With so many injuries and a lack of cohesion among the Broncos' inside linebacker group, they have needed to rely on their depth and backups more than Vance Joseph would have liked to. Even with signing Dre Greenlaw, a move that many thought would resolve their inside backer issue from last season, he played less than half of the Broncos' games this year thanks to injury and a one-game suspension. Opportunity, however, can lead to new faces stepping up.
In the absence of Alex Singleton last year, Cody Barton stepped up and played well, which led to him parlaying his performance into a solid contract with the Titans.