Broncos' Top Breakout Player of 2024 Revealed

What does the future hold for Denver Broncos rush linebacker Baron Browning?

Nov 27, 2022; Charlotte, North Carolina, USA; Denver Broncos linebacker Baron Browning (56) closes in on a sack vs. the Carolina Panthers. / Jim Dedmon-USA TODAY Sports

The Denver Broncos haven't had a player finish with double-digit sacks since both Von Miller and Bradley Chubb achieved it in 2018. Believe it or not. That was the one-and-only full season the Broncos got out of the Miller/Chubb duo, as they combined for 26.5 sacks.

Since 2018, the Broncos have twice had interior defensive linemen finish as their sack leader. Shelby Harris in 2021 (six) and Dre'Mont Jones in 2022 (6.5.)

The Broncos had two players get close to double-digits last year, with Nik Bonitto finishing with a team-high 8.5 sacks and Jonathon Cooper right behind him with eight. There's hope that both players might eclipse those marks in 2024, but the real threat in Denver to break double-digit sacks is Baron Browning, as I wrote in a recent Sports Illustrated roundtable.

The Broncos initially drafted Browning to play inside linebacker, but a regime change saw his role shift to the outside. Since then, he’s had surprising success as a pass rusher when he’s been on the field, but the injury bug has been his greatest opponent. Healthy, finally, for a full offseason, and now with two years of OLB experience under his belt, all Browning needs is a little injury good fortune, and he’s destined for a double-digit sack performance. Just in time, too, as it’s a contract year.

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Browning's positional instability dates back to his days at Ohio State. The Buckeyes moved him around the front seven, which hurt his draft stock and caused him, in part, to slip to the third round and into Denver's grasp.

The Broncos tried Browning at inside linebacker initially, and it worked well. He thrived off the ball in 2021, but that next offseason, the Broncos opted to move him to rush linebacker and that's where he's remained.

Browning totaled five sacks in eight starts in 2022 — his first year as an edge defender. Alas, he suffered an injury that compromised him late in the year, and required some offseason knee procedures that ate into his 2023 campaign.

By the time Browning hit the roster healthy last year, the Broncos had already played seven games. He would go on to total 4.5 sacks in nine starts, but the Broncos had him on a pitch count of sorts the first few games. That won't be the case entering this season.

“He’s much further along," Broncos head coach Sean Payton said last month of Browning. "There is a confidence about him... He’s in good shape. He’s been working hard, and I’ve gotten to know him and I enjoy coaching him.”

If Browning stays healthy throughout this summer, I can see him having a massive break-out year. As I wrote, he's got millions of dollars at stake. Even if he doesn't eclipse double-digit sacks this coming season, he's going to command a hefty contract on the open market because he's so smooth, twitchy, and explosive — and he's just scratching the surface as a full-time edge rusher.

Sometimes Browning looks just like Miller, bending around the edge and dipping under tackles. But know what you're looking for, as Browning changed his jersey number to 5 this offseason. Rookie linebacker Levelle Bailey has No. 56 now.

Browning is yet to fully put it all together, but I'm going on record; this is the year it happens.

The 25-year-old just needs a little luck by way of the injury bug. With training camp set to kick off on Friday, July 26, Browning has avoided the dreaded PUP list designation, so that's a positive harbinger of his injury/health outlook.

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