The Broncos are leaning hard on a pair of young pass rushers, and both Jonah Elliss and Que Robinson have done enough to make that faith look justified so far.
Robinson helped his case with a sack against the Green Bay Packer in Denver’s second preseason game, while Elliss has turned heads all camp long to the point that the Broncos are already exploring ways to get him on the field more.
Defensive coordinator Vance Joseph laid out the thinking in comments to Nick Kosmider of The Athletic, making it clear the Broncos want their best defenders active, not parked on the sideline.
“My take on Jonah is, when you watched our cut-ups after the season, he played really well, but he didn’t play enough. Same with Que,” Joseph said during the second week of training camp, before Cooper had been placed on the exempt list.
“So to get (Elliss) on the field more often and maybe packaged (at inside linebacker) so we can play Que more often also, it’s really team-based to get our better players more reps. If he’s one of our better players, I don’t want him to be watching.
I want him to be playing.”
For Robinson, the jump is coming from more than just raw talent. He’s spent camp absorbing every detail he can from veterans around him, and he says that experience has sharpened his understanding of the position.
“I sat by these guys and being able to watch them get to like 68 sacks and stuff like and, man, you get to see the technicality side of it,” Robinson said midway through what became a breakout training camp. “Why they made a certain move and when did they make it?
How did they time it up? I just took it all in and just now I’m just getting a chance to apply it.”
He also credited the older players in the room for helping him settle in and push forward.
“It’s a lot easier when you’ve got older guys who believe in you,” he said.
That backing has mattered to Robinson, who said hearing praise for his spot appearances last year gave him real confidence.
“It was a good thing for me to hear that from them,” he said about being lauded for the players he made in spot appearances last year. Especially being in my sixth game, not really thinking I’d be playing in that game.
It was a good feeling just to know my teammates were behind me. It gave me confidence to go make plays.”
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