{"id":814524,"date":"2026-08-18T02:03:26","date_gmt":"2026-08-18T02:03:26","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nba\/814524\/"},"modified":"2026-08-18T02:03:26","modified_gmt":"2026-08-18T02:03:26","slug":"broncos-dont-need-von-miller-with-jonah-elliss-que-robinson-shining","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nba\/814524\/","title":{"rendered":"Broncos don’t need Von Miller with Jonah Elliss, Que Robinson shining"},"content":{"rendered":"

Von\u2019s gone<\/a>. It\u2019s time to move on.<\/p>\n

Hey, if Von Miller could play tight end, I\u2019d open the checkbook and roll out the orange carpet. If you think Davis Webb is hot to trot now<\/a>, just wait \u2019til you see what our guy cooks up from \u201c23\u201d personnel.<\/p>\n

Alas, the Vonster plays outside linebacker. And at age 37, he\u2019s now a situational outside linebacker, at that.<\/a> The Broncos already have plenty.<\/p>\n

\u201cObviously, I wouldn\u2019t start,\u201d Miller, who\u2019s reportedly agreed to a 1-year deal with his hometown Dallas Cowboys for 2026, told The Post\u2019s Parker Gabriel back in May.<\/a> \u201cObviously, I wouldn\u2019t play special teams.\u201d<\/p>\n

Points for saying the quiet part out loud, at least. Jonah Elliss, meanwhile, played 254 special-teams snaps last fall, and 257 in 2024. Also, Elliss just turned 23. And he\u2019s got a cap number of only $1.6 million for \u201926. So he\u2019s making about $213,000 per career sack (7.5) since 2024.<\/p>\n

Per Pro-Football-Reference.com, Miller has played all of three special-teams snaps the last two seasons. Von just inked a 1-year deal with his hometown Dallas Cowboys worth up to $7.5 million, allegedly. He\u2019ll be raking in roughly $500,000 per career sack recorded (15) over the last two years.<\/p>\n

Which means Elliss isn\u2019t just younger than Von. He\u2019s cheaper. And, potentially, better \u2014 better this fall, at least. Better for this locker room, too.<\/p>\n

Remember Shaq Barrett?<\/a><\/p>\n

The Broncos have two of him now. Four, if you include Dondrea Tillman and Drew Sanders.<\/p>\n

After raising Cain in the Broncos\u2019 27-7 rout of Atlanta last Friday night<\/a>, Elliss tied for second among all NFL defenders in total sacks\/hits\/hurries (five) from Week 1 of the preseason. And one of those pressures set up a diving Riley Moss interception in the first half.<\/p>\n

\u201cI\u2019m always willing to do whatever the team needs me to do,\u201d Elliss told us after practice last week. \u201cWhether that\u2019s playing inside (linebacker) or playing on special teams. Whatever I can do to help us get to a championship, I\u2019m willing to do.\u201d<\/p>\n

Elliss against the Falcons was credited with two tackles and two pass break-ups. Pro Football Focus graded him out with team-highs in overall score (91.3 out of 100) and in pass-rushing score (90.7). PFF\u2019s No. 2 Broncos defender in Georgia? Fellow edge-rusher Que Robinson was second in the queue, with an 87.2 overall score and an 85.3 pass-rushing grade after four tackles and a QB hit. And the Broncos\u2019 only official sack of the evening came from another outside \u2018backer, Sanders \u2014 a guy who was, ironically enough, drafted with a pick acquired via the trade of the Vonster to the Rams back in 2021.<\/p>\n

\"TuaTua Tagovailoa of the Atlanta Falcons is pressured by Jonathon Cooper #0 and Nik Bonitto #15 of the Denver Broncos during the first quarter of a NFL preseason game at Mercedes-Benz Stadium on August 14, 2026 in Atlanta, Georgia. (Photo by Kevin C. Cox\/Getty Images)<\/p>\n

\u201cOh man, he\u2019s been great,\u201d Elliss said last week when asked about Robinson. \u201cNot only has he excelled on the field, but he\u2019s out there, and it feels like he\u2019s a vet. I come off the field, maybe had a bad rush, or maybe had a bad rush in the wrong (situation), and he\u2019s telling me what he saw. And he\u2019s really just trying to elevate the room as a whole. Que\u2019s been great, both on and off the field, helping everyone grow in the room and just making a competitive room.\u201d<\/p>\n

