Dondrea Tillman may not be a household name among NFL fans, but he's an important to the Denver Broncos special teams.
The Denver Broncos have announced the re-signing of linebacker Dondrea Tillman, according to a writeup from Josh Alper of Pro Football Talk that references a report from Mike Klis of KUSA. The deal Tillman signed was an exclusive rights free-agent tender, which means Tillman either had to sign with Denver or sit out the season. It sets him up to make the league minimum at $1.075 million.
Nonetheless, Tillman’s story is one of those narratives about a player who basically comes from out of nowhere to make it to the NFL in a dual role as a position player and a staple on special teams. Tillman, who’s 27, played at Indiana-Pennsylvania, which speaks for itself about his visibility coming out of college.
But Tillman was determined to have a career in football, to the point where he played three seasons for the Birmingham Stallions in the USFL and the UFL. He’s appeared in 29 regular season games for the Broncos, and he’s also played in 659 defensive snaps.
According to Alper, he’s had 64 tackles, nine sacks and two interceptions in that action, and he’s been credited with 16 tackles in three postseason games.
His stats for last season on defense included 41 tackles, 13 solo and 28 assisted, and he had four sacks as well. Both of his interceptions came last year, and he also returned them for a total of 59 yards, which averages out to 29.5 yards per pick.
The Broncos have an incredibly competitive linebacking group, and signing Tillman represents the final move to keep them all together with the draft approaching. The Broncos recently signed Alex Singleton and Justin Strnad to extensions, but neither one has guaranteed money beyond next season.
Defensive coordinator Vance Joseph gives his linebackers a good workout getting after the quarterback in his many blitz packages, so it’s important to have players like Tillman who can handle special teams work. Tillman has the size to provide production at 6’4” and 247 pounds, and his production in the dual role speaks for itself.
He could have significant competition for playing time this year, however. The Broncos are expected to draft an inside linebacker just in case the experiment to give Jonah Elliss more playing time inside doesn’t work out, and there are always late draft picks and street free agents who come after the jobs of players like Tillman in camp.
He’s proven his value to both Joseph and coach Sean Payton, so this signing is a win and once again speaks to the Broncos’ strong emphasis on continuity.