![\"Jonah](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/07\/GettyImages-2185298068-e1783366701512.jpg\")
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\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\tGetty\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/p>\n
Denver Broncos linebacker Jonah Elliss. <\/p>\n
The Denver Broncos<\/a> ended up with more questions than answers at edge rusher headed into 2026 \u2014 a stunning development considering this is the team that\u2019s led the NFL in sacks each of the last 2 seasons.<\/p>\n The questions arise from uncertainty surrounding 1 player \u2014 star edge rusher Jonathon Cooper<\/a> \u2014 whose availability is in question after 2 arrests in 1 week this offseason.<\/p>\n The answer might already be on the roster.<\/p>\n ESPN\u2019s Aaron Schatz<\/a> singled out 3rd-year edge rusher Jonah Elliss<\/a> as the top nonstarter to watch this season, although not just because Cooper might be suspended.<\/p>\n \u201c(Elliss) dropped from five sacks as a rookie to 2.5 sacks last season, but he is still an important part of the Broncos\u2019 pass-rush rotation,\u201d Schatz wrote. \u201cHis pass-rush win rate of 14.3% last season was roughly equivalent to Aidan Hutchinson\u2019s or\u00a0Danielle Hunter\u2019s and would have ranked 17th if he had enough pass-rush snaps to qualify.\u201d<\/p>\n Whether Elliss ends up actually playing edge rusher is another question entirely.<\/p>\n Jonah Ellis Might Be Needed at 2 Positions<\/p>\n Where Elliss is listed on the depth chart is really insignificant at this point \u2014 he\u2019s behind Cooper at 1 of the edge rusher spots, but that\u2019s not what to focus on because he could be equally as valuable to the Broncos at both inside linebacker and edge rusher.<\/p>\n In March, at the NFL<\/a> owners\u2019 meetings, Broncos head coach Sean Payton told reporters Elliss would see snaps at inside linebacker, but that was before Cooper\u2019s arrests.<\/p>\n \u201c(Broncos head coach) Sean Payton said Jonah Elliss is going to take some snaps at ILB,\u201d\u00a0The Denver Post\u2019s Luca Evans wrote on X<\/a>.<\/p>\n Just 1 glimpse at the depth chart<\/p>\n Jonah Elliss Could Have Breakout Role at Inside LB<\/p>\n Elliss, a 2024 3rd round pick (No. 76 overall), made the NFL All-Rookie Team with 38 tackles, 5.0 sacks, 7 TFL, 6 QB hits, and 2 pass deflections. He broke his scapula in a blowout loss to the\u00a0Buffalo Bills<\/a>\u00a0in the AFC Wild Card Round, missed 4 games in 2025, and saw his numbers dip to 2.5 sacks.<\/p>\n Elliss, the son of 2-time Pro Bowl defensive tackle Luther Elliss, is 1 of 4 siblings who have played or are currently playing in the NFL, with older brothers\u00a0Christian Elliss<\/a>\u00a0and\u00a0Kaden Elliss<\/a>\u00a0both inside linebackers.<\/p>\n \u201cVery, very, very curious about this move of\u00a0Jonah Elliss\u00a0to ILB,\u201d\u00a0Broncos reporter Cameron Parker<\/a>\u00a0wrote on X. \u201cNo doubt he has ILB in his family with Christian and Kaden. Wonder if they would use him some blitz downhill packages that they wanted Drew Sanders<\/a> to have. Elliss definitely has an athletic profile.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cJonah Elliss playing snaps at ILB has to be great news for Que Robinson<\/a>,\u201d\u00a0DNVR\u2019s Zac Stevens wrote<\/a>\u00a0on his official X account. \u201cBroncos are extremely high on Que, so much so that George Paton said after the season that Que might have the highest ceiling of any player in his Broncos draft class. Having Jonah play some at ILB opens up reps for Que outside.\u201d<\/p>\n Elliss Pitched for \u2018Change of Scenery\u2019 in Offseason<\/p>\n Seemingly buried behind the depth chart behind Bonitto and Cooper,\u00a0ESPN\u2019s Aaron Schatz<\/a> put Elliss at the top of his list of Broncos who could use a \u201cChange of Scenery\u201d in 2026 \u2014 something the Broncos must be thankful they didn\u2019t even entertain.<\/p>\n \u201cThis is not an issue of a player who has not properly developed,\u201d Schatz wrote. \u201cInstead, Elliss is a talented young pass rusher who doesn\u2019t have a path to start behind veterans Nik Bonitto<\/a>\u00a0and\u00a0Jonathon Cooper. Last season, Elliss had a 14.1% pass rush win rate and a 12.2% pressure rate. Both numbers were above average for edge rushers, but he played only 38% of snaps in the games for which he was active. It would be intriguing to see Elliss get a chance to start elsewhere in the league. Perhaps alongside his brother\u00a0Christian\u00a0with New England if\u00a0K\u2019Lavon Chaisson\u00a0leaves in\u00a0free agency?\u201d<\/p>\n \n\t\t\tTony Adame<\/a> covers the NFL for Heavy.com, with a focus on the Tampa Bay Buccaneers, Washington Commanders, Dallas Cowboys, Baltimore Ravens, Philadelphia Eagles and Denver Broncos. A veteran sports writer and editor since 2004, his work has been featured at Stadium Talk, Yardbarker, NW Florida Daily News and Pensacola News Journal. More about Tony Adame<\/a>\t\t<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Getty Denver Broncos linebacker Jonah Elliss. The Denver Broncos ended up with more questions than answers at edge…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":784593,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[559],"tags":[64,63,593,85],"class_list":["post-784592","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-nfl","tag-au","tag-australia","tag-nfl","tag-sports"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/784592","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=784592"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/784592\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/784593"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=784592"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=784592"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=784592"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}