ENGLEWOOD, Colo. — There are a variety of factors that determine whether an edge rusher can be successful at the NFL level, but there may be one nonnegotiable.
As Head Coach Sean Payton explained Friday after the Broncos selected outside linebacker Jonah Elliss with the 76th-overall pick in the 2024 NFL Draft, the stats have to be there.
"They're kind of like those pelts on a horse," Payton said. "If you're a pressure player, at some point, you've got to have production. This player had that."
Elliss certainly did, as he had the second-most sacks of any Power Five player in 2023 with 12 quarterback takedowns. Elliss posted eight sacks over a four-game stretch against UCLA, Oregon State, Cal and USC, and he recorded a career-high 3.5 sacks and five tackles for loss in a win over the Bruins.
The son of former Bronco defender and team chaplain Luther Elliss finished the season with 16 tackles for loss to accompany his 12 sacks, and he earned first-team All-Pac-12 honors and second-team All-American honors for his production.
"He's an edge player that, man, plays with energy, effort — all those things that you look for," Payton said after the end of Day 2. "Real good football makeup. [Great] character."
Payton said Elliss will begin his career with the Broncos playing "one spot," but Denver likes the 6-foot-2, 248-pound player's potential versatility.
"We think there's upside and growth potential," Payton said.
The Broncos had another player they were considering with the 76th-overall pick, but Elliss was rated half a round higher on Denver's board, according to Payton. That, combined with the importance of the edge position, led the Broncos to select Elliss.
For the second consecutive night, though, Atlanta nearly played spoiler for Denver. The Falcons caused anxiety on Thursday night when they selected Michael Penix Jr. at No. 8, and the Broncos wondered if Atlanta would take Elliss with the 75th-overall pick.
Elliss' brother Kaden was drafted by Payton and now-Falcons general manager Terry Fontenot in New Orleans in 2019, and the Broncos knew the Falcons had a need for an edge rusher.
"We were sweating that pick out, and then [Atlanta] ended up taking a different outside linebacker," Payton said. "I got a text two seconds later from Kaden."
If Elliss had been taken before No. 76, the Broncos may have well have traded down.
"It would've been Sean's first time, maybe ever, moving back," Paton joked. "We had a cake ready. But we were happy Jonah was there."
Added Payton: "I was taking like 30 deep breaths."
Yet while there were a number of talented players remaining on the board, the Broncos' decision was clear when Elliss was available at No. 76.
"Jonah was just too good to pass [on]," Paton said.
Elliss now joins an edge-rushing group that features 2022 second-round pick Nik Bonitto, 2021 third-round pick Baron Browning and 2021 seventh-round pick — and last year's team sack leader — Jonathon Cooper. The Broncos also played 2023 third-round pick Drew Sanders at outside linebacker at times last season, and Paton said in February that Sanders would "probably end up on the edge."
Denver, though, believed in the importance of the edge-rushing position and was not afraid to add another pressure player.
"You're never afraid to draft on top of your strength," Payton said. "We'll sort that out. It's always a harder position to find in the offseason and in free agency, and so we felt like he definitely checked the pressure player box. And then we'll sort through that depth as we get to it."
