Uwazurike can earn more snaps on Broncos’ defensive front — if he can hold off recent draft picks

No Broncos player has had quite the career arc of Enyi Uwazurike. The only thing about it that was conventional was a fairly standard rookie developmental season for a mid-round choice.

What followed from there could have wrecked his outlook: Being named in a gambling probe at his alma mater, Iowa State, months into his first year with a new head coach, what became a one-year NFL suspension as a result of the investigation and subsequent criminal charges and eventually having all charges against him in that probe dismissed in March 2024, but needing to make a comeback in an improved defensive-line room after missing an entire season.

When Uwazurike returned for training camp two years ago, he looked rusty — understandably so, all things considered. But under Sean Payton, the team has consistently shown its desire to retain players for long-term purposes. Allowing raw prospects to have a proper gestation while not exposing them to the waiver wire can be difficult from a roster-construction perspective, but it’s something that has been a priority in the last three seasons.

And after playing just 63 snaps in 2024 while being decactivated for 14 of a possible 18 games in that wild-card season, Uwazurike rewarded the team’s patience in him with a 3.5-sack season while playing 36 percent of the snaps last year as the No. 5 defensive lineman.

Now, with John Franklin-Myers in Tennessee after signing a massive contract, Uwazurike presumably moves up — with a chance to start.

But he’ll so so with younger players on his heels.

UWAZURIKE WAS ‘PRACTICING WELL’ AT BRONCOS OTAs

“I remember the first year we had him in the spring, and then going through that process,” Payton recalled last month.

“You’re just glad he was able to hang in because a year may not seem like a lot, but a year for anyone in this sport is a long time. He’s doing well, practicing well. He has his weight right where it needs to be.”

“… He’s one of those guys [who] I think he is competing for more time.”

But that puts him in the mix with Sai’vion Jones — a third-round choice last year — and this year’s third-round pick, Tyler Onyedim, who was the first player selected by the Broncos in their 2026 draft class.

“We’ve drafted to that position fairly well,” Broncos defensive coordinator Vance Joseph said last month. “So we got some young guys that we expect to step up and play. That’s their job. That’s why we drafted those guys.

“… We chose to let JFM walk and draft his position, so those guys behind him have to play well.”

Barring injuries, there will be room for only two among Uwazurike, Jones and Onyedim to get jerseys on most game days, as the Broncos typically activate five defensive linemen. And Jones has three years of team control left while Onyedim has his full four-year rookie contract, while Uwazurike is in his final season, as his the timeframe of his four-year deal was delayed one year by the suspension.

Uwazurike has established himself as a solid rotational defensive lineman, improving against the run last season after being viewed primarily as an interior pass rusher when he broke into the NFL. But whether that is enough to hold onto his Broncos spot given the potential leaps of Jones and Onyedim is one of the more fascinating questions of training camp.

Related

Bo Nix on extension talk: ‘You got to go out there and continue to earn it’The Broncos have a real battle for backup quarterbackBroncos president admits ‘frustration’ as 2031 stadium timeline tightensBroncos hire the architect behind the Raiders’ stadium — the same firm designing the Chiefs’Bo Nix asked if he’ll take off less after ankle surgeries, ‘absolutely not’Payton says Broncos will explore bringing in Taysom Hill