Broncos Linebacker Named as ‘Bust’ Candidate Entering Key 3rd Year

The 2025 NFL season is going to be huge for Drew Sanders and the Denver Broncos.

The Broncos’ third-round pick in the 2023 NFL Draft is teetering on the verge of bust status as his crucial third season gets set to unfold.

Sanders was chosen 67th overall by Denver in hopes he would keep rising as a prospect after playing one standout season at Arkansas. Yet, the 6-5, 233-pound linebacker has struggled to even get on the field in his first two seasons.

Why Is Drew Sanders Considered A Bust?

That Broncos fans are ready to write off Sanders is not entirely the fledgling third-year defensive player’s fault.

Sanders is coming off an injury that cost him all but four games last year. He sustained an off-season Achilles tendon injury and did not suit up until Week 14.

Sanders finished his injury-plagued second season with just nine tackles and one sack while playing just 20 defensive snaps between five regular-season and playoff games.

“It would have been the absolute ideal time for Sanders to come into the lineup and make an impact, but he was unfortunately recovering from an Achilles injury suffered early in the offseason,” Sayre Bedinger of Predominantly Orange wrote Tuesday.

“The talent is there for Sanders, but for a guy whose projection was maybe up for interpretation at the pro level (the Broncos have changed his positions multiple times now), missing a crucial second year due to injury was about the worst thing that could have happened for his development.”

So the combination of him being a late bloomer, and the Broncos being unsure of what they have — outside of a special-teams player — has hampered his development.

How Can Drew Sanders Salvage His NFL Career?

Even though the ‘B’ word is being tossed around while referencing Sanders’ career, there is still hope for him to turn things around, especially given Denver’s need for warm, healthy bodies at its linebacker position.

“The opportunity is there for Sanders to force the Broncos to make a tough decision,” Bedinger wrote. “Alex Singleton is making his way back from an ACL injury last season. Dre Greenlaw is expected to start but he’s also got a quad injury he’s working his way back from, and he only played two games last season.

Sanders has turned his fortunes around before, notably in college. After accruing 33 tackles and one sack in his two seasons at Alabama, Sanders earned his draft pick by having a monster third year with the Razborbacks, accruing 103 tackles, nine-and-a-half sacks and an interception.

“He was a late bloomer at the college level, and he’s got time to prove himself in the NFL,” Bedinger said.

But patience wears thin in the NFL, and if Sanders doesn’t seize this opportunity, his NFL stock is unlikely to recover.

“As a high third-round pick, the “bust” word is maybe getting thrown around too loosely, but Sanders has an opportunity to seize this offseason and it would be a massive disappointment if he didn’t,” Bedinger wrote. “It feels like the 2026 offseason will truly be the tipping point for Sanders, but the 2025 offseason is his chance to prove he belongs in the starting lineup, and that his lofty draft status wasn’t a mistake by the team.”