Justin Strnad has seen the discourse.

By this point, it’s no national secret that the Broncos’ current linebacker corps has produced less-than-stellar results in coverage. In two losses this season, Colts running back Jonathan Taylor and the Chargers’ Omarion Hampton left Denver’s defense dizzy on wheel routes. And the public’s assumption on such plays, Strnad acknowledges, is that it’s automatically the fault of him or fellow starting ILB Alex Singleton. Sometimes it is.

“But then there’s also times,” Strnad told The Denver Post in the locker room Thursday, “where it’s like, I don’t really know what they’re talking about a lot of the time.”

Remember when Taylor flared out of the backfield and whizzed away for a 43-yard gain in the Colts’ win in Week 2? Remember when Hampton got free on a fourth-quarter screen and sped for 22 yards in the Chargers’ win in Week 3? Both plays, specifically, were “100% miscommunication,” as Strnad told The Post.

Would free-agent add Dre Greenlaw — stuck on injured reserve until at least Week 7 — be great to have right now, heading into this matchup with the Eagles and reigning NFL Offensive Player of the Year Saquon Barkley? Of course. But Denver’s dropped coverages on running backs are more a matter of overall defensive communication, Strnad believes, than a lack of ability in current ILB personnel.

“You get people get wrapped in like, ‘Oh, he’s this in coverage, he’s that in coverage,’” Strnad told The Post. “Like you said, I think Dre was great — has been great in his career all-around, as a player. But I think all our ‘backers can cover, to be honest with you.

“A lot of the stuff that you see on TV where a guy’s wide open, that might be more communication (than) it is to someone’s coverage ability.”

Regardless of the reason, the fact remains: There were back-to-back losses where head coach Sean Payton pointed to coverage breakdowns against running backs. The result was a combined 109 receiving yards for Taylor and Hampton across two weeks. Denver can’t afford such mistakes against Barkley, who didn’t feature heavily as a pass-catcher in his first season in Philadelphia but has caught 14 balls through four weeks in 2025.

The Broncos cleaned up their underneath coverages against a thoroughly inept Bengals offense in Week 4. Still, Bengals back Chase Brown had three catches for 31 yards. Sunday’s matchup against Philadelphia could be a major precedent-setter for the Broncos’ ability to shadow a mismatch back, one of a specific few phases that’s vital to Denver’s improvement.

“I don’t even think it’s anything about ability of the DBs, linebackers,” outside linebacker Nik Bonitto told The Post in late September. “I feel like it’s more of just mental errors of them being open, more than us having to actually guard them.

“So I feel like that’s just something we gotta look at the film room and see, and just being able to correct those type of things. Because obviously, more and more teams are going to start doing it if we don’t have an answer for it.”

The answer, as Strnad broke down, is simple in concept and complicated in execution. Some defenses rely heavily on spot drop coverages, a type of zone where defenders backtrack to a specific area and read the quarterback’s eyes. Vance Joseph’s defense in Denver, though, contains heavy doses of match coverage — a blend of zone and man-to-man — where defenders match to specific skill players in their areas. It’s key for defenders to communicate motion by opposing offenses, Strnad explained, and to tag over mid-play on receivers.

“Because if you don’t — the Jonathan Taylors, those plays can happen where you get dropped or you don’t pass it off,” Strnad said, “and it looks like a wide-open play. And it can hurt you.”

Indeed, in Week 2, Taylor’s 43-yard pop came because Singleton got caught on one of his own defenders trying to sprint and pick up the Colts back — and cornerback Pat Surtain II didn’t tag over to Taylor in the flat. In Week 3, Hampton’s 22-yard pop came because Joseph sent Singleton and rookie corner Jahdae Barron in on a six-man rush, leaving nickel Ja’Quan McMillian stuck between a receiver over the middle and Hampton in the flat.

This is the NFL, Singleton said in late September. Players will make plays. But the Broncos will need to adjust over the course of 60 minutes Sunday to whatever kitchen sink Barkley and the Eagles throw at them.

“We’re going to have to finish in the fourth quarter,” Strnad said. “It’s going to take everything to win this game.”

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Originally Published: October 3, 2025 at 4:33 PM MDT