group to lose the third safety role.
The biggest threat may come from an outside addition, but the Broncos have not made one as of yet, and time will tell if they do decide to go that route.
If Key was able to win the third safety role and play a similar level of football as P.J. Locke, that would be a big development for the Broncos. This is probably their weakest positional group, as of now, on paper, so Key’s development on the defensive side of the ball will be something to watch moving forward. At the very least, he will be a stud special teams defender, but we will have to see how he does on defense.
Final Thoughts
Key came out of nowhere to be an All-Pro special teamer, so hopefully, he can do the same this year and become a solid third safety for the Broncos. Talanoa Hufanga plays a physical brand of football and has some injury history, while Brandon Jones missed the second-half of the year with a season-ending pec injury. So, the Broncos’ safety depth will likely be called on again this upcoming season, and right now, it appears that will be Devon Key.
I really wouldn’t be shocked if they added a veteran with more experience to this room at some point between now and the start of the season. Key doesn’t have much experience on defense or starting. Tycen Anderson and JL Skinner have played just special teams, and Miles Scott is a 7th-round rookie still learning the safety position. So, we will see how things shake out and if these guys can step up and solidify the Broncos safety depth.
As things stand right now, Key is the favorite to replace P.J. Locke as the Broncos’ third safety, and we’ll see if he can hold down the job and continue his ascension with the Broncos.
