When you are a rookie and get high praise from a veteran NFL defensive coach like Vance Joseph, that speaks volumes.
But when you have the natural skills and football IQ of former Arkansas linebacker Drew Sanders, those complements can be expected.
Joseph is in his first year back as Denver’s defensive coordinator and beginning his 18th overall season coaching in the NFL. He made no bones about it last week when asked about Sanders’ progress heading into the third-round pick’s first pro season.
“He makes a play a day,” Joseph said, “that nobody else can make.”
The 6-foot-5, 233-pound Sanders has great size, exceptional speed and a nose for attacking the football, evident by his All-American performance with the Razorbacks last season. He finished with a team-leading 103 tackles, including 13.5 tackles for loss, and 9.5 sacks.
He followed that with the highest production score of all the linebackers at last spring’s NFL Combine, thanks to his unique set of physical traits and skills. His arms stretch more than 32 inches each, and his field vision is superb for attacking ball-carries in the blink of an eye.
“He’s a freak,” said veteran Broncos linebacker Alex Singleton, of his new 22-year-old teammate.
Sanders was rated as the top inside linebacker in the 2023 draft, and was projected by many as a late first-round selection. He remained on the board longer than expected, partially because teams had questions about where exactly he would fit in their defensive scheme. The 5-Star recruit out of Denton, Tex., played multiple positions at Alabama before transferring to Arkansas prior to last season. With the Razorbacks, he roamed the field some, but played mostly on the edge.
Yet, falling down the board to Denver and new Head Coach Sean Payton may have been a blessing for Sanders.
Payton said immediately after the draft that Sanders would play inside, but he also described him as “a pressure player,” a versatile weapon that the Broncos could move around in various ways to create mismatches, which would allow him to better pursue the quarterback. So far, the youngster has not disappointed.
Even at the NFL level, Sanders has quickly proven that he can line up at inside linebacker or as an outside rusher, with a fluid slide-and-swim move. He has the ability to beat tackles off the edge, has the lateral quickness to beat blockers to spots, and is willing to dart into gaps when he recognizes potential for disruption.
Sanders is slated to begin the season backing up Singleton at the inside spot, but will likely participate on special teams and be in a regular rotation at linebacker.
“We’ve got some things that he’s going to do in the fall that we won’t show right now, but he’s all in,” Joseph said earlier this summer. “Now, we focus on playing good linebacker, being a good dime for us on third downs, but he’s a guy who is improving every single day. … The talent is obvious. It’s just time on task.”
Payton, the former Bill Parcells protégé, has also been pleased with how Sanders has handled the media, thus far. The coach offered a reward during rookie minicamp in early May, to the first-year player who responded with the most vanilla answers when reporters approached the locker room. Sanders excelled again, collecting the $50 gift card.