Broncos Linebacking Group Is Now Considered A Work In Progress Going Into Camp

The Denver Broncos had a set linebacking group going into OTAs and minicamp, but that’s not the case anymore. The recent arrests of Jonathon Cooper have thrown a monkey wrench into Denver’s plans on the field, and they’ll have some important decisions to finalize going into July and August. 

Outside linebackers coach Isaac Shewmaker will be the man making those calls, and he’s got plenty of names to consider. The biggest one is Jonah Elliss, who was expected to get a shot at playing inside linebacker before Cooper’s legal problems surfaced, and Dondrea Tilman was another name covered by Parker Gabriel of the Denver Post as he talked to Shewmaker about this situation. 

One thing the coach definitely isn’t concerned about is not having stars like Cooper available. He’s a “next man up” kind of coach, as he made clear in his comments. 

“That’s what it is,” Shewmaker said when he was asked about going with players who are technically listed as reserves. “There’s no one, two, three, four. There are the guys that are up for each game and let’s go. … I’m not worried about, ‘Oh, I have to have one of those (starters) on the field.’ I’ve got full confidence in everybody else, so we’re going to try to keep everybody as fresh as we can.

“I don’t like playing more than three to four plays in a row and then we’re going to get the next guys in. And we’re just going to keep on that.”

The move with Elliss is currently on hold, but Shewsbury isn’t making a fuss about that, either. 

 “At the end of the day he’s a really good rusher,” Shewmaker said.“Last year he got dinged up a little bit and it was hard to get into a rhythm. “But he’s a great player for us on the edge and then we’ll just try to find more ways to get him on the field.”

Tillman is another piece of this linebacking puzzle. He was signed out of the UFL in 2024, and according to Parker, he has nine sacks in the past two seasons and has played in 25 straight games plus three playoff contests since November 2024.

Yet another wild card in this mix is Drew Sanders, who’s been hurt for most of his brief career with the Broncos so far. They’re looking for baby steps, and coach Sean Payton made the first one clear. 

“He can get the alignment, the assignment, all of that,” Payton said earlier this month. “There’s a young player that, knock on wood, we feel like is really talented. …

“He’s coming into this portion of training camp healthy, so I’m encouraged with that.”