Do Sean Payton and the Denver Broncos need to add an alpha to their outside linebackers room?

Welcome to State of the the Team, where we’ll take a look back at the 2023 Denver Broncos and take a peek at what could be in store in 2024.

Over the next few weeks, we’ll go position-by-position through the Broncos roster.

Next up: the outside linebackers.

Let’s dig in.

Broncos Outside Linebackers Under Contract

Nik Bonitto, 24 —  Two years remaining on rookie contract. Contributed eight sacks after a disappointing rookie season. High ceiling as a speed rusher around the edge who grew as a run defender in 2023.

Baron Browning, 24 — One year remaining on rookie contract. Missed the first seven games of the season with a torn meniscus. Totaled 4.5 sacks in 10 healthy games, after toaling 5 sacks in 14 games in 2022.

Jonathon Cooper, 26 — One year remaining on rookie contract. Easily played the most of any Broncos edge rusher in 2023. Led the team with 8.5 sacks. Proved himself as the Broncos’ most versatile edge defender.

Drew Sanders, 23 — Three years remaining on rookie contract. Joined the Broncos as a third-round draft pick in 2023. Initially played inside linebacker but moved outside early in the season. Played in all 17 games as a rookie, totaling 24 tackles and one tackle for loss.

Ronnie Perkins, 24 — One year remaining on rookie contract. Signed off the Patriots’ practice squad in September. Finished the year on the Broncos’ practice squad. Ranked fifth in snaps among Broncos edge rushers.

Thomas Incoom, 24 — Three years remaining on rookie contract. Joined the Broncos as an undrafted free agent out of Western Michigan, where he had 11.5 sacks and 19 tackles for loss as a senior. Spent the 2023 season on the Broncos’ practice squad. Appeared in four games.

Durell Nchami, 23 — Three years remaining on rookie contract. Spent his college career at Maryland, where he had nine sacks. Wasn’t drafted in 2023 and remained a free agent until he signed with the Broncos as a practice squad player in December.

Broncos Free Agent Outside Linebackers

None

2023 Grade: D+

The Broncos came into 2023 with a plan.

That plan did not work.

When Baron Browning went down with a torn meniscus over the summer, the Broncos patched the gap with veteran edge rusher Frank Clark. Clark was supposed to pair up with Randy Gregory to form a high-ceiling duo at edge rusher.

Gregory provided one sack. Clark didn’t provide a sack. By mid-October, the Broncos had moved on from both.

Then it was time for the kids.

Jonathon Cooper led the way for the Broncos in the wake of the veterans’ departures. Nik Bonitto and Baron Browning stepped up to form a lead trio on the edge. Drew Sanders and Ronnie Perkins joined the rotation.

The young group of outside linebackers was fun. They flashed abilities in the run game and the pass game. They provided big plays in big moments.

But they weren’t consistent.

They struggled to set the edge in the first half of the season. They finished 30th in the NFL in pass rush win rate.

While 2023 was a year of growth for the Broncos at outside linebackers—and there’s plenty of reason to be excited for the future—the sum of the contributions on the edge simply wasn’t enough.

The Big Question: Is quantity over quality the correct approach?

That sounds harsh, but it’s what the Broncos will need to decide this offseason.

The Broncos have plenty of fun, young options on the edge. They have depth that will be the envy of much of the NFL. If all goes well, they could produce a couple of double-digit sackers in 2024.

The Broncos were one of the dozen teams with two players who provided eight or more sacks. Those numbers might have been deflated because of the snaps given to Clark and Gregory at the beginning of the year.

But they still don’t have an alpha. They might only be a collection of role players.

Jonathon Cooper, the Broncos leading sacker, tied for 33rd in the NFL in sacks. That isn’t good enough. The Broncos need to find a true threat from the edge.

With few resources entering the offseason and a handful of bigger holes to plug this offseason, the Broncos are unlikely to massively rebuild their edge rusher rotation.

That could be a mistake.

Despite finishing with more sacks in 2023 than either of the previous two seasons, the Broncos ranked 21st in the NFL. In other words, the pass-rush problem has festered since Von Miller’s last full season in Denver.

The Broncos could bet on growth from their youngsters, but doing nothing to fix their pass rush is a dangerous decision.

Salary Cap Implications

The Broncos are up against the salary cap (actually, they’re about $30 million over it), but they can’t save much money at outside linebacker since every edge rusher on the roster is still playing on a rookie deal.

For what it’s worth, some of the cap issues are the result of mismanagement at outside linebacker. Frank Clark and Randy Gregory will count for more than $10 million in dead cap in 2024.

Potential Additions

Adding an alpha edge rusher might be tricky for salary cap purposes, but it could open some doors.

If the Broncos decide to move some money around and sign a big-name free agent like Josh Allen, Brian Burns, Chase Young or Danielle Hunter, they would probably trade one of the edges currently on the roster. Any of their top four options could net a substantial return.

Beyond the big names, veterans like Jadeveon Clowney, Za’Darius Smith and Leonard Floyd will also be available. But the Broncos could be hesitant to add a veteran just to block or move on from one of their young players.

Denver will also have options in the draft, including three players the Broncos could choose with the 12th-overall pick.

Alabama’s Dallas Turner is uber-talented. UCLA’s Laiatu Latu is uber-productive. Florida State’s Jared Verse fits somewhere in between. A first-round rookie would clog up the room, but a draft-day trade to move on from Bonitto, Browning or Cooper would unclog it and provide another draft asset.