Future Broncos: 3 Prospects to Fortify the Defensive Line

The third week of the college football season is already upon is. So far, I’ve covered the team’s 2026 NFL Draft picks, their biggest needs, and three offensive linemen to watch that could be long-term upgrades for the Denver Broncos. This week, I’ll focus on three prospects in the defensive trenches that would help keep the Broncos’ play up front formidable for years to come.

Domonique Orange — Defensive Lineman — Iowa State

The depth of this year’s Broncos defensive line is impressive. However, that doesn’t mean there aren’t some long-term concerns to consider. With Malcolm Roach being an unrestricted free agent at year’s end and D.J. Jones entering the latter years of his career, the Broncos would be wise to consider looking for another prospect that can help man the middle of their defense.

Iowa State senior Domonique Orange is definitely a prospect to keep your eye on who could assume such a role. Showcasing and impressive blend of size (6’4″ and 325 pounds) and power, Orange has impressive physical traits that will appeal to defensive line coaches. Primarily playing as a reserve player his first few seasons, he appeared in 13 games with 7 starts and racked up 24 tackles, 5 tackles for loss, and 1 sack last season. This year, he is a full-time starter who does a lot of the dirty work at nose tackle that doesn’t show up in the stat sheet for the Cyclones’ defense.

He’s a mountain in the middle of the defense that also has surprisingly good closing speed for his size. He is a game-changer that can flat out dominate opposing interior offensive linemen. The flaws in Orange’s game relative to technique and pad level can be overcome with quality coaching, yet he checks the boxes to what you can’t teach which are necessary for success at the NFL level.

A few years ago, the Denver Broncos took Iowa State defensive lineman Eyioma Uwazurike in the fourth round of the 2022 NFL Draft. There might be some parallels between the two, but it’s important to remember Uwazurike spent six years in college, while Orange is a true senior in his fourth year. If Orange puts together a quality senior campaign, he could very well wind up being a Top 100 selection next April.

Kedric Faulk — Defensive End — Auburn

Last week I discussed Auburn center Connor Lew as an option for the Broncos to consider in the first round next April. That’s not the only Tigers trench player to take note of. Lew has a teammate on the other side of the ball that also could be an early round pick if he declares. That’s defensive end Kedric Faulk who is one of the rising stars of the SEC.

It didn’t take long for Faulk to hit his stride. He immediately saw playing time in 13 games with 35 tackles, and one sack as a freshman in 2023. But last season, the Auburn standout had a breakout year as a...