Impact of Broncos Working Out OLB Andre Carter at Training Camp

The Denver Broncos worked out a pair of outside linebackers on Thursday, neither of whom is Von Miller.

According to 9NEWS' Mike Klis, the Broncos hosted former Raiders OLB Andre Carter II and undrafted rookie OLB Devean Deal as the team continues to evaluate the position in training camp.

Undrafted himself in 2023, Carter bounced around from the Vikings to Las Vegas to the Miami Dolphins and also held brief stints with the Detroit Lions and, most recently, the Washington Commanders.

The 6-foot-6, 256-pound defender played collegiately at Army where he earned third-team All-American honors in 2021, logging 15.5 sacks, 18.5 tackles for loss, and four forced fumbles.

In his pre-draft scouting profile, NFL Media's Lance Zierlein assigned Carter a projected fifth- to sixth-round grade.

"Long and rangy, Carter is currently best suited as a 3-4 rush linebacker on passing downs, but is likely to develop into an every-down player with additional growth both physically and technically," Zierlein wrote. "Carter needs to play with more skilled hands and inject a little more glass into his on-field diet in order to meet force with force when the run game comes downhill at him. His explosive get-off and natural bend/agility at the top of the rush are enough to create early opportunities for himself as a quarterback hunter. Carter might need a longer runway to meet his potential, but if does his pass-rush homework, he could take a substantial leap forward as an odd or even front edge rusher by Year 3."

What This Means

As for why the Broncos decided to try out these EDGE rushers, it could simply be a matter of due diligence, with key reserve OLB Dondrea Tillman already having picked up a minor injury and starter Nik Bonitto missing practice Wednesday before (briefly) returning Thursday.

The fact that Carter nor Deal were signed following their auditions points exactly to that, especially when considering the position remains one of, if not the strongest area on the entire roster.

Behind Bonitto and Jonathon Cooper on the depth chart (and after Tillman) are ascending talents Jonah Elliss and Que Robinson, both of whom have enjoyed strong camps thus far.

“There were certain traits you saw on film. He’s a real good technician, and he’s one of those guys that we know has been coached hard," Payton said of Robinson on Wednesday. "We felt coming into this defense from what he was playing in, there were some similarities to what we were going to ask him to do. I think that’s a help."

He said of Elliss on Aug. 1: “All the cut-up tape, his production, his ball disruption, it just, for me, felt like, ‘Man, we’re taking a position that’s harder to find, and moving him to a position that we think might be a little bit easier to replace.’ That’s not to say that we can’t package a few things, but I think we felt like he’s really ascending as an edge player, and we didn’t want to disrupt that.”

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