The Denver Broncos were considering trying Jonah Elliss at inside linebacker, but it looks like that won't happen.
The Denver Broncos had ambitious plans for linebacker Jonah Elliss that included possibly moving him inside, but those plans have seemingly been put on hold based on the results of Denver’s first few practices, according to reports from Jeff Legwold of ESPN.
The initial plan was to provide possible competition for Alex Singleton and Justin Strnad, with the more remote possibility that one of the two linebackers could end up as a depth player. Based on the first few practices, though, Elliss will stay outside and assume a larger role as part of Denver’s powerful pass rush.
Elliss was expected to at least push hard for more playing time, but there’s another piece of the linebacking puzzle that’s in play here. Jonathon Cooper is currently practicing with the team, but no one knows what’s going to happen between now and his scheduled arraignment relating to a pair of arrest in June as part of a domestic violence incident.
Coach Sean Payton wants to keep the publicity around Cooper’s status in the background as much as possible, and his comments on Elliss reflected that.
"For me, it felt like man, we're taking a position that's harder to find and moving him to a position that we think might be a little bit easier to replace," Payton said. " ... I just think we felt like man, he's really ascending as an edge player."
The real question is whether Cooper is descending, but one thing that seems certain at this point is that Elliss will get more than the 318 snaps he got on defense last season. The current situation is going to be fluid for at least the next few weeks, and there are other parts and pieces involved as well.
One is the play of the defensive line. The Broncos lost key lineman John Franklin-Myers in free agency, as he became the odd man out when Denver started issuing extensions to most of the key players. The Broncos drafted to replace him with Tyler Onyedim, but it’s too soon to tell if the defensive tackle will even be a rotation player this year.
Regardless of what happens, the Broncos need to sustain or even strengthen their pass rush. It was their big strength last year, and right now it looks like that will continue to be the case. The offense is still a work in progress as the Broncos continue to figure out what new receiver Jaylen Waddle can do, and the defense will play a big role in Denver’s brutal early schedule.
