When the offseason starts, I’ve been enjoying sitting squarely in my General Manager armchair and reviewing our team’s roster. It is a process I like to go through that helps clarify for me where I see holes in the roster. This helps quite a bit as we go through the process of discussing moves, whether it be additions, subtractions, or draft picks, and why they make sense.
All of this is my personal opinion based on my tried-and-true eye test of what I’ve seen from these players on the field this season.
For the sake of brevity, I’ll be leaving out guys who didn’t see the field in any significant way in 2025 and most Unrestricted Free Agents. This is meant to be a very high-level view of the roster and not a nuts and bolts review of each player (we’ll do that later in the year at an individual level), so I encourage you all to look at it through that lens.
Enjoy the discussion, join the subjective debate, and share your thoughts (good or bad) in the comments.
Let me give a tip of the hat to ftnfantasy.com for their information on snap percentages and www.overthecap.com for their information on current contracts for all players.
We’re kicking this series off by examining the defensive front and determining what holes the Broncos should look to fill in the 2026 NFL offseason.
Player Rating Key
1 – Project / developmental – lacking the necessary skills to contribute as it stands today
2 – Backup quality – Can play, but isn’t a guy you want out there every snap
3 – Average starter – Doesn’t bring anything special to the table, but can do the job
4 – Good starter – An above-average talent
5 – Blue chip player – Top 10 talent in the NFL at what he does
Unit Rating Key
1 – Critical Need – lack of talent at starter and depth
2 – Lacking at least one starter
3 – Mediocre need
4 – Solid talent and depth
5 – Elite talent level
Defensive Linemen
Zach Allen – 5
Zach Allen has been one of the defense’s most consistent players since he joined the Broncos in 2023. He’s the kind of interior lineman every team wants on the roster who is able to bring consistent pressure and rarely loses ground in a one-on-one engagement.
Allen’s greatest strength is his endurance and energy reserve. He’s on the field for most snaps and leads the unit by a large margin. The quality of play doesn’t drop from him as the game wears on.
He’a an All-Pro for a reason and is an absolute menace to opposing quarterbacks with 7 sacks and a whopping 47 quarterback hits in 2025.
D.J. Jones – 4
D.J. Jones came to the Broncos by way of the San Francisco 49ers in 2022. He’s been a foundational starter for this defense and an absolute beast of a nose tackle for Vance Joseph.
Nose tackle isn’t ever going to be a flashy position, as many times the role for a player like Jones is to demand attention and hold space without giving up ground. That creates opportunities for players around him to make plays. Jones has a storied track record as a starter and is a consummate pro.
Malcolm Roach – 3.5
Malcolm Roach was brought to the Broncos from the Saints roster in 2023 to help shore up the Broncos’ run-stopping ability on defense. He’s well able to contribute as a pass rusher as well and has had an impressive run with the Broncos that recently earned him a contract extension.
Roach has been a fantastic rotational player for the team and a run-stopping force up front. Against the pass, he’s chipped in 4 sacks and 5 quarterback hits as a rotational player. The scheme the Broncos run is designed in a way that lets any position up front be productive. Roach is a testament to that, given that he’s superb vs the run and has been impressively productive as a pass rusher as well in his time with the Broncos.
Eyioma Uwazurike – 3
Eyioma Uwazurike, in my mind, has been the long-term plan exactly for this season, where the Broncos are very likely to lose the talents of John Franklin-Myers. JFM is going to be looking for a sack of money (which is well deserved). Uwazurike has been coached to step into that role in 2026.
Uwazurike was a rotational force for the defense in 2025. Like practically every defensive lineman on the team, he produced vs the run and the pass. He’s a player who has done nothing but get better at his craft every season, and from what I see is ready to challenge for a starting role next season with the team.
Unit Rating – 4.5
This group is full of talent, and this scheme lets every guy across the line have an impact from game to game. The defensive line is well-coached, and they have done an excellent job of finding talent and rotational depth.
I think John Franklin-Myers is going to get paid by someone else this offseason. That’s the only reason I have dinged the unit rating. If he were still under contract, this group is an easy 5. I do think the Broncos are ready for this loss, though. They will likely bring in another young player or depth free agent into the fray in the offseason. The core of the line is in place and ready to take on the challenge of 2026.
Outside Linebackers
Nik Bonitto – 5
Nik Bonitto is a superstar NFL edge. He’s a playmaker who wins games and consistently threatens offenses, which warps how opponents have to game plan.
The freaky thing is that I think he could have more stats than he already has. He’s a true team player through and through who is just as comfortable dropping into coverage as he is blazing around tackles for a quick sack.
Talent-wise, this All-Pro is as good as it gets in the NFL.
Jonathan Cooper – 4.5
Jonathan Cooper is the powerhouse workhorse at the edge for this defense. He’s not quite as bendy and quick around the edge as Bonitto, but he makes up for it in raw power. His bull rush one-on-one is extremely difficult to stop. Many times, linemen are getting sacks because of a collapsed pocket due to Cooper just driving his guy back relentlessly.
Cooper also drops into coverage without problem at times. He’s only dinged ½ a point because his pass rush doesn’t have as much nuance to it as Bonitto’s, which leads to scenarios where he’ll have a matchup that is well-equipped to slow him down.
Dondrea Tillman – 3.5
Dondrea Tillman is a player who rotates in at the edge, and you hardly even notice. He’s a gifted athlete who has a superb grasp of how to impact plays when he is on the field. I’d honestly count him as a perfect outside linebacker rotational player, much like I saw Shaq Barrett when he was with the Broncos behind Von Miller and DeMarcus Ware.
Jonah Ellis – 3.5
Jonah Ellis is nipping at Tillman’s heels for being the best non-starting edge on this team. He’s developed into a superb backer for the Broncos. I’ve liked his play against the run a bit better than what I’ve seen from Tillman. His pass-rush ability is still potent, though, and I don’t think he’s yet to hit his ceiling.
Que Robinson – 2
The Broncos drafted Que Robinson in the 4th round of the 2025 NFL Draft. He’s right on track as a development player and accounted for himself well in the opportunities he did get to see in 2025. He’s got pass-rush ability and is excellent at shooting gaps to blow up runs.
Unit Rating – 5
I don’t think you can find a better outside linebacker room in the NFL. I honestly think both Tillman and Ellis could start in the NFL today. I think Robinson will have that same stamp this next season. In today’s NFL, you can never have enough pass rushers, and the Broncos are absolutely filthy rich at edge in that regard.
Inside Linebackers
Dre Greenlaw – 3
The Denver Broncos rolled the dice on an injury-risk player when they signed Dre Greenlaw. The dice weren’t quite snake-eyes, but they weren’t far off in 2025. Greenlaw missed 8 games in 2025. He did make a few plays when he was on the field, but fell far short of the mark in being an impact free agent signing for the Broncos in 2025.
The hope is that the excellent training and conditioning staff of the Broncos can help him get healthy in 2026 so he can be the playmaker that he is capable of being.
Unit Rating – 1
With both Alex Singleton and Justin Strnad being unrestricted free agents in 2026, this is the #1 biggest problem area of the team’s roster overall. What’s crazy to me is that I can see a world where the Broncos let Greenlaw go as well (which would recoup them $6M).
Of the three linebackers that were on the roster in 2025, Justin Strnad was the guy I thought played at the highest level. I think this unit can and should look very different in 2026, and that should lead to a big improvement for this already awesome defense.
Defensive roster status overall
- Defensive Linemen: 4.5
- Outside Linebackers: 5
- Inside Linebackers: 1
