Both of the Broncos’ starting inside linebackers for their two playoff games have expiring contracts and are set to hit free agency at the start of the new league year next month.

And looming over the forthcoming decisions regarding Alex Singleton and Justin Strnad is a bountiful free-agent class and a crop of draft-eligible linebackers that has quality at the top and plenty of depth, with viable, talented prospects well into the second and third days of the draft.

NFL Network’s Daniel Jeremiah pointed to linebacker as one of the strong positions in the forthcoming NFL Draft, along with defensive line and wide receiver.

And he sees his No. 2 inside linebacker, Georgia’s CJ Allen, as a potential fit for the Broncos.

“He’s just one of the best players available,” Jeremiah said on a conference call with media Thursday.`

 

 

WHY JEREMIAH SEES ALLEN AS A BRONCOS OPTION

“I think he’ll run, like, a 4.5 (40-yard dash) once we get a chance to see him in Indy (at the Scouting Combine),” Jeremiah said.

But speed is just the beginning for the 235-pound Allen, who quickly worked his way into a key role in Georgia’s defense as a true freshman in 2023.

“”He’s just a real physical player,” Jeremiah said. “This is a fast defense, a lot of fastballs. And then, what that can do is sometimes it can create a little bit of space there. And he can suck it up. He can do it with speed; he can do it with physicality.”

But perhaps most importantly, Allen has the intelligence necessary to handle work at the core of a defense. He projects as a potential “green-dot” linebacker — the one who wears the helmet with the radio receiver to relay the defensive coordinator’s calls to the rest of the defense. That player is typically responsible for pre-snap alignment adjustments for the defensive line and linebackers.

“He’s the communicator for that defense. He can kind of be the nerve center,” Jeremiah said.

And Allen — who doesn’t turn 21 until March 1 — handled that role immediately, Jeremiah shared.

“I’ve talked to their coaches there and said he got there in the spring (of 2023). All these freshmen now, they all show up in the spring before their freshman year, so, technically should still be a high-school kid. And he said, this guy was making like, every tackle in practice as a 17-, 18-year-old kid who should be a senior in high school.

“So, he arrived on the scene ready to go at Georgia, and I think he’d be a great fit.”

Whether the Broncos truly end up needing a linebacker is to be determined; their moves in the next three weeks will likely determine that. If they re-sign Singleton and do nothing else, it sets up for the Broncos to select an inside linebacker from this bumper crop and develop him to replace either Singleton or Dre Greenlaw.

In that case, Allen could be a perfect fit at a position group the Broncos haven’t targeted in Round 1 since selecting D.J. Williams in 2004.