Locked On Broncos - Daily Podcast On The Denver Broncos - DILEMMA: Denver Broncos Face GOOD PROBLEM After Que Robinson's Rise

Starting point is 00:00:00 Q Robinson's rise for the Denver Broncos last season as a rookie might have just created some problems for the depth at outside linebacker. You are locked on Broncos. Your daily Denver Broncos podcast. Part of the Locked on podcast network, your team every day. What's up Broncos country? Welcome into another episode, Locked on Broncos, your daily Denver Broncos podcast. I'm Cody Roar, Credential Broncos reporter for Mile High Sports. And we're talking about Q Robinson in today's bonus episode of the show and really how Q Robinson's growth in a small sample size last year might have created a good problem for the Broncos to have here as they navigate the 2026 offseason here ahead of what is expected to be an aggressive approach in NFL free agency. We'll talk about the Broncos outside linebacker depth and whether or not there's a tough decision to be made in this room because of Q or if the Bronco is plan to run a back status quo here at this position. Thank you so much all the everydayers out there in Broncos country for tuning in,

Starting point is 00:01:05 making us your first listen, however you choose to do. So let's talk about Q Robinson last year, obviously a rookie season for him, added depth here to a very deep outside lineback room that contains Nick Benito, Jonathan Cooper, Jonah Ellis, and Dandre Tillman Q was that fifth guy. And really for the Broncos, the idea was, okay, hey, we might get a high-end special teamer right away here. But I think the Broncos found out they got a little bit more for Q Robinson.

Starting point is 00:01:31 And when you talk to other guys in that pass rush room like Benito and Cooper, they had nothing but high praise for the Broncos rookie this past season. They like his motor. And certainly when you see him on the field, you see that here, essentially with Q. And I think it's created some questions as to what the Broncos plan on outside linebacker in the future is going to be. We'll obviously dive in that here on today's show. But I want to talk about just how impressive Q was as a rookie in the very small sample size that we saw from him last season. He appeared in six games for the Broncos.

Starting point is 00:02:01 Broncos last year. And that's just because of the depth at the position now when Jonah Ellis suffered an injury last year, it elevated Dondre Tillman into a little bit more of a feature role. And then Q. Robinson got some opportunities, obviously as things progressed throughout the season, but six total games that he appeared in last season. And the dilemma that you run into when you have a lineback room or a pass rush room that's as deep, as I would say, Denver's is arguably the deepest in the NFL right now from guys who can just be impact and Well, you saw that, hey, you're not having five guys active on your game day roster. You're always going to have one of those guys inactive, so to speak, unless there was an injury.

Starting point is 00:02:41 But in the six games that obviously Q had played in, he had a half sack in the regular season. He had one pass defense. They like his ability to drop back into coverage, specifically zoned from time to time, as we know how Vance Joseph's complicated defense is where they'll blitz of safety. They'll drop outside linebackers back into coverage. to replace essentially their pre-snap. We've seen that happen several times there with guys like Cooper, Benito and Tillman, who we'll talk about here in a little bit,

Starting point is 00:03:10 but 12 tackles and three tackles for a loss behind the line of scrimmage, which showcases that, hey, he's pretty good at playing Edge Contain. I'll do some film breakdowns for our everyday or All Access Club on a guy like Q. Three quarterback hits on 150 total snaps played defensively throughout the course of six games in which he appeared. And a lot of these times, too, he didn't necessarily get a lot of defensive reps, so to speak, but he also saw time on special teams where he had an impact there. And obviously at Alabama, that's where he also thrived as well.

Starting point is 00:03:40 It's become a core four guy. Now has the tools at the NFL level. If he can get into a little bit more of a premier role, he will be a core four special teams player for Darren Rizzie and the Broncos, I imagine this season. But one thing I did like about him against the run was his edge contained, not getting too far down the line. scrimmage, right? Not getting too far upfield in certain pass rush looks, but making sure that he's attacking, keeping his outside hand free and squeezing it down to what we call hill line depth to making sure he's not getting moved out of the way where there's big holes being created

Starting point is 00:04:14 or he's getting sealed inside to allow rushers to get to the outside. He did a really good job holding his own. So stay on the lookout here soon for a film breakdown on that. But I think this is probably the most impressive stat, the most impressive number to quantify what type of impact you certainly had. And if you don't believe me, like I said, get the NFL pro, get the, be able to go back and watch the All-22 film. You can filter Q Robinson specifically to watch where he's on the field. You'll see his impact.

Starting point is 00:04:43 But on the 150 snaps that we had talked about there, he was brought on the blitz seven times this past season, okay, seven times in 2025, five pressures on those seven blitz attempts right there, two quarterback knockdowns, and on one of those plays as well. Of those seven total times, he did have one batted pass at the line of scrimmage there. But I also want to go back to the more recent body of work in which we saw from Q

Starting point is 00:05:09 and that was in the NFL playoffs against Drake May in the New England Patriots, the AFC championship game. They had a tight end come up to try to chip him. And Q absolutely destroyed the block from the Patriots offensive guy that essentially allowed him to chase it and trail after Drake May, bring him down for a sack in the AFC championship game. That was an impressive play because usually that contact by that offensive player typically dislodges guys well enough to where they can't make a play on the

Starting point is 00:05:40 quarterback and the quarterback might be able to scramble and pick up a few yards. His ability to shake off that contact the way that he did and still close the distance and chase down Drake May the way that he did. To me, that was one of the more impressive plays that we saw from him in his rookie season and that high motor, just a high effort. This guy puts in so much work behind the scenes. And I'm telling you, it's creating right now, at least in the offseason. And I know there are a lot of things that have to happen this offseason with this team.

