ENGLEWOOD, Colo. — Que Robinson used a speedy dip-and-dash move to create space against the offensive tackle and then bury Packers quarterback Kyle McCord for a sack in the Broncos’ second exhibition game earlier this month.It may have been his first takedown of this preseason, Denver’s second-year pass rusher explained afterward, but it was hardly an unfamiliar outcome.“Shoot, man, I’ve been giving our offensive tackles hell all camp,” Robinson said with a grin, “so it feels pretty good to go against someone else and work a move that I’ve been practicing for I don’t know how long. It felt pretty good.”Broncos are eager for young pass rushers to step upNick KosmiderRobinson produced an 18.4 percent pressure rate in the preseason, ranking fourth out of 169 players credited with at least 35 defensive pass-rush snaps, according to TruMedia. He had four quarterback hits, routinely moving passers off their marks as he waved his rangy arms in pursuit. When the Broncos open the regular season on Sept. 14 at Kansas City, they are expecting more of the same from a young player who has suddenly been thrust into a far more substantial role.Starting outside linebacker Jonathon Cooper on Sunday was placed on the NFL’s commissioner exempt list as the league continues investigating the circumstances surrounding two of June arrests, making him ineligible to play in games or practice with the team. It’s not clear when Cooper will be removed from the list or whether he’ll face a suspension after the league’s investigation is complete. The 28-year-old pleaded not guilty to all five charges stemming from a pair of domestic incidents with his then-girlfriend during an arraignment hearing in a Douglas County (Colo.) courtroom Monday afternoon. A trial in the case is scheduled to begin Nov. 10.The Broncos are operating on the assumption that they won’t have Cooper in the lineup. The silver lining is that defensive coordinator Vance Joseph will be able to achieve the goals he established early in the season — finding more time on the field for Robinson and third-year edge rusher Jonah Elliss, who will likely get the first crack at replacing Cooper in the starting lineup. There was an idea within Denver’s coaching staff at the start of the offseason that Elliss could switch to inside linebacker with veterans Alex Singleton and Justin Strnad set to enter free agency — both ultimately re-signed with the Broncos. The conversation, though, Joseph said, was really about finding more ways for Elliss to be on the field. The 2024 third-round pick out of Utah played 38 percent of Denver’s defensive snaps in each of his first two seasons.“My take on Jonah is, when you watched our cut-ups after the season, he played really well, but he didn’t play enough. Same with Que,” Joseph said during the second week of training camp, before Cooper had been placed on the exempt list. “So to get (Elliss) on the field more often and maybe packaged (at inside linebacker) so we can play Que more often also, it’s really team-based to get our better players more reps. If he’s one of our better players, I don’t want him to be watching. I want him to be playing.”Robinson has been patiently waiting for this opportunity ever since he arrived at Alabama. He played his first two seasons behind Will Anderson (first-round pick in 2023) and another year behind Dallas Turner (first-rounder in 2024). With more playing time as a senior in 2024, Robinson had four sacks and showed enough flashes on the edge — and on special teams — for the Broncos to spend a fourth-round pick and add to an already strong outside linebacker group. That depth made Robinson an inactive player on game day 11 out of 17 weeks during his rookie season, but he insists he didn’t struggle to be patient. Not with all there was to learn from a group in front of him — Cooper, Elliss, Nik Bonitto and Dondrea Tillman — that was helping Joseph’s defense set a franchise sack record for the second season in a row.“I sat by these guys and being able to watch them get to like 68 sacks and stuff like and, man, you get to see the technicality side of it,” Robinson said midway through what became a breakout training camp. “Why they made a certain move and when did they make it? How did they time it up? I just took it all in and just now I’m just getting a chance to apply it.”Robinson got to apply it on the biggest stage of his young career when he was active for the Broncos in the AFC Championship Game. He was lined up on the left edge on a second-and-6 for the Patriots late in the first quarter. Robinson read a bootleg immediately at the snap and shoved the flat receiver, tight end Hunter Henry, off his mark, disrupting the primary read for quarterback Drake Maye. Before the quarterback could adjust, Robinson zoomed into the backfield and dragged Maye down by the shoulder pads.“It’s a lot easier when you’ve got older guys who believe in you,” said Robinson, who has worked on a side field at the Broncos’ practices this week but did so in full pads Tuesday.“… It was a good thing for me to hear that from them, especially being in my sixth game, not really thinking I’d be playing in that game. It was a good feeling just to know my teammates were behind me. It gave me confidence to go make those kind of plays.”Broncos general manager George Paton referenced Robinson’s appearance in that conference title game — and scores of big games Elliss has played in the past two years — as he voiced confidence that Denver’s defense can withstand Cooper’s absence, however long it lingers. There is no brushing aside the impact the veteran has made while registering 27 sacks across his last three seasons as a full-time starter, while also being a stout edge-setter in the run game.The Broncos, though, have been eager to get their young pass rushers on the field more frequently. That time is now.