The Denver Broncos are 9-2, but it’s never too early to prepare for the upcoming draft. If the season ended today, the Broncos would have the No. 30 pick in the first round. That said, starting linebacker Alex Singleton, 32 and No. 28 in PFSN’s LB Impact Score, is an impending free agent as well. So, the question becomes, how do the Broncos replace him? Enter PFSN’s Ian Cummings with the solution.

CJ Allen, LB, Georgia

He released a seven-round mock draft on Friday. In it, he has the Broncos drafting a linebacker in the first round, albeit at the end of the first round.

“The time has come for the Broncos to stop neglecting inside linebacker. Denver traditionally doesn’t take LBs high in the draft, but in a 2026 NFL Draft class that’s thin on blue-chip talent, there’s a perfect opportunity to just take the good football player. At 6’1″, 230 pounds, Allen is around average size, and can be controlled at the point by climbing linemen at times — but that’s one of the only knocks on his profile. He’s rangy, instinctive, physical, relentless in pursuit, and he has excellent coverage feel as well,” Cummings wrote.

Now, the question becomes, should the Broncos use a premium pick on an unimportant position? For reference, the five most important positions are quarterback, pass-rusher (EDGE or interior), wide receiver, left tackle, and cornerback. Then, after a tier drop, it’s running back and full safety. So, at best, linebacker is the eighth-most important position.

And first-round picks are expected to be blue-chip talent who play for 10-plus seasons. It was the 2019 NFL Draft when then-head coach of the Broncos, Vic Fangio, declined drafting LB Devin White for tight end Noah Fant. I wonder if current head coach Sean Payton does the same with Allen for another player.

That said, in Round 2, Cummings has the Broncos drafting defensive tackle Bear Alexander out of Oregon. And in Round 3, the former has Denver drafting tight end Michael Trigg out of Baylor. Elsewhere for the Broncos, cornerback Pat Surtain II is expected back for Week 13, while EDGE Jonah Elliss — who was questionable on Friday — was ruled out on Saturday.