Eighth in a series previewing the Broncos’ 2026 roster in the weeks leading up to the start of training camp in late July. Previously: Quarterbacks,running backs,wide receivers,tight ends,offensive linemen, defensive linemen, and outside linebackers.
On the roster (7): Alex Singleton, Justin Strnad, Red Murdock, Jordan Turner, Karene Reid, Levelle Bailey and Taurean York.
How many on the 53? Four or five. Singleton and Strnad are locked in as the starting duo; from there, it’s a free-for-all amongst youngsters for a couple spots.
Most impactful offseason move: Choosing longstanding continuity over a more expensive injury risk in Dre Greenlaw — or anything else.
It was no secret that Denver needed to pick two of a group of three potential starters at ILB, after the 2025 season. Alex Singleton, for all his flaws in coverage and the fanbase’s not-so-gleaming reviews of his lateral quickness, had arguably the best year of his career against the run and has been key as the play-caller to Vance Joseph’s defense. Veteran Justin Strnad established himself as a versatile piece and is ready for a cemented top-flight role in an NFL defense. And Greenlaw, once the jewel of the Broncos’ 2025 free-agent haul, struggled through cascading injuries in the fall but still made an impact as an enforcer when he saw the field.
In the end, despite staring at their two expiring contracts, the Broncos’ front office decided to bring back Singleton and Strnad on multi-year deals and cut Greenlaw to save a nice little chunk of cap room. Despite widespread calls for another inside ‘backer, the Broncos stood pat for the rest of free agency and didn’t take a rookie ILB until the very last pick of April’s draft in Murdock.
That decision-making, ultimately, was an endorsement of the 32-year-old Singleton as Joseph’s defensive captain and a show of faith in Strnad to outperform what Greenlaw could’ve given them in 2026. And Denver will enter training camp with virtually no competition for those starting jobs at arguably the weakest point of an ironclad defensive unit. It’s up to Singleton and Strnad to showcase the reasoning behind that internal evaluation.
Biggest question to answer in camp: Who’s the ILB3?
Strnad became a virtually irreplaceable piece over the last two seasons as the third inside linebacker on Denver’s roster, starting 16 of 33 games and playing over 50% of the team’s defensive snaps as both a fill-in starter and rotational ILB on passing downs. Greenlaw is gone, removing a massive injury risk on Denver’s roster. But it’s almost impossible to see veterans Singleton and Strnad combining for 34 regular-season games in 2026.
In another interesting front-office decision, the Broncos have thus far opted against bringing in a veteran linebacker for depth. Instead, Denver is rolling with a group of five ‘backers who have played a collective total of 42 NFL defensive snaps. Long live the youth!
This projects as a true training-camp melee, with no current favorite. Murdock is probably the best bet at the moment, the 2026 NFL Draft’s Mr. Irrelevant who put up some truly relevant numbers at Buffalo. Keep an eye on jacked Jordan Turner, too, who rose from a rookie-minicamp tryout signee to a 53-man roster staple by the end of his rookie season out of Michigan State.
Battle to watch: Turner vs. Reid vs. Bailey, again
This room hasn’t drastically changed since last year’s training camp, when then-undrafted-rookies Turner and Reid battled it out with Bailey for a roster spot. Expect more of the same this fall, with a couple new pieces around them.
Bailey has been a training-camp darling for two seasons due to his natural nose for the football, but has never been able to find a foothold on Denver’s roster. The Broncos love back-of-the-roster depth pieces that can provide consistent special-teams value, and chose Reid over Bailey for a roster spot in 2025 for that very reason; Turner, meanwhile, ran out of practice-squad elevations as a rookie and wound up playing 64% of the Broncos’ ST snaps in seven regular-season games last year.
All have varying degrees of upside on the defensive side of the ball. If Bailey can showcase special-teams development in camp to head coach Sean Payton and ST coordinator Darren Rizzi, though, watch for him to finally seize a spot in his third season in Denver.
Under the radar: York.
Payton and the Broncos have created a haven of sorts for undrafted free agents in Denver across the past few years, and York could be the next post-draft signing to find his way to the roster. He is betting on himself to do so.
“Don’t be fooled by the undrafted label,” York told The Post in May, asked if he had a message for Denver’s fanbase. “OK? My resume, my history, is public knowledge. Itap out there. If you have a question if I can play or not, just go look my name up.”
Indeed, the 21-year-old York started for three straight seasons at Texas A&M as the Aggies’ defensive play-caller, and is described as a whiz-kid of sorts by former defensive coaches. His size — measuring at 5-foot-10 and 226 pounds — will prove a definite challenge at the NFL level. But there’s opportunity in the Broncos’ current ILB room, and York is toting a massive chip on his diminutive shoulders.
