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[Denver Broncos]

Can the Bronco defense make the jump from great to elite?

Photo by AAron Ontiveroz/The Denver Post

The Bronco defense has not led the league in scoring this century. Could that change in 2025?

The Denver Broncos finished third in scoring defense last season allowing 311 points - 18.3 ppg. They had one shutout - against the Kansas City Chiefs B-team - but against starters the fewest points they allowed was six against the Atlanta Falcons.

The Bronco defense last led the league in scoring in 1989. No team has repeated as the scoring defense leader since the Seattle Seahawks led the league for four straight seasons from 2012 to 2015. Prior to the that the Pittsburgh Steelers led the league in the 2010 and 2011 seasons. The Los Angeles Chargers led the league in scoring defense last season.

13 tms have led the lg in scoring defense this century (including 2000). The Broncos have been close to the top, but have not.

— Joe Mahoney (@ndjomo.bsky.social) 2025-06-05T13:56:40.343Z

Thirteen different teams have led the league in scoring defense this century with five doing it multiple times: Pittsburgh, Seattle, Baltimore, New England and Chicago. Of those teams only three have never been in the bottom quartile in scoring this century: Baltimore, Pittsburgh and New England.

The New England Patriots came close last season by finishing 22nd in scoring. The Bottom quartile is 25th or worse. The top quartile is first through eighth. While the Broncos have finished in the top quartile seven times this century, they have not finished higher than 3rd.

Normally teams don’t make huge jumps year over year in scoring defense if they are going to finish the season as the league leader. The Chargers in 2024 notwithstanding (they moved from 24th to 1st). The Baltimore Ravens, who led the league in 2023, were third the year before. The San Francisco 49ers who led in 2022 were 9th in 2021. The Buffalo Bills who led in 2021 were 16th in 2020. The Los Angeles Rams went from 17th to first: the Patriots from 7th to 1st, the Chicago Bears from 9th to 1st, the Minnesota Vikings from 6th to 1st, the Pats from 10th to 1st, the Seahawks from 7th to 1st.

Of the 14 teams in the table above, the Ravens have the lowest (best) average rank in scoring defense this century at 7.6. The Broncos are tied with the Bears, Tampa Bay Buccaneers, Bills, and Chargers in terms average scoring defense rank this century.

The Broncos have added three potentially elite defenders who will upgrade their spots relative to the the 2024 defense: Dre Greenlaw, Jahdae Barron and Talanoa Hufanga. Greenlaw is an upgrade over Cody Barton and/or Justin Strnad (who can move back to his special teams role with the Broncos). Barron is an upgrade over Ja’Quan McMillan and/or Riley Moss (whether Barron is playing CB2 or CB3). Hufanga is a huge upgrade over PJ Locke who does not belong as a starting safety in the NFL.

Locke was the 12th worst DB for passer rating allowed last season. When his man was targeted, opposing QBs had a passer rating of 125.8. Admittedly there were other starting safeties who were worse:

1. Kyle Dugger - 137.4
2. Jason Pinnock - 135.9
3. Grant Delpit - 134.0
4. Jeremy Chinn - 131.2
5. Donovan Wilson - 130.0
6. Budda Baker - 129.8
7. Isaiah Pola-Mao - 129.6
8. Minkah Fitzpatrick - 127.6
9. PJ Locke - 125.8

In 2023 when Hufanga made first team All-Pro, he allowed a passer rating of 60.1. That would have been the third best for a starting safety in 2024. Calen Bullock and Kerby Joseph (37.3 and 39.1) were the two were better last season. Joseph was first team All-Pro in 2024. Xavier McKinney was the other first team All-Pro safety in 2024. He allowed a passer rating of 78.5 last season.

Locke allowed a team-high four receiving TDs last season (tied with Moss) and one in ten of the catches he allowed was a TD. Eleven Bronco defenders allowed a TD catch last season and only Jonah Elliss, Alex Singleton, Devon Key and Kwon Alexander had a worse catch per TD rate than Locke.

