Former Broncos draft pick on the ropes has golden opportunity at minicamp

The Denver Broncos are set to continue their offseason program next week with minicamp from Tuesday-Thursday, and one player might have the opportunity among opportunities to stand out.

Former third-round pick Drew Sanders is on the ropes not only in his Denver Broncos career, but his chances of becoming a starter in the NFL seem to be hanging in the balance as well. Sanders was once thought to be the next stud tight end to be playing in Lincoln Riley's offense at Oklahoma (at the time), but he ended up playing off the edge and on special teams for Nick Saban at Alabama.

After getting buried on the depth chart at Alabama, Sanders transferred to Arkansas and became a dominant three-down linebacker playing off the ball, earning All-American accolades and being selected by the Broncos in the third round (67th overall).

Sanders' time in the NFL has been marked by position changes and a major Achilles injury that cost him nearly his entire second NFL season. The Broncos moved Sanders from off-ball linebacker to the EDGE and he came in and showed some decent stuff in limited action last year, but he's been switched back to playing off the ball.

So why does he have a better opportunity than most coming up at minicamp?

Drew Sanders can make huge impression at upcoming Broncos minicamp

Dre Greenlaw suffered a pulled quad earlier this offseason. While he's expected to be ready for training camp (and his starting gig isn't in jeopardy, anyway), he won't be participating in the upcoming minicamp. Alex Singleton is currently the other presumptive starter at linebacker but he will likely be on a pitch count even if he's back on the practice field following an ACL injury in 2024.

Having two starters either missing or off the practice field completely is a golden opportunity for Drew Sanders to get back in the mix as a possible starter for this Denver Broncos defense.

As the 67th overall pick and a projected 1st-2nd round pick by most in the 2023 draft class, Sanders is simply too talented to not be figuring out a way on the field. The Broncos have tried a couple of different ways to make it happen, but the most we've seen him so far in two NFL seasons is on special teams.

In 2025, that has to change.

This is a crucial year for Sanders because, while it feels like the last two years have been experimental anad bordering on a waste of time, he still has two years left on his rookie deal and can prove himself worthy of a starting job next to Dre Greenlaw as early as this season.

The Broncos should be motivated to play the best players, obviously, but they should simultaneously be motivated to give a high draft pick like Sanders every chance to actually play and start for them. On a defense that is loaded right now, Sanders is a bit of an afterthought and if he can emerge, the defense takes on an entirely new complexion.