That room could get a bit thinner, though. And soon. The NFL opened the week by doling out at least four suspensions. Broncos edge rusher Jonathon Cooper wasn\u2019t on the list<\/a>, but Falcons outside linebacker James Pearce Jr. was. And you might want to put a mental pin in the latter\u2019s case for future reference.<\/p>\n

This past March, the Atlanta defender was charged with three felonies and a misdemeanor by the Miami-Dade (Florida) State Attorney following an incident that involved WNBA forward Rickea Jackson. Pearce reportedly used his car to follow and then collide with a vehicle driven by Jackson. Arrest reports indicate Pearce fled on foot from local police before being arrested. He was eventually charged with aggravated battery with a deadly weapon; fleeing and eluding police; resisting an officer with violence to his or her person; and a misdemeanor charge of aggravated stalking.<\/p>\n

Closer to home, Cooper was arrested twice in June<\/a>, during the OTA\/mini-camp portion of the Broncos\u2019 spring calendar, after incidents that allegedly involved his then-girlfriend. Following the second, he was charged with harassment, violating a protection order, and felony second-degree assault by strangulation.<\/p>\n

All politics is local, and every case is unique<\/a>. But Pearce landed an eight-game suspension Monday for violating the league\u2019s code of conduct policy. Set your bars accordingly.<\/p>\n

The tea leaves still say a ban for Cooper is coming, and knowing the love for Broncos coach Sean Payton up at NFL HQ, it\u2019ll probably come at the worst possible time.<\/p>\n

\"DenverDenver Broncos linebacker Jonah Elliss (52) tackles Atlanta Falcons running back Nathan Carter (38) during the second half of a preseason NFL football game, Friday, Aug. 14, 2026, in Atlanta. (AP Photo\/Erik Lesser)<\/p>\n

In other words? Hope for the best, brace for the rest. The Broncos need to be prepared for the league\u2019s hammer to fall, to be stripped of Cooper for weeks at a time. Friday night gave more credence to the idea that they\u2019re ready. And able. Even without Miller\u2019s help.<\/p>\n

\u201cI mean, it means a lot that the coaches see that in me,\u201d Elliss said last week. \u201cNow I\u2019ve got to prove it.\u201d<\/p>\n

So far, so good. In the meantime, be happy for Miller. He gets to ride off into the NFL sunset (maybe) with his hometown team<\/a>, in front of family and friends, a fitting farewell for an orange-and-blue hero who\u2019ll be wearing a gold jacket.<\/p>\n

You could crash an AI data center<\/a> with what\u2019s been written about Miller and how he helped the Broncos win a third Super Bowl title. A lot less has been written, though, about how Miller\u2019s departure five years ago is helping to secure a fourth.<\/p>\n

The Vonster was shipped to the Rams for two picks in the \u201922 draft \u2014 one in the second, one in the third. The second-rounder became Nik Bonitto out of Oklahoma \u2014 Von\u2019s virtual replacement.<\/p>\n

The third-rounder was eventually swapped for a fifth-round pick in \u201922 that became Luke Wattenberg out of Washington, and another third-rounder in \u201923, which became Sanders.<\/p>\n

Miller turned into two linebackers, a starting center, 38 sacks and 45 TFLs since 2022 on 2,549 defensive snaps. And Sanders has accounted for only 276 of those due to injuries.<\/p>\n

Over the previous four seasons, the Vonster put up 23 sacks and 23 TFLs on 1,407 snaps. Bonitto has been good for a sack every 53.97 snaps since 2023; Von\u2019s rate over that same stretch is one every 63.8 snaps.<\/p>\n

\u201cAll the cut-up tape, his production, his ball disruption, it just, for me, felt like, \u2018Man, we\u2019re taking a position that\u2019s harder to find, and moving him to a position that we think might be a little bit easier to replace,’\u201d Payton said of Elliss recently. \u201cThat\u2019s not to say that we can\u2019t package a few things. But I think we felt like he\u2019s really ascending as an edge player. And we didn\u2019t want to disrupt that.\u201d<\/p>\n

Nor should you. Not even for one last ride. Nostalgia can cover up a lot of cracks, but not a production drop of 15.4% from a legend in the winter of his career, a fading star with a star on the side of his helmet.<\/p>\n

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