Broncos linebacker Baron Browning draws Von Miller comparisons

ENGLEWOOD, Colo. – Third-year outside linebacker Baron Browning reminds his Denver Broncos teammates and coaches why he was drafted.

What Browning is capable of and what he can mean for the defense was demonstrated in a flash of a play with just under a minute to play in the first half of the team’s victory over the Chiefs of Kansas City.

“It’s definitely an unbelievable play,” Broncos defensive end Zach Allen said.

The 240-pound Browning took a page from Von Miller’s playbook to passing as he attacked the outside shoulder of Chiefs tackle Donovan Smith — 6-foot-6, 338 pounds — pushed his left arm into the collarbone Smith’s right, extended then quickly disengaged. When Smith wobbled a bit, Browning went to the outside shoulder for a sack and released the ball from quarterback Patrick Mahomes.

It was one of two sacks in his second game in the lineup following offseason knee surgery. This is what the Broncos need in their pass rush as well as another glimpse of his potential.

Browning’s next chance to chase down a quarterback comes Monday night in Buffalo (8:20 p.m. ET, ESPN/ESPN+). It will also be the first time that Miller, an eight-time Pro Bowl selection and Super Bowl 50 MVP during his 10 seasons with the Broncos, will face his former team.

“Von is a unique player… [but] It’s Von-esque,” ​​Broncos safety Justin Simmons said of Browning’s dismissal.[Browning] has that corner and he has that athleticism to be able to put himself in the upper echelon of passers and what makes a lot of guys special in our league in terms of getting the ball from a rush rush standpoint. Baron definitely has that. »

Browning came to the Broncos as a third-round pick in the 2021 draft and had played inside and edge linebacker at Ohio State. The Broncos placed him at inside linebacker with Miller and Bradley Chubb as the team’s leading rushers.

Browning started nine games as a rookie, finishing fourth on the team in tackles. But when the Broncos made a coaching change — Vic Fangio was fired and Nathaniel Hackett was hired — and Miller was traded to the Los Angeles Rams just before the 2021 trade deadline, then-coordinator Ejiro Evero defensive end, saw a different future for Browning.

Browning was placed at outside linebacker and played almost immediately, playing in 14 games, starting eight and missing two last season.

He finished with five sacks and often showed the power-speed-flexibility combination coveted at the position.

“You could see right away what he could do,” Chubb said earlier this season. “The little things, a shoulder dip here, a move there, the flexibility, it’s like he’s been doing it for a long time.”

But while Sean Payton and another coaching staff came in this year with their own plan to unleash Browning in the pass rush, he injured his knee during the Broncos’ offseason program.

He underwent arthroscopic surgery to repair the knee before minicamp, then injured his wrist while recovering. He missed the Broncos’ first six games before returning for the October 22 game against the Green Bay Packers and played 29 snaps.

“I’m just trying to do my job to help us,” Browning said. “I said I’ve been out for the last few months… you’re part of the team, but it’s different when you’re injured, so at the moment it’s about do the things I need to do to help this group.

But it was actually the Broncos’ win over the Chiefs on Oct. 29 that ended Denver’s 16-game losing streak against Kansas City, when Browning reintroduced himself to the intersection of a potential wideout and revolutionary production. Browning, in his 36 snaps, sacked Mahomes twice, hit him three times and forced the fumble.

“It’s crazy to have that type of impact like in your first real game,” Simmons said. “…When you have a destructive play like that, late in the game, it helps us so much…with Baron coming back, it helps our pass rush and our pass coverage.

Jamar Cain, a staffer who works with the smugglers, took note of Browning’s escalation.

“Beyond the physicality, he has this drive,” Cain said. If you see him during the game, he’ll often have the helmet on after a series and he’s talking to me, like ‘All right Cain, what did you see on that play, what did you see on that, how did you -you saw my rush”, so he always makes an adjustment and that’s how you succeed. “

Since the Broncos traded outside linebacker Randy Gregory to San Francisco last month and released outside linebacker Frank Clark, Browning’s return will help a defense that needs to emerge from a first month of the season that saw it rank at or near the bottom of the ranking. most categories. Payton said Browning’s impact will also increase as he continues to find new ways to attack opposing linemen.

“From a career standpoint, players under pressure are a lot like pitchers,” Payton said. “Usually when they come to our game, they only have one pitch, whether it’s speed or power. I think they need to develop the other pitch. I think that’s important ….I think it complements their game and a handful of shots become problematic for the guys blocking them.