Throughout the 2025 NFL season, SB Nation’s Doug Farrar writes about the game’s Secret Superstars — those players whose performances might slip under the radar for whatever reasons. In this installment, we focus on Denver Broncos defensive back Ja’Quan McMillian, who went off against Patrick Mahomes and the Kansas City Chiefs last Sunday in Denver’s narrow (and crucial) win.

There are times as an analyst when the time you have to watch tape when it comes out, and the time you have to complete and publish an article, are in direct conflict. As a result, you can’t always pack everything in when it comes to a particular subject. On Sunday night, I did a piece over at Athlon Sports about the NFL’s increased use of defensive back blitzes to create “free hitters” (unblocked rushers), and the one guy I didn’t put in the piece was slot defender Ja’Quan McMillian of the Denver Broncos.

But when I observed McMillian’s efforts against the Kansas City Chiefs last Sunday in Denver’s 22-19 win that put the Broncos at 9-2 on the season, I knew it’d have to go somewhere, and so, Mr. McMillian becomes a Secret Superstar, which is only right. In this game, McMillian had two sacks on two pass-rush snaps, totaled four solo tackles and three stops, and allowed five catches on eight targets for 78 yards, 33 yards after the catch, no touchdowns, one interception, and an opponent passer rating of 55.2.

Pretty good for an undrafted free agent out of East Carolina (Go Pirates!) in his fourth NFL season. McMillian was a bit player in Denver’s defense in his rookie year of 2022, but he’s become more and more of a staple in Vance Joseph’s defense, and as primarily a slot defender with additional versatility, he’s become one of the glue guys in the NFL’s most disruptive squad.

McMillian’s sacks came on plays in which he was a late blitzer, and the Chiefs had already accounted their protections to the guys they could see. On the first sack, right tackle Jawaan Taylor and right guard Trey Smith had committed to double edge-rusher Nik Bonitto, which is generally a smart thing to do. But that also game McMillian free access to Mahomes. The second sack came on a six-man rush look in which linebacker Dre Greenlaw dropped into coverage, running back Kareem Hunt plowed into the middle to counter what looked like a double A-gap blitz, and left tackle Josh Simmons was busy dealing with Mr. Bonitto. Ergo, another free rush where McMillian damn near took Mahomes’ head off.

“It’s kind of a timing thing, you know,” McMillian said of the sacks. “You try and hold it as long as possible. Some of the quarterbacks, they’re looking at the nickel because the nickel shows what the defense is in a lot every time. I just try and hold it as long as possible, and you try and find keys to when the ball is snapped—I noticed early in the game when he was snapping the ball, his hands were coming up and the ball was coming out. So I just timed it so when his hands start coming up, I start sneaking toward the edge and made a play. They didn’t slide a protection. I just went in.”

As to the play in which Mahomes almost went headless, there was a design behind that.

“I just [saw] him winding up, and that’s kind of why I jumped. I jumped in the air. I didn’t want him to throw the ball, so I was going to bat it down or either get the sack. One of those, but he wasn’t going to get the ball off.”

That second sack with 3:53 left in the fourth quarter basically sealed the game for the Broncos.

“We knew we needed to make a play,” McMillian recalled. “I knew it was going to be one of us and ‘V.J.’ [Joseph] just so happened to call the right play for me. I kind of timed it up well off Mahomes’ hands, and I went in and made a play on him. The offense went there, did their job, drove down the field, [Receiver] Troy [Franklin] had a great catch, we wound the time down and [kicker Wil] Lutz, he made a kick, and we won the game.”

As if that wasn’t enough, McMillian also grabbed his first interception of the season with 10:23 left in the third quarter, and the game tied 6-6.

“I did think it was coming back,” McMillian said. “Honestly, I was tired. It was a long drive, I made a few moves, and I didn’t know the guy [Mitchell] was behind me, kind of stripped the ball, but I was tired and I just made a play on the ball. A wonderful play to make for my team.”

What’s that they say about luck being the residue of design?

McMillian isn’t a one-game wonder, either. This season, he has four sacks, six total pressures, 27 solo tackles, 16 stops, and 32 catches allowed on 49 targets for 339 yards, 163 yards after the catch, one touchdown, the aforementioned interception, and an opponent passer rating of 83.5. He’s one of many reasons the Broncos’ defense has managed to retain their best performances on the field despite the absence of Patrick Surtain, who has now missed the last three games with a pectoral injury.

“He’s dialing it up, man,” Bonitto said postgame about what Vance Joseph is calling week to week. “Whether it’s rushing coverage, sending extra people. Obviously, you’re seeing with ‘J-Mac’ today, being able to send him and get some sacks with him, that was very crucial. Just everybody doing their jobs and, obviously, with ‘V.J.’ the way he calls things, he puts in a great position.”

Between talent and scheme, “Next Man Up” for Denver’s defense can put opposing offenses in the same bag, regardless. Ja’Quan McMillian’s Sunday performance showed that he can be a main man, as well.