Rk	Player	Age	Pos	G	GS	Int	Tgt	Cmp	Cmp%	Yds	Yds/Cmp	Yds/Tgt	TD	Rat	Catches per TD
1	Cody Barton	28	LILB	17	14	2	47	41	87.2	476	11.6	10.1	1	98.2	41.0
2	Brandon Jones	26	FS	16	15	3	70	47	67.1	492	10.5	7	2	79	23.5
3	Ja'Quan McMillian	24	CB	17	9	2	101	65	64.4	688	10.6	6.8	3	85.7	21.7
4	Levi Wallace	29	CB	13	2	0	30	20	66.7	271	13.6	9	1	106.4	20.0
5	Patrick Surtain II	24	LCB	16	16	4	62	38	61.3	326	8.6	5.3	2	58.9	19.0
6	Riley Moss	24	RCB	14	14	1	103	67	65	747	11.1	7.3	4	95.4	16.8
7	P.J. Locke	27	SS	15	15	0	54	40	74.1	484	12.1	9	4	125.8	10.0
8	Jonah Elliss	21	OLB	17	0	0	11	10	90.9	113	11.3	10.3	1	139.8	10.0
9	Alex Singleton	31	LB	3	3	1	8	7	87.5	70	10	8.8	1	103.1	7.0
10	Devon Key	27	DB	17	2	0	11	5	45.5	95	19	8.6	2	115.5	2.5
11	Kwon Alexander	30	LB	3	2	0	2	2	100	15	7.5	7.5	1	137.5	2.0

With Brandon Jones, Hafanga, Patrick Surtain II, Riley Moss and Jahdae Barron as the five starting DBs for the Broncos next season, the Broncos have, arguably, the best secondary in the NFL. With Ja’Quan McMillan as the CB4, I challenge you to find a better secondary on paper for 2025.

The Lions had the best pass defense in 2024 allowing a passer rating of 82.0 and one of their predicted starters at CB in 2025, DJ Reed, is a downgrade for them relative to Carlton Davis who started opposite Terrion Arnold last season.

Source: https://www.milehighreport.com/2025...broncos-defense-make-jump-from-great-to-elite

 

[Denver Broncos]

Can you guess this Broncos specialist in today’s in-5 trivia game?

Think you can figure out which Broncos player we’re talking about? You’ll get five clues to figure him out in our new guessing game!

Hey Broncos fans! We’re back for another day of the Mile High Report in-5 daily trivia game. Game instructions are at the bottom if you’re new to the game! Feel free to share your results in the comments and feedback in this Google Form.

Today’s Mile High Report in-5 game​

If you can’t see the game due to Apple News or another service, click this game article.

Previous games​

Saturday, June 7, 2025
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Play more SB Nation in-5 trivia games​

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Behind the Mile High Report in-5 instructions​

The goal of the game is to guess the correct Broncos player with the help of up to five clues. We’ll mix in BOTH ACTIVE AND RETIRED PLAYERS. It won’t be easy to figure it out in one or two guesses, but some of you might be able to nail it.

After you correctly guess the player, you can click “Share Results” to share how you did down in the comments and on social media. We won’t go into other details about the game as we’d like your feedback on it. How it plays, what you think of it, the difficulty level, and anything else you can think of that will help us improve this game. You can provide feedback in the comments of this article, or you can fill out this Google Form.

Enjoy!

Source: https://www.milehighreport.com/2025/6/8/24445328/sb-nation-broncos-daily-trivia-in-5

 

[Denver Broncos]

Can Ja’Quan McMillian surprise and dominate against fiercer competition in 2025

Photo by Michael Owens/Getty Images

Denver Bronco returning starter Ja’Quan McMillian will have to fight to remain a starter, but represents big opportunity for the defense in 2025.

After Denver was embarrassed thoroughly on Defense by Miami in week 3 of the 2023 season, they made some big personnel changes. The first of these was promoting Ja’Quan McMillian to their starting slot corner. McMillian responded to the opportunity by instantly upgrading the position, helping Denver’s defense throughout the season. All eyes were on him going into 2024, wondering what level of improvement we might see in his first full year as a starter.

While he had some gaffes, 2024 was a good year for McMillian. He continued to prove himself as a starter in the league. While he did not grow into an elite counterpart to Pat Surtain, he was a consistent contributor on an elite defense and not at all a liability of one the way that Levi Wallace was in his limited opportunities.

Ja'Quan McMillan with a game-winning pick 6 #Broncospic.twitter.com/L63OKNe9gG

— MileHighReport (@MileHighReport) December 3, 2024​

Going into his 25 year old season, and playing on a cheap ERFA tender, he looked to be a critical core component of Denver’s defense over the next few years. Then came draft day.

Denver had a top 10 ranking overall for Jahdae Barron, and when he was available at Denver’s slot, they happily pulled the trigger. Barron has played lots of wide and slot cornerback, along with a decent amount of snaps as a box safety, but the general assumption is that he would primarily be competing against McMillian.

Player Profile

Ja’Quan McMillian | Cornerback | Broncos | #29

Height: 5-10 inches

Weight: 183 pounds

Experience: 3rd year

Age: 25 years old

2024 stats: 81 Tackles, 75.3% of defensive snaps.

