Ranking the Denver Broncos' Biggest Needs on Defense

With a quality quarterback in place, all of their top draft picks in hand, and a bundle of dough to spend, this Denver Broncos offseason projects to be one of the most exciting in recent memory.

Two weeks ago, we looked at the positions on offense that most needed a facelift, using Sean Payton's tiering of "gotta have," "need," and "want."

Now, it's the defense's turn.

Tier I: Gotta Have

Inside Linebacker

The most glaring need on the Denver Broncos defense -- and perhaps the entire roster -- this offseason is at inside linebacker.

Down the stretch this season, it was the Achilles heel of the unit and was regularly attacked by opposing offenses. Not including the funky Week 18 matchup against Kansas City's backups, the Broncos' linebackers were targeted 53 times since the start of December, and allowed 46 completions -- a miserable 86.8% completion percentage. During that same stretch, Denver's linebackers allowed a passer rating of 109.0 when targeted in coverage, while the rest of the defense allowed a passer rating of just 81.5.

That's the exact same as the passer rating difference between Joe Burrow (108.5 passer rating in 2024) and Gardner Minshew (81.0 passer rating in 2024).

Plus, Barton and Strnad are both lighter linebackers who don't offer much help stopping the run, so the pass-game shortcomings are a glaring concern.

On top of that obvious red flag, both Barton and Strnad are set to become unrestricted free agents this offseason, and both played well enough to earn raises from their 2024 cap hits of $2.5 million and $1.3 million respectively. Bringing back both might be more expensive than it's worth.

That leaves Alex Singleton as the only linebacker with starting experience that the Broncos have under contract for 2025. Singleton is currently recovering from an ACL tear, will turn 32 during next season, and Denver could save $5.6 million by releasing him, which puts his future in doubt.

Also, even if he fully returns to form, he might not provide much of a boost to the room. In 2024, Singleton ranked 99th out of 107 qualifying linebackers in terms of missed tackle rate, missing 19.4% of all potential tackle opportunities. The season before, with a larger sample, Singleton ranked 72nd out of those 97 qualifying linebackers, with a missed tackle rate of 14.1%, which isn't terrible, but it's enough to raise concerns about Singleton being the only proven veteran in the room.

Drew Sanders is still an exciting project, but he's an unfinished product that still probably needs some time to develop.

Thankfully, this year's crop of free-agent linebackers features a bevy of exciting names who could be potential upgrades. All-Pro Zack Baun headlines a class that also features Nick Bolton, Ernest Jones, Tyrel Dodson, Jamien Sherwood, Kyzir White -- all of whom would project as instant improvements on Denver's 2024 unit.

Considering the current linebacker market, swapping an upgrade into the room should be fairly manageable too. The savings Denver would receive from cutting Singleton would likely cancel out the 2025 cap charge for any of the replacement options listed above, save for maybe Bolton and Baun.

Safety

The Denver Broncos gambled last offseason when they opted to overhaul their starting safety tandem, moving on from fan-favorites Justin Simmons and Kareem Jackson, promoting utility player P.J. Locke, and signing Brandon Jones.

Betting on Jones' successes in Brian Flores' blitz-heavy scheme with the Dolphins now looks like a masterstroke by Denver's front office, but the team's faith in Locke hasn't been rewarded the same way. Unfortunately for the former Longhorn, outside of the previously discussed Singleton cut, the team's easiest route to creating meaningful cap space is by releasing Locke.

He's currently due $5.2 million next year, which is the 26th-largest cap hit among all safeties in 2025. That's simply too expensive given his struggles this past season.

That said, moving off Locke could be uncomfortable for Denver, as the depth in the room leaves a lot to be desired -- something fans experienced firsthand last year whenever Devon Key was asked to enter the starting lineup.

If the Broncos can retain Locke at a lower cap hit for that third safety role, it will lessen how serious this hole in the defense is, but that still won't change the fact that Vance Joseph's staff will have an immediate need for a new starter opposite Jones.

Finding that upgrade should be a top defensive priority this spring. Much like the offensive line, the secondary is a unit often defined by its weak links, rather than its stars, so shoring up that clear problem area should pay immediate dividends.

Defensive Line

Everyone is aware of how desperately the Denver Broncos need help at linebacker and safety, but the critical need for an addition along the defensive front is being slept on.

Although Denver's defensive line performed immaculately last year, there were still apparent flaws.

The position group was, and still is, remarkably shallow, which resulted in an extreme workload for Zach Allen. The rotation on the line only went five players deep, and the No. 5 defensive lineman was Jordan Jackson -- a 2022 sixth-round selection of the New Orleans Saints, who had never played a regular-season NFL snap prior to 2024.

Allen was forced to pick up the slack, and although that led to a remarkable season for the interior pass-rusher, it also saw him play an inadvisable 1,031 snaps -- the second-most of any defensive lineman in the league.

Playing 800 snaps is a lot for a defensive lineman, with only eight other players crossing that threshold this year. Allen cleared that bar by more than 25 percent. Denver cannot put that much pressure on him again and expect him to remain healthy for all of 2025.

Amplifying the severity of the situation is the fact that D.J. Jones, who gobbled up 510 snaps this season, will hit the open market this offseason. If the Broncos are unable to bring him back, they'll have an extreme need for a starting-caliber early-down defensive lineman who can help replace the size and run defense Jones brought to the front, and for added depth to help defuse the ticking time bomb associated with all the wear and tear they're putting on Allen.

The fact that Payton, Paton and Co. will likely need to add two defensive linemen this offseason -- a starter and an extra rotational piece -- makes it no different than the voids at linebacker or safety, despite those other two positions garnering far more worry and attention from Broncos Country.

Fans would of course welcome a large expenditure to turn the safety or linebacker rooms around, and they should adopt that same mindset when it comes to maintaining Denver's amazing defensive front.

Tier II: Need

Edge Rusher

Although cautious optimism bubbled along the Front Range in the days counting down to Wild Card Weekend, it quickly became apparent that the Denver Broncos didn't measure up to the Buffalo Bills.

The size and ferocity of Buffalo's rushing game pulverized Denver's elite defense, leaving them battered and incapable of stopping the Bills' offense midway through the third quarter. Despite an amazing 2024, it is clear that the Broncos have to beef up their defensive front.

That's especially true on the edge. Both Nik Bonitto and Jonah Elliss weigh less than 250 pounds and were drafted to be pass-rush specialists with known deficiencies against the run. That's why they were available outside the top 50 picks, despite their proficiency to disrupt the passer.

With the behemothic run defender D.J. Jones set to depart potentially, that need for extra muscle is only amplified, as there's now less size on the interior to compensate for Denver's lighter-than-average bunch of edge rushers.

Now, Jonathon Cooper and Dondrea Tillman are larger defenders who are better at slowing down the ground game, but this past season clearly demonstrated that they need added reinforcements.

Tier III: Want

Cornerback

When Riley Moss exited the lineup, the Denver Broncos' defense completely crumbled.

Jerry Jeudy, a receiver frequently maligned in the Mile High City for failing to live up to his pre-draft promise, torched Levi Wallace for 235 yards and +16.5 receiving EPA, which were, respectively, the second and third-highest single-game totals allowed this season.

Even though the situation got dramatically better when the Broncos decided to lean on Kris Abrams-Draine in subsequent weeks, the rookie's sub-180-pound frame presents some serious limitations in certain matchups, so he shouldn't be Denver's only backup plan.

That said, Vance Joseph's defense is still one of the very few to have three reliable cornerbacks, with Abrams-Draine potentially giving them four. It's an area one would like to improve, but it's nowhere near as pressing as the other defensive needs.