It appeared a monkey wrench was thrown into the Broncos’ defense just when the unit had found their groove.
Alex Singleton suffered a torn ACL during Week 3’s win over Tampa Bay, leaving the inside linebacker room with Cody Barton, a rotational player on his third team in three seasons, Justin Strnad — who hadn’t played a single defensive snap since 2021 — and newly signed practice squad members Zach Cunningham and Kwon Alexander, a 10-year veteran coming off a torn Achilles that he suffered last year with the Pittsburgh Steelers.
But any concerns about how the unit would respond after Singleton’s season-ending injury have been silenced in recent weeks. Strnad wasn’t involved in a ton of pressure looks during his Wake Forest days or for most of his NFL career. But on the first play of his first career start, he sacked Jets quarterback Aaron Rodgers. He’s had two more sacks since then.
In prime time against the Saints last week, Barton delivered a career performance that was fitting for the AFC Defensive Player of the Week award.
“Sometimes you don’t know what you have until you play them,” head coach Sean Payton said. “Whether it’s Cody or Strnad, all those guys have done a good job.”
Strnad, a fifth-round pick in 2020, has been a pleasant surprise for Denver. He has collected 28 tackles and 24 defensive stops, tackles that result in a successful play for the defense, according to Next Gen Stats. He had only five tackles in each of the last two seasons.
Strnad has enjoyed playing with Barton, who wears the green dot and calls the plays on defense. He credited Barton for keeping him calm whenever they were on the field. They have also been very communicative in terms of going over different motions and formations.
“Strnad has been dying to play (on) defense,” defensive coordinator Vance Joseph said. “He’s played good football.”
Barton said the fun part about Denver’s defense is everyone eats. That’s part of why he signed with the Broncos in the offseason. Joseph has done a solid job bringing pressure from different spots, including inside linebacker.
Strnad has three sacks and eight pressures while Barton has a sack and 10 pressures — fourth-most on the team.
“(Joseph) is a very aggressive coordinator, and it’s been awesome getting to pressure the quarterback,” Strnad said. “When you are blitzing in this league, you have to be relentless because so many quarterbacks can extend plays.”
Alexander — who spent two seasons playing for Payton in New Orleans — joined the Broncos in West Virginia but didn’t make his debut until the 33-10 victory over the Saints. He had a fumble recovery and assisted on a tackle in 21 defensive snaps.
“It’s been a blessing, man, for real, to get back out there for Year 10 with the things I’ve been through,” said Alexander, who played last week in his first game since Week 10 of the 2023 campaign. “This (was) my first time not being (at training) camp, so (I’m) still picking it up. I’m playing a lot faster now so it’s been smooth.”
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This season, the theme of Denver’s defense has been finding success with unproven or overlooked players. Barton, Strnad and the rest of the inside linebackers have embodied that narrative.
“We’re gonna keep that edge,” Barton said.
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