Ja’Quan McMillians outlook for 2025 with the Broncos

There are a lot of ways this season could go for McMillian. Its expected that he will lose his starting position to Brown, but there is no guarantee that occurs. McMillian is very talented, and its tough to come into the league and excel, especially right away. Barron could end up playing primarily outside. Some first round picks bust, and Barron could have those problems (I hope not). Injuries could reshuffle the depth chart in many different ways.

Even if those scenarios unfold, I expect him to provide depth, and possibly to see substantial playtime in dime packages. Denver has not used dime much with Joseph at coordinator, but the absurd level of talent and depth in the secondary combined with two interior linebackers returning from injury could lead to dime making more sense.

Final Thoughts

There is also the unexpected possible scenario where McMillian outplays Barron by so much, and Barron outplays Riley Moss enough that Barron gets moved outside full-time and McMillian remains a nickel starter, getting about three quarters of the defensive snaps. The bottom line with McMillian is he gives the Broncos options. Because of this, I would be stunned if McMillian’s roster spot was in danger. However, I would not be surprised to see other teams reach out about trades for him when invariably some teams slot plans get upended. I am not sure McMillian would be cheap for another team, but desperation happens in the NFL. For the Broncos, I would not let him go for less than a day 2 pick, and probably insist on a high one. I do not expect a trade, and that is ok. McMillian is talented, and incredibly cheap, so it makes sense for the Broncos to want the valuable depth he provides this year.

Source: https://www.milehighreport.com/2025/6/8/24445618/denver-broncos-roster-jaquan-mcmillian

 

[Denver Broncos]

UDFA WR Kyrese White will compete for a spot on the Broncos practice squad

Undrafted rookie Kyrese White will look to compete for a spot on the Broncos practice squad.

After seven rounds of the 2025 NFL Draft, Kyrese White’s name was not called. Next came the undrafted free agency signing period, but once again, none of the 32 NFL teams offered him a contract. White’s hopes and dreams of playing in the NFL looked to be coming to an end, but he did receive one last shot to accomplish his dreams. He was invited to the Denver Broncos rookie minicamp as a tryout player.

Realistically, the odds of a tryout making the roster are slim at best, but that didn’t stop White from competing. Despite these long odds, White showed up to the Broncos' rookie minicamp and competed, and in the end, impressed the Broncos coaches enough that he was signed to their 90-man roster.

We've signed TE Cole Fotheringham, ILB Jordan Turner, WR Kyrese White and LS Zach Triner.

» https://t.co/7oh4KxnJuW pic.twitter.com/aWsmRVbSnI

— Denver Broncos (@Broncos) May 12, 2025​

His fairytale story continues, and now, Kyrese White will look to keep it going and compete for a spot on the Broncos' practice squad.

The former Utah State wide receiver is coming off a career year, during which he totaled 44 receptions for 526 yards and 3 touchdowns. He also added 2 rushing attempts for 4 yards and 1 rushing touchdown.

Player Profile​

Kyrese White | Wide Receiver | Broncos​

• Height: 5-10
• Weight: 185 pounds
• Age: 24 years old
• Experience: Rookie
• Bench Press: 20 reps
• Vertical Jump: 37.5 inches
• Broad Jump: 10-4 inches
• 40-Yard Dash: 4.56 seconds

Note: All testing numbers are from Utah State’s Pro Day

Broncos WR Kyrese White’s 2025 Outlook​

Realistically, White is competing for a spot on the Broncos' practice squad. Barring injury, there are not many, if any, spots available in the Broncos' wide receiver room, so the practice squad is his only avenue. With that said, he faces a bit of competition to crack the Broncos' practice squad.

Wide receivers A.T. Perry, Michael Bandy, Jerjuan Newton, Joaquin Davis, and Courtney Jackson will all be fighting to make the Broncos' practice squad. So, White will need to continue to beat the odds if he wants to stick around on the Broncos roster.

Add in that he is likely at the bottom of the depth chart starting out at least, so he will have little room for error. He cannot start slow or get hurt because his roster spot could be given to someone else. White will be on a short leash but will still have a shot to continue the fairytale.

Final Thoughts​

He has little to no shot at making the Broncos' 53-man roster, and even a practice squad spot seems iffy at best. The team made a larger commitment to several UDFA wide receivers, they have a former Saints 6th-round selection in A.T. Perry, who is familiar with the coaching staff and all the other players who will be eligible to join the Broncos' practice squad.

He has already beaten the odds once to even make the team after going undrafted and unsigned and being just a tryout player. Can he do it again and crack the Broncos practice squad?

We shall see.

Source: https://www.milehighreport.com/2025/6/10/24446428/broncos-roster-review-wide-receiver-kyrese-white