Denver Broncos head coach Sean Payton believes that the team’s strength is their edge rusher group. As they head into the 2024 NFL season, how does the addition of third-round draft pick Jonah Elliss going to help that unit be even more productive?
Denver Broncos pass rush gets deeper with Jonah Elliss
Elliss is an athletic workhorse, and his production at Utah showcased various flashes of what his NFL potential could include.
Denver added Elliss to the roster in the NFL Draft last week with the 76th overall pick, giving them more talent at the position. Broncos head coach Sean Payton suggested that adding Elliss was an easy move for them, because it added to an already strong position.
“You’re never afraid to draft at the top on your strength,” Payton said after the team drafted Elliss. “We’ll sort that out. It’s always a harder position to find in the offseason and in free agency, and so we felt like he definitely checked the pressure-player box, and then we’ll sort through that depth as we get to it.”
That depth currently features Baron Browning and Jonathon Cooper, both of whom are expected to be the starters at the position in September, third-year player Nik Bonitto, and Drew Sanders, whose position is up in the air.
Last season, Cooper and Browning emerged as the starting duo for Vance Joseph’s defense, which saw Bonitto and Sanders rotate in heavily in various rush packages, including the team’s ‘NASCAR’ package.
Sanders is the biggest question mark at edge rusher because of the addition of Elliss. Back at the NFL Scouting Combine, Payton wasn’t sure where he was going to play.
The best-case scenario for the second-year hybrid backer is to move back to the off-ball linebacker spot, where he can compete with Jonas Griffith, Cody Barton, and Justin Strnad.
This opens the door for Browning and Cooper to remain as starters, while Bonitto and Elliss could become the team’s rotational duo behind them. Browning and Cooper are both in contract years for the Broncos and are vying to secure extensions, while Bonitto and Elliss would be vying to earn a starting role in the future.
Does Elliss’ medical history create a reason for concern?
A lot of the conversation following the Broncos drafting Elliss had much to do with his medicals after he had surgery for a torn labrum last season. Injuries are always an important factor to monitor, but nobody had more access to his medical history than Denver themselves, and George Paton and Payton are comfortable with what they know.
“We’re very comfortable,” Paton said. “We’re very comfortable.”
“We met on it,” Payton said. “We go through the process. He’s above the board, and you spent a lot of time… It’s funny because obviously, you went around to the 32 teams. A lot of the teams we did info exchange with – we felt comfortable with it.”
No concern, then. What’s even more respectable, considering Elliss’ torn labrum, is the fact that he played through the injury until he couldn’t anymore.
Going into rookie minicamp this week, Elliss is 100% cleared and ready to go.
What should be a realistic expectation for him this season for Broncos Country? If he can thrive in a rotational role early on and play a lot of special teams, I think that’s a realistic fit for him as a rookie.
He’s consistently relentless in his pursuit of the quarterback, but is also disciplined off the edge against the run. Realistically, he could have five or six sacks this season in a rotational role and could be the perfect candidate to clean things up when plays break down for opposing offenses.
