The Denver Broncos’ outside linebackers are one of the most exciting groups on the team.
Jonathon Cooper, 26, is coming off of a breakout year in which he notched 8.5 sacks.
Nik Bonitto, 24, too a sophomore leap to 8 sacks.
Baron Browning, 25, had a down year thanks to injuries but still managed 4.5 sacks in 10 games.
Drew Sanders, 23, joined the outside linebacker group late in the year as a rookie third-round pick.
The Broncos will want to get all four players on the field. They all have great upside. But Denver doesn’t have an alpha pass rusher, and that’s a problem in the modern NFL. Plus, Cooper and Browning are scheduled to be free agents after the season.
The Broncos don’t need to add a rusher, but they could certainly justify upgrading at one of th emost important positions in the game.
Here are five outside linebackers they should have on their draft board…
Jared Verse, Florida State
Range: First Round
Verse was a man amongst boys in the ACC.
He was 6-foot-3 and 254 pounds, but he played bigger. He bullied every tackle he lined up against. They were so scared of his bull rush that he was able to blow by them around the edge, too.
But back in 2019, Verse was a high school tight end who didn’t get a single FBS offer. He committed to FCS Albany and decided to play defensive end.
He earned conference rookie of the year honors in 2020 with four sacks in four games. The next year, he was all-conference.
Then he transferred to Florida State, where he was a two-time first-team All-CCC performer and one-time first-team All-American.
Verse can maul NFL tackles. He should be able to find double-digit sacks more often than not. But he may not have the arsenal to compete for the league lead in sacks at any point in his career, which leaves questions about his ceiling. So does the fact that he’ll be 24 before the end of his rookie season.
But the floor is high.
Verse’s play style lends itself to high-end run-stopping ability. He can control the point of attack and dominate the running game.
Think about Jadeveon Clowney. He was supposed to be one of the league’s top edge rushers, but he busted. Even as a bust, he’s an elite run defender on the edge and will surpass $100 million in career earnings before the end of his current contract. The 52.5 sacks in 10 years are just a bonus.
Verse probably isn’t the same caliber of athlete that Clowney is, but he’s along those same lines.
I foresee Verse as a 10-sack-per-year player who is even better in the ground game. He’s probably best as a defensive end in a 4-3, but that shouldn’t scare the Broncos off. They play enough sub packages to give him plenty of snaps with his hand in the dirt, and only a handful as a linebacker.
Dallas Turner, Alabama
Range: First Round
If you’re looking for raw tools, Turner is your man.
He’s long. He’s lean. He’s strong. He’s fast.
As soon as Turner has a clear path to the quarterback, his 4.4 speed shows up. He closes like a hawk.
His pass rush arsenal hasn’t filled out yet, and he doesn’t have special bend, but he’s only 21. He’s far from his ceiling.
And even far from his ceiling, Turner is damn good. He led the SEC with 11 sacks in 2023 and earned Consensus All-American honors.
Laiatu Latu, UCLA
Range: First Round
Late is a ready-made NFL pass rusher.
He has every move you can think of. He’s quick. He’s speedy. He can get by tackles however he wants.
Here’s the tough part for me: I don’t think he can battle NFL tackles in the running game. He looks like a pass-rush specialist.
But he measured in just under 6-foot-5 and 259 pounds at the combine. He was 267 pounds at his pro day. That’s bigger than Jared Verse.
He doesn’t play big, though. That’s why those numbers surprised me. Maybe he has more in the tank.
The big concern with Latu is his medical history. He medically retired with a neck injury in early 2021. However, he transferred from Washington to UCLA and played for two seasons.
Latu is the best day-one pass rusher in this draft class. Maybe I’m wrong about my concerns in the run game. And if I am, the 23-year-old might be the best edge player in the draft. People that big shouldn’t be so slippery.
Adisa Isaac, Penn State
Range: Day 2 or 3
Isaac doesn’t have the deepest pass-rush bag, but his ability to get off of blocks makes him an intriguing every-down option at outside linebacker for the Broncos.
Isaac was a four-star recruit and the No. 1 prospect from the state of New York in 2019. He could have chosen just about any school in the country.
He didn’t start until 2022, but he earned All-Big Ten honors in back-to-back seasons.
Isaac is a good athlete. He has solid burst and even better strength, given his 6-foot-4, 247-pound frame. He has long arms and can bend around the corner.
He doesn’t have much for moves as a pass-rusher, but he’s good at getting off of blocks, and he puts in enough effort to earn sacks here and there.
If Isaac blossoms into a third-down option, that’s great. I like him best on the first two downs, when he can be a plus run defender who can make plenty of plays at and behind the line of scrimmage. He’ll grind his way to sacks even when his first read is the run game.
Isaac is a well-rounded player who can add depth immediately and could fill a starting role in 2024.
Braiden McGregor, Michigan
Range: Day 3
McGregor started every game for the national champion Michigan Wolverines.
His production was nothing special. He had 4.5 sacks and nine tackles for loss in 15 games. The Wolverines played a deep rotation on the edge, so his per-snap numbers look better than his per-game stats. They still aren’t great.
But McGregor has just about every physical tool you could as for.
He’s a little over 6 feet 5 inches. He’s crazy strong, and he looks like a man playing against boys.
Those traits are why he was the top-rated recruit in Michigan’s 2020 recruiting class, which also featured future pros like Roman Wilson, Blake Corus, Zak Zinter, and Kris Jenkins.
McGregor would make sense for the Broncos as a run-stuffing outside linebacker. He can maul tackles in the passing game, but he probably isn’t bendy enough to become an impact pass rusher.
With Jonathon Cooper set to hit free agency after the season, McGregor could be the perfect replacement.
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