Almost anything in football can be viewed in relation to the quarterback.
The premium positions beside the guy under center? Those who can protect him, impact him or make plays in the passing game for him.
When you’ve got a rookie like the Broncos do after taking Oregon’s Bo Nix in the first round Thursday night, that emphasis only grows.
“The (rookie quarterback) challenge is exciting, but it’s still, you want good quarterback play,” Payton said Thursday night. “The two biggest allies to that, I believe strongly, are good defensive play and a running game. In other words, if you are a quarterback and you’re having trouble running the ball — or let’s get worse — if you’re a quarterback and you’re having trouble running the ball or stopping people, your job description becomes very difficult.
“When you’re playing good defense and you have a running game, your job description is a little bit more palatable.”
With needs across the board, then, the Broncos set about working on the defensive side of the ball with their lone Day 2 selection, drafting Utah edge rusher Jonah Elliss with the No. 76 overall pick.
Elliss has backfield production that rivals anybody in the class. He’s on the smaller side at 6-foot-2 and 248 pounds, but that didn’t stop him from racking up 12 sacks and 16 tackles for loss in just 10 games his final season playing for a rugged Utes defense led by longtime head coach Kyle Whittingham.
“My effort is elite when it comes to the game. I think that’s just how I was raised,” said Elliss, whose father, Luther, finished his playing career with the Broncos in 2004 and later served as the team’s chaplain, including for the 2015 Super Bowl 50 championship team. “I’m a great pass-rusher and I bring that to a team, as well. Where I need to grow is just perfecting the little things, the little techniques, especially in my run fits.”
The Broncos defense had bright moments in 2023, particularly during a turnover binge-fueled five-game winning streak, but overall languished near the bottom of the league. Among ESPN’s team win-rate stats, Denver finished 30th in pass rush and 28th in stopping the run.
They’re hoping Elliss can join a group of young pass-rushers to improve those marks.
Ideally, teams in the NFL are drafting not to plug current gaps but with eyes on the future. Elliss joins a group of edge rushers the Broncos like in Baron Browning, Jonathon Cooper, Nik Bonitto and potentially Drew Sanders. Still, Browning and Cooper are entering the final years of their rookie contracts and as such it is easy to see Elliss as both a complementary piece as soon as he’s ready and also a potential replacement or supplement beginning in 2025.
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Perhaps not coincidentally, Elliss said he patterns his game after Hassan Reddick, who blossomed into a difference-maker in Arizona under now-Broncos defensive coordinator Vance Joseph.
“We have a similar stature and we kind of use the same moves,” Elliss said. “He’s really a speed guy and that’s what I’m trying to be, too. I watched his film a lot during the offseason going into my junior year.”
Utah defensive end Jonah Elliss (83) celebrates a fumble recovery against Arizona during the first half of an NCAA college football game Saturday, Nov. 5, 2022, in Salt Lake City. (AP Photo/Rick Bowmer)
Now Denver goes into a busy third day of the draft having simultaneously hit on two positions of need while also showing restraint uncommon of Payton teams. The Broncos used each of their first two picks at their assigned slots and now have six Saturday selections.
In many ways, the start of the draft is similar to how the Broncos have operated this offseason. They’ve spent modestly. They’ve exercised patience more often than aggression. They’ve kept an eye on the future while plugging holes in the present. Now they’ll have a chance to add several low-budget players to the roster in a portion of the draft where the talent is expected to drop off but where gems can still be identified.
Denver has No. 121 in the fourth round and then three of the first 12 picks in the fifth round (Nos. 136, 145 and 147).
The quarterback was the fun part. These are the days that help determine how well-built the support system around him is.
EDGE Jonah Elliss
Utah defensive lineman Jonah Elliss speaks during a news conference at the NFL football scouting combine, Wednesday, Feb. 28, 2024, in Indianapolis. (AP Photo/Darron Cummings)
Round/pick: 3rd/No. 76
Age: 21
Height/weight: 6-foot-2/248 pounds
College: Utah
Hometown: Moscow, Idaho
Notable: Elliss comes from a football family. His father, Luther, was a two-time Pro Bowler who played nine seasons for the Detroit Lions and one with the Broncos. His brothers, Kaden, Christian and Noah, currently play in the NFL. In 2023, he collected 37 tackles (16 for loss), 12 sacks and three passes defended in 10 games before missing the rest of the season due to a shoulder injury that kept him from working out at the NFL scouting combine in February.
Quotable: Elliss on his dad’s time with the Broncos: “He still talks about how great of a culture and what a great fanbase they have out there. Honestly, the culture is something he mentions a lot and how it’s just a really good bond out there.”
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