EXCLUSIVE: Alex Singleton sets a very high bar for the Denver Broncos’ defense in 2025

DENVER — Last season, the Denver Broncos had the third-best scoring defense in the NFL and the 10th-best scoring offense in the league.

This offseason, instead of putting all of the team’s resources to bolstering Sean Payton‘s offense to catch up to Vance Joseph‘s defense, George Paton and the Broncos’ brass actually went even further in on the defensive side.

“I think this year — a lot of guys, including in the building, didn’t fully expect [to add so much to the defensive side this offseason] and when we got it it was like, ‘Oh this is going to be fun.’ We just went somewhere that a lot of teams don’t ever go,” Alex Singleton told DNVR in an exclusive interview. “We’re really, really excited.”

In free agency, the Broncos made two big splashes by signing First-team All-Pro Talanoa Hufanga to a three-year, $39 million contract and Dre Greenlaw to a three-year, $31.5 million deal.

“I’m really excited. Watching him play the last five to six years has been nothing but good football,” Singleton said about his new fellow inside linebacker Greenlaw. “I’m super excited. We’ve spent a ton of time together already. We can’t wait to get after it. It’s just exciting. We’re still in that phase where we’re not full on football yet, it’s just working out and getting to know each other. It’s all we talk about is just how exciting it’s going to be just getting after the football. We’re so excited.”

A month after making two significant additions to the defense in free agency, Payton and Paton used their first-round pick in the 2025 NFL Draft on that side as well by selecting cornerback Jahdae Barron out of Texas.

“When we’re training and you just see ‘Huff’ and stuff and you’re like, ‘It’s going to be special,'” Singleton said about Denver’s defense. “That’s the fun part about this time of the year. You’re saying it feels like Christmas and all of this stuff. We have such a good opportunity. For us, it’s to not mess that up. That’s kind of the mindset we have to go in now. This has to be everything to everybody in this building.”

Dominant defense has been in the Broncos’ DNA for generations.

“I would say the Broncos for the last — almost the entire time this organization has been around has had a top five defense,” Singleton stated. “Even the last 10 years, people could be like, ‘Oh the Broncos have been bad.’ Their defenses have never been bad.”

The ‘Orange Crush Defense’ led by Hall-of-Famer Randy Gradishar really put Denver on the map as a defensive organization.

Two decades later, Denver’s defense helped them get back-to-back Super Bowls. While Mike Shanahan‘s offenses did have Hall-of-Famers John Elway, Terrell Davis and Shannon Sharpe, the Broncos’ first two Super Bowl defenses were top 10 in yards allowed and points allowed and included Hall-of-Famer Steve Atwater.

Then, as the general manager, Elway constructed the vaunted ‘No Fly Zone‘ defense, which helped lead the team to their Super Bowl 50 Championship.

Singleton wants to set the bar that high — and maybe even higher — for Denver’s defense this year.

“It’s one of those things where it’s like, ‘Let’s be better than the 2015 defense.’ Stuff where like that’s what we need to chase,” Denver’s defensive captain told DNVR, setting the bar incredibly high. “You have to chase it when we start practice here in a few weeks in OTAs and go get it then. We have to be the best every single day to get where we want to go.”

The Super Bowl 50 defense was etched into the history books as one of the best of all time. Led by Wade Phillips, Denver’s defense allowed the fewest yards, fourth-fewest points, fewest passing yards and fewest rushing yards per attempt.

In the playoffs, Von Miller, DeMarcus Ware, Chris Harris Jr. and Aqib Talib, just to name a few of the elite players on that side of the ball, held Ben Roethlisberger, Tom Brady and the 2015 MVP Cam Newton to an impressive 14.7 points per game.

Singleton understands how high of a bar it is to try and have the 2025 defense be better than the 2015 defense. But he doesn’t want to shy away from trying to be the best.

“We don’t want to settle for anything is kind of where my mindset is. It’s going to be attack this and — in May if you’re not saying you want to be the best, I think it’s crazy,” he added. “Be realistic when December rolls around, but right now, we have every single workout in front of us, so we just attack them all to be the best, that’s what you can be.”

Denver’s leading tackler in 2022 and 2023 believes this group is ready for the high expectations and pressure that comes along with it.

“You should want that pressure. You should crave that and desire it. It almost sucks when you don’t have it,” Singleton stated. “For a little bit, getting here, there wasn’t a lot of that going on here. Now, I would say, there are people that are ready to — that are hungry for that success. I think that’s what you want. You want people that want the pressure, not people that are afraid of the pressure.”

Pressure is a privilege. Alex Singleton is thrilled the Broncos are finally in a spot to have that privilege.