Phillip Lindsay Feels the Mantle of Leadership Passing to Broncos Young Core

The Denver Broncos won the Super Bowl four years ago. Only a handful of players on that World-Champion roster remain, with Von Miller leading the way.

Most of the veterans who helped lead the Broncos to the top of the hill have since either retired or are playing football elsewhere. Miller is always going to be looked to for his leadership but with a charismatic quarterback, and three consecutive draft classes replete with young leaders, the mantle of leadership has now fallen squarely on the shoulders of the team's youthful core.

While Drew Lock absolutely comes to mind when mentioning the mantle of leadership moving forward, young players like Phillip Lindsay, Courtland Sutton, and Dalton Risner have asserted themselves as leaders over the last couple of seasons. That passing of the torch has happened and Lindsay is ready to carry it forward.

“I do think it is being passed our way," Lindsay said on Tuesday via virtual presser. "Honestly, we needed—the younger dudes came up and we were a more mature younger team at the time. Now, I think that it’s just time for us to hold each other more accountable."

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Guys like Lindsay and Sutton have natural leadership traits but by proving they belong in the league and proving themselves out on the grid-iron, they have the confidence to be more assertive without fear of reprisal from the old guard.

"We have more say now. We can voice our opinions more now than when we first started," Lindsay said. "The second part of that question is you get to know each of the guys. You’re in the NFL. You’re around a bunch of grown men that understand what they need to do to stay on this team because everybody needs to feed their family. It’s not about babysitting or telling somebody, ‘You need to do this. You need to do that.’ It’s about holding people accountable and when they start to fall off or slip you kind of talk to them about it and get them right back on the same level as you."

When a guy needs to be called out, a leader will call him out. But the real leaders will also encourage and support that guy in order to — as Lindsay said — get them on the "same level".

"If we do that with each other at good times and bad times, we’re going to be just fine," Lindsay said.

The truth is, since the 2018 draft class hit the roster, the Broncos haven't had much to celebrate by way of team success. However, that doesn't mean there haven't been individual moments of triumph.

The young guys have paid their dues in the truest sense of the phrase. They've suffered through the coaching incompetencies and quarterback foibles and have learned a lot through the trials and tribulations. Now it's time to put that wisdom to work for the team.

"We’ve been through a lot," Lindsay said. "The younger class, we’ve been through winning some games, losing some games and then being in tough games. Now all you can do now is put all that together and come out on top and win a lot more games than you lose. I think with the leadership that we have this year it should happen. It’s not just one person. It’s all of us holding each other accountable."

This team needs the passing of the leadership torch to be real and lasting. For too long, the Broncos held onto the Super Bowl 50 glory though it never did anything to move the needle for the team.

That was then. Even four seasons removed from hoisting the Lombardi Trophy, it's been a football eternity since the Broncos were relevant.

With Lindsay, Lock, Sutton, and Risner leading the way, that could change in hurry. The Broncos are in good hands with the next generation. And don't forget about Bradley Chubb either. This young core is here to stay.

Follow Chad on Twitter @ChadNJensen and @MileHighHudde.