ENGLEWOOD, Colo. --Danny Trevathan isn't satisfied.
He led the Broncos in tackles in a 2013 season that saw him emerge as one of the defense's top playmakers.
But now he wants to take his game a step further.
"My job last year was just to make plays," he said Wednesday. "To be a leader, you have to set an example. You have to make your name known. I don't think I wanted to come here and be a leader, I had to earn that. Last year was a breaking-out season for me, and this year is going to be another breakout season for me. It's my job to help lead as much as I can. Just bring my characteristics to this team, my attitude to this team as much as I can."
The third-year pro said he learned from playing alongside leaders the likes of Wesley Woodyard, now with the Tennessee Titans. He wants to take the lessons he learned to not only get better himself, but help the players around him.
"It's my job as a linebacker to be a leader," he said. "I take pride in being a leader and taking on the challenge of getting these guys ready. I kind of had to wait and sit back and wait my turn. It's been an honor just to play alongside of guys who taught me how to be a leader. Now it's time for me to showcase how great of a leader I can be."
In addition to his 124 tackles, he intercepted three passes, forced two fumbles and added seven tackles for losses and two sacks in 2013. He'll look to bring that same type of production to a Broncos defense that added three more playmakers -- DeMarcus Ware, Aqib Talib and T.J. Ward -- through free agency and will get back other big names like Von Miller, Kevin Vickerson and Chris Harris Jr. from injury.
"We added some guys that can help us," Trevathan said. "The toughness aspect of the game — defense is a tough job to play, and you've got to be tough-minded to play out there. A lot of guys say we want tough, we need it, all this and that, but as a linebacker, you feed off of that. You're supposed to be tough. We added some guys that played tough with the team that they were with. It's definitely going to help us be a tougher and physical team and it's really going to help us in 2014."
The linebacker said he has watched the team's Super Bowl XLVIII loss multiple times, and he knows that will be a driving force throughout 2014 as well.
"In the offseason, that's all I thought about — get back there," he said. "The odds are against us and I like the odds against us. They've been against me my whole life. For us to get there, it's going to take some hard work. But we're definitely willing to put that forward."
