Jonah Elliss will stay at edge rusher

One of the big offseason talking points surrounding the Broncos was edge rusher Jonah Elliss potentially moving to inside linebacker. Head coach Sean Payton mentioned he would be “getting some snaps” at linebacker, but never really clarified what that meant.

However, Sean Payton did meet with the media after the Broncos’ first OTA practice, which was open to them for the first time this offseason, and stated that Elliss would be staying at edge rusher after all.

Payton added that Jonah’s “home” will be on the outside, and that “he’s doing too good on the outside” to be moved. He did leave the door open for some inside work for Elliss, saying they could have some packages for him, but he’ll primarily be an edge rusher moving forward.

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So, with Elliss staying at edge rusher, this move impacts both the edge rusher and linebacker positions. At edge rusher, the group remains very deep with Nik Bonitto and Jonathon Cooper as your starters and Elliss, second-year player Que Robinson, and Dondrea Tillman as your rotational/situational depth pieces. Elliss will likely remain the top reserve player, but I would keep an eye on Que Robinson, who flashed some real potential last season. Regardless, the Broncos have a deep and talented edge rushing group.

As for the linebackers, we have a little more questions than answers. We do know that veterans Alex Singleton and Justin Strnad are your starters, but everything behind those two is up in the air. They did draft big hitting/force fumbling machine Red Murdock, but he was Mr. Irrelevant (the final pick in the draft), so he has to earn his spot on the roster. They also signed promising UDFA linebacker Taurean York, but he’s undersized and will need to prove he can survive in the NFL. Returning are second-year and former UDFA linebackers Jordan Turner and Karene Reid, as well as Levelle Bailey, who is entering his third training camp for the Broncos. So, they have some young developmental players at the position but lack true veteran depth, for now at least. I would anticipate the Broncos adding a veteran to this group before camp to provide some insurance at the position.

With that said, the rookie’s performance during these OTA and minicamp practices could impress the Broncos enough that they hold off on adding a veteran. It was just one non-padded OTA practice, but The Denver Post’s Luca Evans noted that rookie linebacker Red Murdock “looked great”. He added that he never saw him out of place, fit the gaps well, and may have accidentally popped wide receiver Michael Bandy a bit on a slant route. He also added that undrafted rookie Taurean York earned some “Hurrahs” in a coverage rep in practice as well.

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So, we will have to see how this position group plays out in the coming days, weeks, and months moving forward. At the end of the day, we know Jonah Elliss is staying primarily at edge rusher, and we are going to have a fun roster battle for the Broncos backup linebacker spots on their 53-man roster.