ENGLEWOOD, Colo. — The task of an offensive tackle during offseason practices can be unenviable. The same heavy hands that may land with a thud on a pass rusher’s shoulder pads in training camp practices or in games, stopping the surging defender cold, tend to glance away when those same pass rushers are only wearing T-shirts. Broncos coach Sean Payton routinely cautions observers to evaluate play in the trenches with a heaping portion of salt handy in this portion of the calendar.That context is important on most plays. It was irrelevant, though, during a rep from outside linebacker Jonah Elliss on Wednesday.During a two-minute drill, as the offense, led by quarterback Jarrett Stidham, neared the red zone, Elliss made a beeline at the snap toward the chest of right tackle Mike McGlinchey. Then, in a flash as McGlinchey set himself, Elliss unleashed a devastating spin move that sprang him into the backfield for a would-be sack. It was a move that wasn’t just unblockable in the middle of June. It would have been nearly impossible to corral during a pivotal third down in January. Elliss, entering his third NFL season, made those plays look routine during Denver’s offseason program, which ended Wednesday after Payton canceled Thursday’s scheduled minicamp finale and sent players into their summer break early.Bo Nix returns to practice for the BroncosNick KosmiderPayton earlier this offseason suggested Elliss would get snaps at inside linebacker as the Broncos gathered for workouts. When OTAs began, though, Elliss was still lined up on the edge, and Payton had a simple explanation.“He’s doing too well outside,” Payton said, while allowing the Broncos to still have certain packages that slot the 2024 third-round pick inside.The Broncos ended their offseason program with a major bit of uncertainty hovering over the outside linebacker position — uncertainty that didn’t exist when OTAs began just three weeks ago. Veteran Jonathon Cooper was excused by the team from minicamp following his second arrest in seven days. He faces multiple charges, including felony second-degree assault and misdemeanor harassment, stemming from a domestic incident with his then-girlfriend June 4 and a second incident one week later when Cooper was arrested on suspicion of violating a protective order.The NFL is investigating the matter, and Cooper could be subject to a suspension if the review concludes he committed an act of domestic violence. Payton did not say Tuesday whether the Broncos will institute their own disciplinary measures for Cooper. He did say, though, that “there’s a bar that we have, and an expectation that we have, that’s very high. We’ll consider all of that as we continue to gather the information. … I think it’ll take a little bit of time, but we’re continuing to go through that process, and we take it very seriously.”Regardless of Cooper’s status, the Broncos’ quest to continue pressuring quarterbacks at a league-best rate, as they have for the past two seasons, will hinge on young players on the defensive front stepping into more impactful roles this season. The Broncos set a franchise record with 63 sacks in 2024.They set a new benchmark with 68 takedowns in 2025. Their sack differential of plus-84 across those two seasons — the difference between a team’s sacks and its sacks taken — is a whopping 51 points higher than any other team in that span. It remains a central component of how the Broncos want to win games, and that means expectations are growing for Denver’s young, homegrown pass rushers.“We’ve got some young guys who we expect to step up and play,” said Broncos defensive coordinator Vance Joseph, who spoke last week before the team had excused Cooper from team activities. “That’s their job. That’s why we drafted those guys.”Elliss had five sacks as a rotational pass rusher during his rookie season in 2024. He missed four games with injuries last season, and his sack total dropped to 2.5, but his pressure rate jumped to 14.3 percent in 2025, according to TruMedia, up from a 9 percent rate as a rookie.Elliss was slotted opposite Pro Bowl pass rusher Nik Bonitto during minicamp, filling Cooper’s regular spot. Cooper’s absence also meant more reps for Que Robinson, the rangy, second-year pass rusher whose rookie season ended with a takedown of Patriots quarterback Drake Maye in the AFC Championship Game. Again, it’s important not to jump to significant conclusions about trench play during unpadded practices, but the quickness with which Robinson routinely got into the backfield during the four open practices of Denver’s offseason program was notable.“After the season, watching the cut-ups, when Que played, he played really well,” Joseph said of Robinson, who played only 150 defensive snaps as a rookie while sitting behind a rotation of Bonitto, Cooper, Elliss and Dondrea Tillman. “It looked like a guy who could be a future starter for us. It’s our job to keep improving with Que and get him more reps. Last year, he didn’t dress a lot of games, but when he dressed, he played well for (special teams coordinator Darren) Rizzi and for me, so it’s a year later and he’s ready for the next step.”There is another Broncos draft pick working to make an impact on the edge, too. Drew Sanders, a third-round pick of the Broncos in 2023, has been limited by injuries to this point in his career, including an issue with his foot that kept him out all of last season. He has bounced between the inside and outside linebacker roles, but he has been working with Denver’s pass rush group this offseason and angling to put himself in the mix for a rotational spot heading into the final year of his rookie contract.“There’s a young player that, knock on wood, we feel like is really talented, and (can) stay healthy and really get a good (opportunity),” Payton said Wednesday. “This is one of the offseasons he’s coming into this portion of training camp healthy, so I’m encouraged with that.”It remains to be seen what happens with Cooper and whether he’ll be with the team when it opens training camp in five weeks. The Broncos, though, have added options in the draft — and by way of free-agent signing in the case of the former UFL standout Tillman — with the knowledge, as general manager George Paton says often, “that you can’t have enough pass rushers.” The question now is whether the Broncos can keep chasing sack records with a young wave of those pass rushers stepping into larger roles.