Starting point is 00:06:09 But I think it creates a lot of questions about whether or not the Bronco is going to run it back with that same outside linebacker room here in 2025. I'll talk about the problem, the dilemma that has now been created here for this Broncos defense at that position here on today's episode of the show. Today's episode of the show is brought to you by friends over there at TurboTax and tax season. It doesn't have to take over your life this year. TurboTax, they are making it easier than ever to hand things off and move on with your day. With TurboTax full service, you can have your taxes done for you by a trusted local expert from start to finish without the stress or the guest work.

Starting point is 00:06:44 Two weeks ago, I completed my taxes. I handed it all off to the local expert. I uploaded every document, every W2, 1099 form, and all of my business expenses for my own business this year to find every deduction possible to give me the best overall return. TurboTax made it so easy for me. It's a huge time saver and gives you real peace of mind knowing that an expert is handling it. And for a limited time, folks, you can have your taxes done by a local TurboTax expert for just $150 all in if a TurboTax expert didn't file for you last year.

Starting point is 00:07:15 Just filed by February 28th. That's coming up close. Take taxes off your plate. Get back to your life. Visit turbotax.com slash local to book your appointment. today. Today show is also brought to you by friends over there at Fandu. And if you've ever wanted to experience the NBA finals live and in person, Fandu, they're giving you the opportunity to turn that dream into a reality with their NBA sweepstakes.

Starting point is 00:07:36 And all you have to do is use your profit boost on an NBA future, right? Who's going to win the Western Conference? Who's going to win the Eastern Conference? Who's going to win MVP? And you'll automatically be entered for a shot to win an NBA finals trip for two. That's right. Flights, tickets, the whole experience taken care of by fans. Duel. I love futures this time of the year, whether it's picking a team to win the championship

Starting point is 00:07:57 or grab a conference title. It adds that extra layer of excitement to every game down the stretch. Visit Fandu.com to get started. Use your profit boost on an NBA future and get entered for your chance to win a trip to the NBA finals. Play your game with Fandul, the official sports betting partner of the NBA. Q Robinson's impressive sample size last year as small as it was. It was something that can't be ignored here by the team as they looked to navigate what this roster is going to look like going into 2026. And will that involve maybe changing a little bit of the outside linebacker room? This is the dilemma that I feel like has been created here. And this is just my own personal

Starting point is 00:08:33 speculation, folks. I'm not reporting anything. I'm saying that if we're looking at it through the lens of a general manager, how do you maximize your investment in a player like Q Robinson? As I mentioned before, he was drafted. We talked about Jada Baron in a bonus episode. Q Robinson was drafted into a very deep outside linebacker room. And I would say this is the best part about Denver's roster right now is the depth. It is a strength of theirs. And as we saw last season, they had to tap into that at corner. They had to tap into it, certainly at outside linebacker with all the injuries that Jonah Ellis had to deal with, unfortunately, last season.

Starting point is 00:09:09 And so now I think we have to talk about the good problem that is on the hands of the Broncos. And that is, what do they do here with this outside linebacker position, considering what we saw from Q Robinson? knowing that, hey, he showed these flashes that you want to see more of, right? Well, the only way we can see more is if we get them on the field more. Typically, you do not have five outside linebackers active on your game day roster. In a perfect world, if you didn't have these roster limitations, absolutely. You probably would. These guys would play a lot of special teams.

Starting point is 00:09:39 But the Broncos have Dondre Tillman, folks, who I absolutely think is a game changer here. His rise from a UFL guy to all of a sudden being this impact player in the rotation. Man, it's tough, but this like, do the Broncos look at this situation with Tillman being an exclusive rights free agent, but really all they have to offer him is an exclusive rights tender, which essentially is the league minimum at this point. He comes back to the mix, no question, right? Essentially a one-year deal. What if the Broncos don't offer him that exclusive rights tender? Well, what would happen in that situation is he would become an unrestricted free agent and he could sign with any other team here in the NFL. Now, when I look at the impact that Tillman had last season in comparison to Q Robinson, right, cues, as I outlined earlier in the show, his stateline, his impact, you could see it on the film, was impressive.

Starting point is 00:10:31 It was important to Denver. I would also say that Dandre Tillman's impact on this team was so dang important, and I don't think the Broncos could move on from him. They shouldn't. I'm not advocating for that in any way, shape, or form. I think it would be, as we say on this show, roster malpractice. But what do the Broncos do here at outside linebacker? Let's take a look here at Tillman. He was the fourth guy in the rotation.

