NFL Combine: Broncos’ draft needs, new WR coach ‘a stud’ and an intriguing big-rig defensive tackle

INDIANAPOLIS — Lee Hunter is a big rig.

He’s bought a couple, too.

The Texas Tech defensive tackle enjoys standing up double teams and he was paid well to do it for the NIL-rich Red Raiders.

He used the money he made to buy his mom a house and take care of his 5-year-old. He also purchased a pair of 18-wheelers to help his brother get a business off the ground.

“He’s just moving stuff from city to city,” Hunter said with a laugh. “I don’t get into all that. I play football, I got them for him.”

The Mobile, Alabama, native may not know much about trucking, but he excels in the football version of unglamorous work. He, too, moves heavy loads. Or refuses to be moved.

“I can beat people one-on-one,” Hunter said. “When you slide to me on third down and you’ve got 600 pounds (of offensive lineman) on me, that’s that, but you get me a one-on-one, I’m going to get you.”

Hunter is part of a 2026 defensive line group at the NFL Combine that is considered a quality one, if not quite as talented and tantalizing as the edge rushers.

At 6-foot-3 and 320 pounds, Hunter could hear his name called late in the first round of the NFL Draft come April 23.

That’s Broncos territory.

Denver, of course, picks No. 30 and under head coach Sean Payton and general manager Geroge Paton are always going to at least consider taking a line-of-scrimmage player they think can be a difference-maker.

“You always have to feed the offensive line and the defensive line to sustain success in this league,” Paton said Tuesday.

The Broncos have deployed one of the best defensive lines in football the past two years, though they’re likely to lose John Franklin-Myers in free agency next month. In the past year alone, they’ve signed defensive tackles D.J. Jones through 2027, Malcolm Roach through 2028 and Zach Allen through 2029.

Still, Jones is entering Year 10 and the Broncos could end up in the market for a young run defender with upside to eventually be a good pass-rusher.

“I’m bringing to a team high energy. Football player. You’re going to love me in the locker room. You’re going to feel my presence and you’re going to enjoy being around me daily.”

Here are nine other quick hits from the NFL Combine. 

* Sean Payton is back on the NFL’s competition committee. He famously has a love-hate relationship with the group, which he previously served on for four years before swearing it off. He has said in the past that his opinions didn’t add up to much action and that “I’m the biggest cynic,” when it comes to talking about rules.

So why did he rejoin the group?

“I like the pain,” he said with a smile this week.

But, also, “I like our league. I like talking about stuff like that.”

* Payton reiterated his stance against banning the “Tush Push” quarterback sneak, which he’s expressed previously, this week. The league is not currently considering a ban on the play after an effort to remove it from the game failed last year.

“I think if that ever goes away, it’s not a health and safety thing,” Payton said, citing the rationale behind the push to ban the play. “We discussed that last year for two hours and we had just adopted a thousand more kick returns. Which play do you think is more of a health risk? A thousand more kick returns.

“So I think if we choose to ever move on from that, it won’t be because of health and safety. It will just be like, ‘We don’t like it.’ Which is OK.”

Payton said the health-and-safety conversation around the Tush Push caused his “B.S. meter” to go off.

* A slowly but steadily growing number of teams are changing the way they staff the combine. Some teams have talked openly about not sending their coaching staffs and/or key front-office executives and instead relying on scouts to gather the information on prospects that they need. Those teams include several playoff clubs like Jacksonville, the Los Angeles Rams, San Francisco and more.

Paton, though, still sees value in spending the week with boots on the ground. Denver has not only Paton and the scouting department on hand for the week but also Payton and nearly all of the club’s assistant coaches.

“Maybe they just want to be more efficient,” Paton said of the teams that skipped. “It would be kind of cool to be home and just watching tape and grinding, yet the reason you want to come here is just to get in front of the players and get to know the players. It’s another step in the process of trying to get to know these players in person, face-to-face.

“The more you get to know these players, I just think the better decisions you’ll make. Those teams are really sharp. It’s good to talk to them, I haven’t talked to them yet.”

* ILB Lander Barton is the younger brother of former Broncos ILB Cody Barton. He also played three seasons at the University of Utah with now-Denver OLB Jonah Elliss. Needless to say, the likely Day 3 pick has seen plenty of Broncos football.

“My brother, I know he really enjoyed his time over there for his short stint,” Barton said. “Their front, they just eat. That front seven really eats and they’ve got some serious cover guys on the back end that makes the job easy for you. Really, that’d be fun to play there, too.”

* Among the Broncos’ must-haves this offseason is at least one inside linebacker. Paton acknowledged as much Tuesday, though he said Denver would love to have impending free agents Alex Singleton and Justin Strnad back on new deals. Turns out, a different standout linebacker may be about to hit the market. The Chicago Tribune reported that Tremaine Edmonds has been given permission by the Bears to seek a trade. If he can’t find a taker, Chicago will likely release him next month. Edmonds has played in 119 games but will be only 28 when training camp starts this summer. He’s topped 100 tackles in all eight of his seasons for Buffalo and Chicago.

* Teams meet with players up and down the draft board at the combine and collegiate All-Star games. Here’s betting the Broncos were impressed with — and also certain they will not be able to draft — Ohio State linebacker Sonny Styles. Even though off-ball linebackers don’t typically fly off the draft shelf, Styles figures to be long gone by the time Denver picks at No. 30. Still, he said he had a good visit with the Broncos at the combine.

“It was awesome,” Styles said. “Coach Payton was awesome, I just love being there talking ball. Turn the film on, sometimes I break down some of their plays, things like that, break down your plays. You just got to go in there and be yourself.”

* New Broncos wide receivers coach Ronald Curry spent the past two seasons coaching Josh Allen in Buffalo. New Bills head coach Joe Brady called Curry “a stud” and a future offensive coordinator. Curry has interviewed for Denver’s OC job twice, in 2023 when Payton was first hired and again before Payton promoted Davis Webb.

“‘R.C.’ and I had a lot of success,” Brady said. “Josh Allen won an MVP with R.C. as his quarterbacks coach. He was like my right-hand man here. I’m obviously sad for him to not be working with us anymore but I know how Sean feels about him and I know he’s going to be a huge component for Davis. I have nothing but love for R.C. as a person and as a coach.”

* Buffalo and Baltimore appear to be in an arms race when it comes to adding former Denver coaches.

The Bills under Brady now have Pete Carmichael (OC), Jim Leonhard (DC) and John Fox (senior offensive assistant). The Ravens under new head coach Jesse Minter have hired even more. Minter’s added Keary Colbert (WR), Zack Grossi (TE) and Joe Lombardi (senior offensive assistant) from last year’s Denver staff in addition to Declan Doyle (OC) and Ben Kotwica (senior ST assistant).

* Leonhard would have been a candidate for Denver’s defensive coordinator job had Vance Joseph landed a head coaching job this winter, but instead, he ended up in Buffalo.

Brady called hiring Leonhard a “no-brainer.”

“Jim Leonhard, obviously we’ve gone against Denver and I’ve followed Jim going back to Wisconsin,” Brady said. “The Penn State days for me. I always try to write down coaches that, while I’m evaluating, I notice how their defenses play or their groups — the defensive backs. I go back to my notes from when we played them in the playoffs and just how well coached they were.

“The more that you talk with Jim and the more I’m around him even now, it was a no-brainer decision for me.”

Want more Broncos news? Sign up for the Broncos Insider to get all our NFL analysis.

The post NFL Combine: Broncos’ draft needs, new WR coach ‘a stud’ and an intriguing big-rig defensive tackle appeared first on Denver Post