It's time to get familiar with the Bronco they're calling "The Dream Killer"

ENGLEWOOD, Colo. — Get out the sharpie, folks, another Bronco has made the team.

For the 15th out of the last 16 years, an undrafted rookie will make the team as Nevada product Malik Reed has all but locked in his spot.

How are we so sure?

1. Have you seen him play?
2. Have you heard what his teammates are saying about him?

We say it all the time, nobody knows if players can cut it or not more than the guys in the locker room, and Reed—much like Phillip Lindsay before him—has already earned his player-approval badge.

It started with Bradley Chubb, who praised Reed after a one sack, one quarterback hit, one tackle for loss performance in the Hall of Fame Game.

“Me and Von both knew he was going to be a dog out there,” the former No. 5 overall pick said. “We’re excited for him.”

Vic Fangio also expressed a positive lack of surprise.

“On the play, he got his sack on, I said to the coaches on the phone, ‘Well, that’s what he’s been doing all camp.’ So I’m not surprised that it happened in the game.”

Then, Chris Harris Jr. gave the ultimate endorsement of Reed.

In a conversation with Harris on Wednesday evening, I brought up how good the pass rush looked in Monday night’s game. Before I got too far gushing about Chubb, Harris jumped in.

“And we go four-deep there with Malik Reed and Dekoda Watson,” he said. “So those guys are going to be fresh.”

When players on the team start talking about a guy’s role in the regular season, that’s when you know it’s real.

And to top it all off, the third and most prominent superstar of the Broncos defense threw in his own stamp of approval on Thursday, sharing the strong nickname they have awarded to the undrafted rookie.

“We call him ‘The Dream Killer,'” Miller said. “He’s killing quarterback’s dreams every day.”

“He’s a great guy. He’s humble. He just wants to play football,” he added. “He just wants to go out there and make plays. I’m a fan. I’m a fan of Malik. I want to see him do great. He kind of reminds me of [Tampa Bay Buccaneers OLB] Shaq [Barrett] when he came in super talented just trying to find a way to play. We all saw how that turned out for Shaq. Malik, he’s a great pass rusher, and I’m excited for him. I’m excited to see his growth.”

And this isn’t new. The Nevada product was a beast over his last three years in the desert, posting 22 sacks, 35 tackles for loss and 11 forced fumbles while earning two first-team All-Mountain West selections.

Presumably, the only thing that kept him from being drafted is his size. At 6-foot-1 and 237 pounds coming out, he’s a bit small for the 3-4 OLB position. For reference, Bradley Chubb is listed at 6-4, 275 and Von Miller is listed at 6-3, 250. There’s also a reason both of those freaks were top-five picks.

But it sure looks like there’s room for the OLB version of a change-of-pace back.

Most of the time, veterans don’t even like to fraternize with undrafted rookies. Heck, Domata Peko told us last season he doesn’t even learn guys’ names until they make the 53-man roster.

Malik Reed, well, he already has a slick nickname. Welcome to the NFL, kid.