Compared to training camp or the preseason, OTAs are a relatively low-stakes affair. For the last 37 players on the Denver Broncos’ 90-man offseason roster, though, every day is a tight-rope walk under intense scrutiny.
One misstep, and a player could be handed his walking papers. That’s true for the Broncos’ late-round draft picks, and it’s especially so for the club’s crop of undrafted rookies.
When the 2026 Mr. Irrelevant — linebacker Red Murdock — unintentionally knocked wideout Michael Bandy to the ground during Thursday’s OTA session, garnering the ire of veteran running back J.K. Dobbins, the rookie linebacker likely held his breath. The Broncos see some serious upside in Murdock, though, and even in the non-contact setting of OTAs, collisions can happen. It is football.
Coming out of the first week of OTAs, though, despite that slight hiccup, Murdock’s roster outlook looks even better than it did going into it. That’s not necessarily due to anything he did or didn’t do, but rather, because we got a better idea of which players are actually in the running at inside linebacker.
Elliss is an OLB
Jonah Elliss ran exclusively with the outside linebackers at OTAs, which came as a bit of a surprise, considering how head coach Sean Payton intimated early this offseason that he would be taking snaps inside. Upon hearing Payton say this, we, myself included, jumped the gun, thinking that Elliss was making a permanent position change.
Considering his draft pedigree as a recent third-round pick and how much we know the Broncos like Elliss, my early projection accounted for Elliss as one of three inside linebackers locked to make the 53-man roster. The Broncos traditionally carry four inside linebackers out of training camp.
Two of those three spots are earmarked for starters Alex Singleton and Justin Strnad, and I had Elliss as the third. Not so fast, though.
Payton clarified the Elliss positional question after Thursday’s practice, saying that his inside/outside versatility will be utilized in certain “packages.” Based on Payton’s words and Elliss’s usage in the OTA practice open to the media, the Broncos are keeping him on the edge, though he’ll occasionally take snaps inside.
“I think there are two things. One, he’s got position flexibility—inside and outside,” Payton said of Elliss. “And there’ll be packages, especially in passing situations, where Vance and the defensive staff will decide how they want to use him. But he’s out here competing and doing well.”
Opportunity Knocks
That means that there are two — instead of one — inside linebacker spots wide-open on the 53-man roster, and while that’s good news for everyone on the depth chart, it’s especially so for Murdock. After all, Murdock is the only inside linebacker besides Strnad who was actually drafted by the Broncos.
Singleton was a free-agent find, while Karene Reid, Levelle Bailey, Jordan Turner, and Taurean York were all undrafted. There’s Drew Sanders, but even though he was drafted as an inside linebacker in 2023, he’s been moved to the outside this summer, though it wouldn’t surprise me if the Broncos have a similar plan for him to be used in specific packages.
There has been a lot of hype surrounding York, who went undrafted in April out of Texas A&M, and while he still faces long odds, his chances of making the 53-man roster have doubled with Elliss staying with the outside linebackers.
As for Murdock, he may have been the last pick in the 2026 NFL draft, but were it not for a nagging ankle injury, he would have heard his name called much earlier. The Broncos got good value in the Murdock pick, as he’s a downhill thumper with an expertise in punching the ball out.
Murdock exited the college ranks as the FBS’ all-time leader in forced fumbles. It’s a specialty he cultivated with “meticulous intent” during his four-year career at Buffalo.
And although it would likely take an injury for Murdock to see the field on defense as a rookie, the Broncos could use his nose for the ball. After forcing just 14 turnovers last season, it’s an area of improvement Vance Joseph’s otherwise top-ranked defense is working toward.
The Takeaway
The roster math may now be more favorable for Murdock, but he still has to go out there and earn a job. His draft pedigree and resume are helpful, but the onus is still on him to master the playbook and prove he can hang with the big boys this summer in the face of fierce competition against young vets like Reid, Turner, and Bailey.
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