Sports blog information from USA TODAY.
Who was Denver’s MVP in 2023? Check out Broncos Wire’s team awards from the 2023 season.
Every year, the NFL hands out its annual awards before the Super Bowl for both offensive and defensive excellence.
At Broncos Wire, we’d also like to recognize several Denver Broncos players who would be considered for those awards on a team level in 2023.
The Broncos view Drew Sanders and Alex Forsyth as starters, perhaps a sign they’re preparing to lose Josey Jewell and Lloyd Cushenberry.
The Denver Broncos have already braced fans for limited signings in free agency this spring. Fans should also expect the team to lose several key in-house free agents this offseason.
The Broncos have 18 players scheduled to become free agents in March and with a tough salary cap situation, Denver won’t be able to re-sign all of them. During his end-of-season press conference last week, general manager George Paton might have hinted that two starters could be leaving this offseason.
Paton was asked about the performance of the team’s 2023 rookie class and he said the team views cornerback Riley Moss as an NFL starter. He then said the “same” applies to linebacker Drew Sanders.
The team viewing Sanders is a starter is notable because Josey Jewell is set to hit free agency this spring.
“Big upside,” Paton said of Sanders. “He played inside, and he played outside. He started to come on late in year, and he was really good on special teams.”
Broncos center Lloyd Cushenberry is also scheduled to become a free agent and this is what Paton had to say about Alex Forsyth: “We feel he’s a starter in this league at center.”
Denver would not need to view Sanders and Forsyth as anything more than depth pieces if Jewell and Cushenberry both returned in 2024. While he did not directly say so, Paton seemed to hint that the Broncos are preparing for the possibility of Jewell and Cushenberry leaving the club in March.
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The Denver Broncos had an wild season, full of ups and downs. We take a look back at the best and worst from 2023.
The Denver Broncos closed their 2023 season with a disappointing 27-14 loss to the Las Vegas Raiders on Sunday, finishing their season at 8-9.
This season began with buzz over head coach Sean Payton coming to Denver and his partnership with Russell Wilson. At the beginning of the season, there were far more problems than solutions. But then, in the middle of the year, the Broncos went on a remarkable six-game win streak, and there were serious playoff conversations happening for the first time since 2015. A couple of late-season losses ended those talks, but Denver still finished the year with their most wins since 2016.
We take a look at this season full of ups and downs with our final list of studs and duds from 2023.
Former Razorback All-American Drew Sanders is making fast rise in the NFL.
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.
Albert Okwuegbunam headlines the list of Broncos players with rising stock following the team’s preseason finale.
The Denver Broncos finally secured a win on Saturday night, a 41-0 shutout of the Los Angeles Rams in the final preseason game. Although it won’t show up in the official standings, it marked head coach Sean Payton’s first win as Broncos head coach. Today, we take a look at five stocks that went up through the game (no stock down this week).
Here are our takeaways from the Broncos’ win over the Rams on Saturday.
The Denver Broncos finally won their first game in 230 days with a 41-0 blowout of the Los Angeles Rams on Saturday. The victory gave head coach Sean Payton his first win as a Bronco, which is a nice milestone to achieve, especially in front of a home crowd. Today, we look at five takeaways from the win.
“He’s going to be someone that does a lot of things for us,” Broncos coach Sean Payton said of rookie linebacker Drew Sanders.
Denver Broncos third-round draft pick Drew Sanders is undoubtedly in line to get more playing time following Jonas Griffith’s season-ending ACL injury.
Sanders, who spent time playing both inside linebacker and outside linebacker, could prove to be a versatile playmaker in Vance Joseph’s defense this fall.
“I think he’s picked it up,” head coach Sean Payton said of Sanders adjusting to an NFL defense on Aug. 3. “He’s smart. There are some nuances because he is playing a little more off the ball. He played both in college, but he is a quick study.
“I think he’s doing well. I think he’s handled the install pretty well. Now, there are plays in practice where there will be an alignment error or maybe a leverage error, but he will get it cleaned up. Overall, we have been pleased with him.”
Two days after those initial remarks, Payton was asked about the rookie linebacker again and the coach reiterated that the mental aspect is still a work in progress, but Sanders clearly has all the physical traits required for success as a pro.
“There’s a learning curve,” Payton said. “Yet, you see physicality, you see speed. His stature, his length, all of those things. He’s going to be someone that does a lot of things for us. We see him certainly getting reps in the kicking game. I’ve been encouraged.”
Sanders is expected to make his (preseason) NFL debut when the Broncos go on the road to face the Arizona Cardinals on Friday.
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Broncos rookie Drew Sanders might be in line for more playing time following the Jonas Griffith injury.
After losing Jonas Griffith to a season-ending torn ACL, the Denver Broncos signed Austin Ajiake to add some more depth at inside linebacker.
Alex Singleton and Josey Jewell remain the team’s starters at ILB. Behind them, rookie third-round pick Drew Sanders has a good chance to emerge as the top backup ILB following the Griffith injury.
In addition to Sanders, the Broncos also have fourth-year special teams contributor Justin Strnad, undrafted rookie Seth Benson, the newly signed Ajiake and Ray Wilborn (although it’s still unclear if Denver plans to use Wilborn primarily on the inside or on the outside).
Here is our projected updated ILB depth chart going into the first week of preseason.
| ILB1 | Josey Jewell | Drew Sanders | Seth Benson | |
| ILB2 | Alex Singleton | Justin Strnad | Ray Wilborn | Austin Ajiake |
The Broncos are expected to release an official depth chart ahead of their preseason game against the Arizona Cardinals sometime this week.
In this week’s “4-Down Territory,” Doug Farrar and Kyle Madson get you ready for training camp!
In this week’s “4-Down Territory,” Kyle Madson of Niners Wire and Doug Farrar of Touchdown Wire get into a few important items as NFL teams prepare for training camp… and sooner than you may think, the 2023 NFL season!
You can watch this week’s episode of “4-Down Territory” right here.
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Broncos ILB Josey Jewell is rated 80 OVR (up from 76 last year) and Alex Singleton is rated 79 OVR (up from 72 last year) in ‘Madden.’
EA Sports has released player ratings for “Madden NFL 24” and we now know the ratings for every Denver Broncos inside linebacker in the popular video game.
Josey Jewell is the team’s best linebacker with an 80 overall rating. Fellow starter Alex Singleton is the second-best with a 79 OVR rating.
Those represent notable rating increases for both Jewell and Singleton, who were rated 76 and 72, respectively, in last year’s version of “Madden.”
Broncos rookie Drew Sanders and vet Jonas Griffith are both rated 72 OVR this year. Justin Strnad rounds out the team’s ILB depth with a 64 OVR rating. Griffith was 69 OVR last year and Strnad was 64 OVR.
Singleton has the best tackle rating (92) among the team’s linebackers, followed by Jewell (89), Griffith (83) and Sanders (78). Strnad’s tackle rating is 75.
EA Sports did not include Seth Benson or Ray Wilborn on the Broncos’ roster, so neither of them have ratings in “Madden” yet.
“Madden NFL 24” will be released on August 15.
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