“That's part of the business, as they say," cornerback Pat Surtain said last week when asked about replacing JFM on defense. "Obviously, when great players leave, you have to count on other guys to step up. Like you mentioned, Sai’vion and ‘Enyi,' all of those guys, they've been working very hard. Obviously, Sai’vion, a young guy stepping up last year in his role. And ‘Enyi,’ he’s been a baller as well, stepping up in his role too, year-in and year-out. So I feel like the expectations stay the same even when ‘JFM’ was here. I know that room holds each other to high standards, and I feel like they expect the same out of both those two.”
Broncos Wire expects Malcolm Roach to continue playing in a nose tackle role like D.J. Jones. Otherwise, Roach would be a strong candidate for the DE spot. Another candidate is Tyler Onyedim, a rookie who was picked in the third round of this year's NFL draft.
“I think there are two or three players [in contention]," coach Sean Payton said last week when asked about who will fill JFM's old role. "Certainly, we believe in rotation. It’s easier to evaluate once we start putting pads on.”
Those last two remarks from Payton are key. First, while only one lineman will "start" the game, several players can and will rotate in. Second, the competition will truly heat up when pads are on and preseason games begin. Denver has three preseason games on deck this month, and those contests will help sort out the defensive line depth chart.
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