Broncos' Position Battle We're Watching Closest in Training Camp

The Denver Broncos only lost two key free agents this offseason, one of whom was a starter. They're returning roughly 90% of their 2025 snaps.

That makes Broncos GM George Paton and head coach Sean Payton’s job a lot easier when it comes to building the roster, but that lost starter leads to the one position battle we'll be watching closely in training camp: right defensive end.

Finding JFM's Replacement

Obviously, the All-Pro defensive end Zach Allen and nose tackle D.J. Jones are the two other defensive line starters, but the Broncos have to find a John Franklin-Myers replacement. Franklin-Myers was a good player for the Broncos, and not only did he make an impact on the stat sheet, but he also did a lot of the dirty work to help his teammates.

JFM will be hard to replace, including the 14.5 sacks he totaled over the past two years, but it will be even harder to do so with only one player, so the Broncos will likely look to bridge the gap in the aggregate, which is why this battle is worth keeping a close eye on.

The Candidates

The Broncos have plenty of options, with Malcolm Roach, Eyioma Uwazurike, Tyler Onyedim, and Sai’vion Jones, though each comes with pros and cons. The defensive line is already heavily rotated, so this battle really comes down to the pecking order.

Roach is more of a nose tackle type, and he doesn’t have the ideal movement skills to work outside, but he is a capable run defender and can help eat space to work outside on run downs. Uwazurike is much the same as Roach, as he is the biggest-bodied defensive lineman on the Broncos' roster.

So, while both can work outside, they would need to be more down-and-distance-limited to minimize their snaps on passing downs.

As for Jones, he's a pass rusher with some serious questions as a run defender. Rotating him with Uwazurike and Roach could be a step toward replacing Franklin-Myers with a rotation.

Onyedim, the rookie third-rounder, is a very good run defender — one of the best in the 2026 NFL draft class — and he has potential as a pass rusher to be an all-down defender. But he's a rookie.

The Sleeper to Watch

Tyler Onyedim. — Denver Broncos rookie defensive lineman Tyler Onyedim runs a drill at rookie minicamp | Ben Swanson / Denver Broncos

With this camp battle, Onyedim is the one to watch the most closely because he's a rookie with tremendous upside, even as a third-round pick. If he can pick up the defense and show he can contribute on all three downs, that would go a long way toward replacing Franklin-Myers.

Another reason this is a battle worth watching is that for all but a few games last year, the Broncos only kept five defensive linemen on their gameday active roster, but they have six this year to work into the rotation.

So, this camp battle will be crucial to determining whether these six players can force the Broncos' coaches to keep them all active and create a six-man rotation, which would help Allen stay a little fresher and be even more efficient.

The Takeaway

With the defensive line featuring the only starting vacancy, this is the biggest battle to watch, but it goes beyond the starting job. The Broncos' depth is full of potential, but training camp will be a good test to see how much they can step up and whether they're ready.

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