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Broncos will give former 3rd-round pick snaps at a new position in 2026
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- Broncos will give former 3rd-round pick snaps at a new position in 2026
After moving on from Dre Greenlaw , Denver Broncos coach Sean Payton revealed at the NFL's annual league meeting that third-year outside linebacker Jonah Elliss will get snaps at inside linebacker this season.
"It's the decision to give him snaps going forward," Payton explained. "Skill set, it's a position where we are wanting — I drafted his brother [ Kaden Elliss ]. The same thing happened with Zack Baun , only we couldn't get Zack Baun on the field. Now, Philadelphia managed to. It was really looking at your assets, and we know that he is smart, tough and he has all the… Sometimes, that inside backer position — one of the best in our league at San Francisco in Fred Warner , you saw him play more out in space, outside backer.
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"Sometimes you have to look at the skill set, and then project where you think it can go, and your depth on the edge that allows you to do something like that. We will have a chance to visit with him on it."
Jonah's brother, Kaden, has totaled 19.5 sacks as an inside linebacker over the last four seasons. Jonah will now get an opportunity to take on a similar role in Denver.
The Broncos are stacked at OLB, and giving Elliss reps at ILB could create more opportunities for Que Robinson as a rotational rusher behind starters Jonathon Cooper and Nik Bonitto . Elliss and Dondrea Tillman served as the primary rotational rushers behind Bonitto and Cooper last season. Bonitto clearly approves of the decision:
This is an interesting development for Elliss and potentially good news for Robinson. Conversely, it's probably not a good sign for Drew Sanders that Denver has deemed it necessary to change a player's position to add more quality to the ILB room. Sanders, who has battled various injuries to this point in his career, is entering the final year of his rookie contract. This summer might represent his last chance to revive his career with the Broncos.
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This article originally appeared on Broncos Wire: Denver Broncos: Jonah Elliss to get snaps at inside linebacker
