The Denver Broncos may not have a bigger opportunity anywhere on the roster than at middle linebacker for an undrafted player to make the final 53-man roster.
The Broncos brought in three of them through the undrafted process. Utah’s Karene Reid, Michigan State’s Jordan Turner and the subject of this Undrafted Rookie Spotlight, JB Brown.
Name: JB Brown
Height: 6-foot-2
Weight: 230
Position: Inside linebacker
School: Kansas
Brown was at Kansas for his last two seasons in college, but began his playing career at Bowling Green. He had over 200 career tackles in college, but where he really began to get noticed was as a player who could blitz the quarterback and get pressure to shut down plays. He had 8.5 sacks in college and that included five last year with the Jayhawks.
The Broncos liked what they saw out of Brown enough to give him a $150,000 contract and a $10,000 signing bonus following the draft. Those are big numbers for an undrafted player.
After his signing, Brown spoke to Chris Tomasson of The Denver Gazette and discussed how he sees himself fitting in Denver and not lacking any confidence.
“It was a good fit for me, and (the Broncos) showed a lot of interest with the guaranteed money. I feel like I have a good chance to make the 53-man roster. … I can bring a lot with special teams and on defense. I’m a good, solid blitzer and at Bowling Green, I was in a very similar defense. I think I’ll fit in perfectly.
It’s a business at this point. To take somebody’s job, that’s what I came to do”, said Brown.
Chances to make final 53-man roster (1-10 scale): 3
Brown comes into a spot where the Broncos have questionable depth behind presumed starters Dre Greenlaw and Alex Singleton, who are both coming off injuries.
Justin Strnad and Drew Sanders are the next players up, but Strnad is more of a special teams player who can start in spots and Sanders is an unknown, as he hasn’t had much of an opportunity to show what he can do in his first two years, mostly due to an injury last season.
Brown will compete with Reid and Turner, but second-year linebacker Levelle Bailey, who made a great impression as an undrafted free agent last season, will also be there.
The Broncos have brought in a good group of players to shore up the depth behind Singleton and Greenlaw and at least one of the undrafted players should have an outside shot to make the final roster. If that’s not Brown, he will almost certainly be part of the team’s practice squad with the chance to develop with the organization and have a chance to come back and make an impact in 2026 or even appear in some games later this season.
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