On paper, the Denver Broncos' defense appears primed for greatness. Throughout most of the offseason, Vance Joseph's improved unit has found itself projected as potentially the best defense in the league.
Free agency and the NFL draft delivered even more dynamic defensive weapons to Denver, such as linebacker Dre Greenlaw, safety Talanoa Hufanga, and cornerback Jahdae Barron, and suddenly, the expectations have dramatically shifted. Such bold acquisitions were designed to put the Broncos' defense into the elite pantheon, but they also took incumbent linebacker Alex Singleton and others a little bit by surprise.
"I think this year—a lot of guys, including in the building, didn't fully expect [to add so much to the defensive side this offseason] and when we got it, it was like, 'Oh, this is going to be fun.' We just went somewhere that a lot of teams don't ever go," Singleton told DNVR's Zac Stevens. "We're really, really excited."
The truth is, it's hard to keep the lid on the skyrocketing levels of expectation right now. That's entirely understandable after assembling such an impressive group on the heels of finishing as a top-10 defense, but we all know how that can often weigh down a group of players with too much pressure.
Facing down the first catastrophic injury of his career, Singleton is taking the glass-half-full view. The 31-year-old isn't running scared from this defense living up to its lofty billing. Due to the defense being loaded across the board, some folks have been comparing the 2025 unit to the imperious 2015 version — the group that powered the Broncos to success in Super Bowl 50.
Despite that high bar being more than a bit daunting, Singleton is intent on getting after the prize with the steely determination of a man who lost most of last season to injury.
"It's one of those things where it's like, 'Let's be better than the 2015 defense.' Stuff where like that's what we need to chase," Singleton said via Stevens. "You have to chase it when we start practice here in a few weeks in OTAs and go get it then. We have to be the best every single day to get where we want to go."
To maximize the massive potential of this new group, Singleton and company are also prepared to put in the hard yards to get the engine humming perfectly before hitting the field in September.
"We don't want to settle for anything is kind of where my mindset is," Singleton said via Stevens. "It's going to be attack this and - in May, if you're not saying you want to be the best, I think it's crazy. Be realistic when December rolls around, but right now, we have every single workout in front of us, so we just attack them all to be the best, that's what you can be."
Seeing the likes of Greenlaw and Hufanga running around and doing their thing is going to help pack the stands during training camp. Bolstering a unit that led the league in sacks last year with even more attack dogs may be a case of the rich getting richer, and Broncos fans are here for it.
Singleton sounds like he's turned into somewhat of a fan of his new teammates.
"When we're training and you just see 'Huff' and stuff and you're like, 'It's going to be special,'" Singleton told Stevens of Hufanga. "That's the fun part about this time of the year. You're saying it feels like Christmas and all that stuff. We have such a good opportunity. For us, it's to not mess that up. That's kind of the mindset we have to go in now. This has to be everything to everybody in this building."
Flying to the ball with even more destructive intent is the mission at hand, and living up to the Broncos' legendary 2015 defensive legacy is a goal worth well chasing because success will very likely follow.