Starting point is 00:10:54 Obviously, he and Jonah Ellis were the guys that would come on in the field when Jonathan Cooper, Nick Benito, needed a little bit of a breather here. He had a 417 defensive snaps played last season in 17 games, so the health factor for him was good. He was available. Two interceptions, which tied the team lead overall with J-Quan-McMillan, and obviously we saw what he could do when the balls in his hands. four sacks in the rotation roll, 12 pressures and 41 tackles on 417 snaps.

Starting point is 00:11:22 To me, you look at this and you say it's a no-brainer for the Broncos to bring back Dandre Tillman, and I think that they should. But does it open things up to where maybe Denver could maybe look at trading another pass rusher? I would never think that they would trade Jonathan Cooper. I don't think that would be the case, but could Jonah Ellis somehow maybe have this pressure on him? Could the Broncos maybe look at trading him, so to speak? And I hate creating these speculative discussions here, folks. But I think in the context of Q Robinson, how are they going to see more out of Q

Starting point is 00:11:53 if they have Dondre Tillman and Jonah Ellis as the next two guys in front of him behind your starters, Jonathan Cooper, Nick Benito. This is where I'm sitting here scratching my head saying, what do they do? How does Q get on the field more? Well, the idea would be that, okay, you have an exclusive rights free agent. Dondre Tillman, if he was made an unrestricted free agent, I guarantee you a very very good team would pick him up and he would go on to wreak havoc for another team in the NFL. And then we'd all be sitting here saying, why did Denver let this guy out of the building?

Starting point is 00:12:24 This is where the problem is Broncos country. I don't know what they do in this situation. This is the problem that they have. And this is a very good problem. This is not like we're racking our brains trying to figure out, how are they going to address this position? It's like this position is so addressed that we don't know what to do to see a younger guy get more playing time, so to speak. what is the long-term prospects, right? You signed Nick Benito to a contract extension.

Starting point is 00:12:50 He and Jonathan Cooper obviously had impact this season at the outside linebacker position against the run, against the past and the depth behind them. My goodness. The only question that has really kind of been created here is, Jonah Ellis, who in my opinion is also so valuable to the operation has dealt with injuries this past season. The hamstring, the shoulder. Certainly that's problematic.

Starting point is 00:13:12 This wasn't necessarily, I'd say, the year that, you know, a guy like, Jonah was anticipating for himself. I think he faced a lot of adversity and some obstacles. But man, I think he tackled it well, right mindset. And I think behind the scenes, just so frustrating for him because he's a competitor. This is a dude who works his tail off to be able to play. But in the NFL, as we know, the unfortunate business side of it is availability is probably the best thing for guys. So I don't think that Denver should make any move to part ways with any of these guys this offseason.

Starting point is 00:13:42 I think maybe you have a competition and training camp. so to speak there. You give Q Robinson more looks in camp overall and in the preseason, give him more premier looks, I would say with different units versus him just being the guy with the third team defense, get him looks with the first team, get him looks with the second team in preseason games where he's playing alongside these guys and I want to see what he does from there. Challenge guys. Bring Dandre Tillman back. Let there be a competition here. In my opinion, this is the biggest problem that those have. It's a good one, folks, and I don't know the answer to this question here.

Starting point is 00:14:18 And this is where maybe I'm asking you who are listening out there, what should the Broncos do at outside linebacker, considering what we have seen from Q, considering what we've seen from Dandre Tillman. You can't let a player like that go. It would be, as we said, roster malpractice. This is the toughest decision right now facing the good parts of the Broncos roster. This isn't like a position of question going into the off season. And it's, hey, this is so good.

Starting point is 00:14:45 What do they do? This is a good problem to have. And right now, I don't have a very good answer for you. I, if it were up to me, Broncos country, I would not get rid of anybody in this outside linebacker room. Instead, I would just have competition for maybe that spot in that third and four spot in the rotation defensively behind Jonathan Cooper and Nick Benito. I think Q Robinson would do well, but then it would mean reduce snaps for maybe

Starting point is 00:15:07 Jonah Ellis or Adonre Tillman, which that would be hard because those guys are very good. I don't see this ending in a way where somebody in that room is going to be happy with how things play out. And I think that's where we're at with this whole entire conversation. So Broncos country, please let me know your thoughts on Q Robinson, the Broncos outside linebacker room, the dilemma in question about what should they do here? Should they run it back with the same exact room? Or should they allow maybe Q Robinson to step into a more featured role here at the expense of another player? I'm very curious to see where you land on this.

Starting point is 00:15:42 Make sure you let me know today on Lockdown Broncos. As always, Broncos Country, we appreciate you so much. Sarah Bedinger, myself, tomorrow's episode of Lockdown Broncos, we have you covered with our reaction to George Payton and Sean Payton's press conferences from the NFL Combine. What do we learn from Sean and George? You're going to get all that more on tomorrow's episode of the show.

Locked On Broncos - Daily Podcast On The Denver Broncos - DILEMMA: Denver Broncos Face GOOD PROBLEM After Que Robinson's Rise

There aren't comments yet for this episode. Click on any sentence in the transcript to leave a comment.