{"id":791286,"date":"2026-07-20T11:39:14","date_gmt":"2026-07-20T11:39:14","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nba\/791286\/"},"modified":"2026-07-20T11:39:14","modified_gmt":"2026-07-20T11:39:14","slug":"broncos-2026-dl-preview-who-steps-up-next-to-zach-allen","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nba\/791286\/","title":{"rendered":"Broncos 2026 DL preview: Who steps up next to Zach Allen?"},"content":{"rendered":"

Sixth in a series previewing the Broncos\u2019 2026 roster in the weeks leading up to the start of training camp in late July. Previously: Quarterbacks<\/a>, running backs<\/a>, wide receivers<\/a>, tight ends<\/a> and offensive linemen<\/a>.\u00a0<\/p>\n

On the roster (10): Zach Allen, D.J. Jones, Malcolm Roach, Tyler Onyedim, Eyioma Uwazurike, Sai\u2019vion Jones, Jordan Jackson, Matt Henningsen, Kristian Williams, Jordan Miller<\/p>\n

How many on the 53?\u00a0Six to seven. The Broncos carried seven last year at this spot, and the top six names above are likely roster locks in training camp. Jackson has made the roster comfortably in each of the last two seasons, but played just five games in 2025 and then was a reported lightning rod<\/a> for head coach Sean Payton\u2019s anger toward defensive staff for elevating him in the AFC wild-card game.<\/p>\n

Most impactful offseason move:\u00a0Letting John Franklin-Myers walk.<\/p>\n

This was determined long before this offseason. But in a stretch where the Broncos prioritized retention to near-unfathomable degrees<\/a>, Franklin-Myers\u2019 absence looms as the most important departure from 2025\u2019s roster to 2026. He finished third on Denver\u2019s defense in sacks last season, with 7.5; more importantly, his ability to create interior pressure often teed up All-Pro Allen and the Broncos\u2019 stable of outside linebackers.<\/p>\n

\u201cHe was an impact player,\u201d defensive coordinator Vance Joseph said in June. \u201cAfter watching the cut-ups, you kind of realize what you\u2019re missing there.\u201d<\/p>\n

The Broncos\u2019 front office made an understandable choice to not extend Franklin-Myers on a long-term deal likely worth $15-million-plus a year, and will now recoup a valuable compensatory pick in 2027. But his absence will be felt, in one way or another. That leads directly into the subsequent section here.<\/p>\n

Biggest question to answer in camp:\u00a0Who steps up in place of Franklin-Myers?<\/p>\n

Perhaps the answer is who\u00a0doesn\u2019t. Joseph clearly indicated during the Broncos\u2019 offseason program that Franklin-Myers\u2019 void could be filled by a sort of three-man rotation among Uwazurike, Sai\u2019vion Jones and rookie Onyedim, with the athletic Jones perhaps in a third-down pass-rushing role<\/a>.<\/p>\n

Denver will carousel all of them during training camp, plus veterans Jackson and Henningsen, and see what cream ultimately rises. The early favorite is Uwazurike, who flashed legitimate starting-level potential with 3.5 sacks and 39 tackles as a reserve last season. Asked about replacing Franklin-Myers in 2026, Uwazurike told The Post at the end of the 2025 regular season that he felt he could \u201ctake over that role completely.\u201d<\/a> He\u2019ll have his chance this summer.<\/p>\n

Don\u2019t count out Onyedim, though, who Denver\u2019s defensive staff sees as an immediate potential Franklin-Myers replacement<\/a> after drafting him in the third round this fall. And Roach could quietly pick up some of Franklin-Myers\u2019 workload. More on that later.<\/p>\n

Battle to watch: Sai\u2019vion Jones vs. everybody for snaps.<\/p>\n

After the Broncos moved up in the third round of the 2025 draft to nab Jones, the LSU product played exactly 39 total snaps in his rookie year. That was fine. And partly expected. Broncos general manager George Paton noted after the season that the staff knew Jones would \u201cneed a little development.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cWe were just so deep last year, it\u2019s tough for him to get in games,\u201d Allen said in June. \u201cBut we saw in practice how great he was.\u201d<\/p>\n

The Broncos, now, need those glimpses in practice to show up in training camp. The 6-foot-5, 289-pound Jones has flashed the ability to push the pocket from the interior and blends an edge rusher\u2019s speed with an interior rusher\u2019s power. But he still needs work in the run game, as evidenced by Joseph\u2019s suggestion that he could be a rotational pass-rusher. It would be a dream scenario for the Broncos if Jones shows in camp he\u2019s ready, at least, to take up Uwazurike\u2019s 36% defensive snap share from last season.<\/p>\n

Under the radar:\u00a0Roach.<\/p>\n

The Sixth Man might become the Fifth Man on Denver\u2019s defensive line, soon enough. The Broncos extended Roach on a three-year deal worth over $29 million total in November, a not-insubstantial number;<\/a> clearly, Denver prioritized retaining Roach at a lower number rather than shelling out for Franklin-Myers. And Roach quietly put together a standout season on the interior in 2025, with six total sacks and six tackles for loss in 14 games between the regular season and playoffs.<\/p>\n

\u201cI felt like I was rushing the way I play the run game,\u201d Roach told The Post in June. \u201cAnd I know how to play the run game, so by me rushing like that, I knew, like, I wasn\u2019t thinking. It\u2019s just the instincts kicking in.\u201d<\/p>\n

For two seasons in Denver, Roach has been generally thought of as a one-two punch at nose tackle, behind starter D.J. Jones. But Roach clearly has the greater ability to create pressure from different gaps along the defensive line. It\u2019s possible, ultimately, that Denver\u2019s Franklin-Myers replacement has been staring everyone in the face all along.<\/p>\n

Want more Broncos news? Sign up for the Broncos Insider to get all our NFL analysis.<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Sixth in a series previewing the Broncos\u2019 2026 roster in the weeks leading up to the start of…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":791287,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[3781],"tags":[7,2858,95697,765,42233,301,2863,187,3943,42235,8608,38207,165,42241,38208,6324,6,9,302,8131,66,10154,42244],"class_list":["post-791286","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-denver-nuggets","tag-basketball","tag-broncos","tag-broncos-general-manager-search","tag-colorado","tag-d-j-jones","tag-denver","tag-denver-broncos","tag-denver-nuggets","tag-denvernuggets","tag-eyioma-uwazurike","tag-george-paton","tag-john-franklin-myers","tag-latest-headlines","tag-malcolm-roach","tag-matt-henningsen","tag-more-broncos-news","tag-nba","tag-nfl","tag-nuggets","tag-sean-payton","tag-sports","tag-vance-joseph","tag-zach-allen"],"share_on_mastodon":{"url":"https:\/\/channels.im\/@nba\/116952115647337865","error":""},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nba\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/791286","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nba\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nba\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nba\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nba\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=791286"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nba\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/791286\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nba\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/791287"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nba\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=791286"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nba\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=791286"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nba\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=791286"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}