Mile High Report
While the National Football League is just hitting the Week 7, we are already eight games into the college football season. That’s essentially the halfway point outside of the playoffs and lengthy bowl game experience. Thus far, we have covered a lot of ground in Future Broncos discussing various prospects at a variety of positions that might be intriguing fits for the team to pursue in the 2026 NFL Draft. For this Saturday, I thought it would be apt to discuss some of the position groups that appear to be the strongest at the midpoint of the collegiate season.
The 2026 NFL Draft stars are aligning for the Broncos at inside linebacker
We don’t know what the future holds for Dre Greenlaw. Broncos Country is collectively holding its breath and wishing for the best with Greenlaw, who is expected to make his regular season debut this weekend against the New York Giants. If he can remain healthy, the Denver Broncos have a high-end starter under contract for a few seasons. But there is nothing over the past few years to suggest that seems something worth betting on.
If that doesn’t happen? Well, they are back to ground zero again at the position long-term. Both Alex Singleton and Justin Strnad are free agents at the end of the season. I think the Broncos could end up getting a starting caliber player out of their UDFA trio of Jordan Turner, Karene Reid, and Levelle Bailey—but they can’t bank on that. And what little we have seen from Drew Sanders gives me little optimism with respect to him being a fixture in the team’s plans moving forward.
Over a month ago, I dedicated an article discussing two of my favorite prospects in this year’s class at inside linebacker. But man, over the past month a few other players [some I noted as players to watch] have really helped their draft stock. In turn, they have really helped showcase the depth of this class. It would be hard to argue against this position group being the crème de la crème of the ‘26 class.
Ohio State’s Arvell Reese has been absolutely amazing. Reese is a blue-chip star that can dominate against the run, pass, and as a pressure player getting after the quarterback. He is easily a Top 15 pick now—if not higher. Over in Indiana, senior linebacker Aiden Fisher keeps piling up tackles at an incredible pace and may have worked himself into Day 2 consideration. That guy is always around the ball. I’ve even been impressed with Texas Tech’s Jacob Rodriguez, who fits the mold of a classic, throwback linebacker that’s fundamentally sound working in the booth and moving downhill.
The Broncos have a full slate of Day 1 and Day 2 selections, as well as an extra early fourth-round pick from the New Orleans Saints due to the Devaughn Vele trade. Given what I’ve seen thus far, I think the Broncos will have a chance to draft a guy that can...
