One Broncos Rookie With the Best Chance to Surprise

The Denver Broncos are set to start training camp soon, and there are a lot of eyes on their rookie class. They made it all the way to the AFC Championship game and made a few veteran additions, so the pressure is on the rookie class to make up the difference.

They had only one pick in the first three rounds of the draft and made seven picks total, with three in the final 15 picks. Looking at the history of drafts, it is unlikely they will get a significant impact from five or six of their rookies, making it more difficult to find a surprise, though one does stand out.

The one Broncos rookie with a great chance of surprising this year is Red Murdock, the Broncos' final pick and Mr. Irrelevant as the final pick of the draft.

Why Red Murdock Has the Best Chance to Surprise

The history of Mr. Irrelevant isn’t great, so why is he the one to potentially surprise? Well, it starts with why he was available that late.

You see, Murdock was sidelined throughout the draft process due to an injury. This limited how much he could show off in front of teams, leaving him unable to do much on the field to impress them.

He had his tape and interviews, and that was it. Adding to it, teams do get scared by injuries and tend to let them fall in the draft.

So, despite Murdock carrying fourth-round grades among most draft analysts, teams sat by and let him fall largely due to injuries. Now, day three is when you can take the risk on medicals, so it isn’t the only reason why he fell.

Feb 25, 2026; Indianapolis, IN, USA; Buffalo linebacker Red Murdock (LB17) speaks during the NFL Scouting Combine at the Indiana Convention Center. Mandatory Credit: Kirby Lee-Imagn Images | IMAGN IMAGES via Reuters Connect

Murdock had issues on tape, primarily in coverage, which is so vital for linebackers in the modern NFL, with how teams have gone with their offense. They're being drawn into space more and more, and when you don’t have the best movement skills in space, like Murdock, that's an issue. Now add in the injury to his lower half, and it makes the issue even worse.

So, how can Murdock be a surprise? Well, given the way the Broncos use their linebackers, there is a good chance they can cover his issues in coverage and let him be a downhill thumper, which he does extremely well.

You know what else he does well? Force fumbles.

Murdock set records in college for his ability to force fumbles, and the Broncos need help generating takeaways or giving themselves more opportunities by forcing them. With what they do on defense and Murdock's special-teams ability, they could look at deploying him in ways that make him a weapon for them and get the ball knocked out.

When watching him play, Murdock shows great technique and a strong habit of punching the ball to knock it out, or even prying it out in some cases.

If Denver can find a way to deploy him to his strengths while covering his weaknesses, Murdock has a chance to be a major surprise as a rookie, even if he might be the last pick to come off the board in this year's draft.

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