In the Houston Texans Hidden Gems piece, I posited that the Texans were the NFL’s great “what-if” team of the 2025 season, because if their offense had been even league-average in the playoffs, that defense could have taken them all the way to the Super Bowl.
Well, if the Texans weren’t last year’s great “what-if” team, the Denver Broncos certainly were. What if Bo Nix hadn’t suffered a broken ankle near the end of Denver’s 33-30 overtime divisional round win over the Buffalo Bills? It’s pretty likely that Nix would have engineered more than the seven points the Broncos scored in their 10-7 AFC Championship loss to the New England Patriots with backup Jarrett Stidham, and who knows what a Super Bowl XLVIII rematch between the Broncos and the Seattle Seahawks would have looked like?
Advertisement
In any regard, the 2026 Broncos showed that they were not messing around when it came to the future when they sent 2026 first-, third-, and fourth-round picks to the Miami Dolphins for receiver Jaylen Waddle and a 2026 fourth-round pick. Vertical juice was missing in Sean Payton’s passing game last season, and that’s something Waddle can provide in spades.
Adding Waddle to an offense that ranked 15th in DVOA last season, and bringing back the entire defense that ranked fifth, would seem to put a healthy Broncos team in the same catbird seat they seemed to occupy last season before losing their franchise quarterback.
Of course, we can never be sure of these things. All sorts of stuff can happen during an NFL season, and if these Broncos want to win their first championship since the end of the 2015 season, it’ll take the best from everybody on the roster — not just the justified stars, but also the guys whose name recognition has lagged behind their on-field accomplishments.
Advertisement
To that end, I’ve identified three Hidden Gems on the Broncos’ 2026 roster — one underrated veteran, one underrated free agent, and one underrated draft pick.
Underrated veteran: DB Ja’Quan McMillian
DENVER, COLORADO – JANUARY 17: Ja’quan McMillian #29 of the Denver Broncos celebrates after intercepting a pass intended for Brandin Cooks #18 of the Buffalo Bills during overtime in the AFC Divisional Playoff game at Empower Field At Mile High on January 17, 2026 in Denver, Colorado. (Photo by Justin Edmonds/Getty Images) | Getty Images
If you want to go deep into the playoffs, you need players who recognize the biggest moments, and step up accordingly.
Per the team’s official website, defensive back Ja’Quan McMillian has no problem with this concept. Last season, the 2022 undrafted free agent from East Carolina…
…recorded a game-clinching strip-sack in Denver’s opening win of the season over Tennessee, notched an interception and key third-down sack in a win over the Chiefs and had a pick six in a victory over the Chargers. McMillian also picked off Josh Allen in overtime of the Broncos’ Divisional Round win to help set up Denver’s game-winning drive.
Advertisement
Pat Surtain II and Riley Moss are the Broncos’ established outside cornerbacks, but Vance Joseph’s defense doesn’t work as well without McMillian doing everything he does. And we do mean everything he does. Last season, the 5’10”, 183-pound McMillian allowed 55 catches on 81 targets for 502 yards, 243 yards after the catch, two touchdowns, three interceptions, six pass breakups, and an opponent passer rating of 77.3. McMillian also had 47 solo tackles, 27 stops, six tackles for loss, two forced fumbles, four sacks, and eight total pressures, because the dude is a guided missile who is constantly looking to create chaos.
“His mindset is off the charts,” Surtain said of McMillian over the summer. “The way that he carries himself on and off the field and his work ethic… There are only a few that quite work like him. Being undrafted and coming in, nobody knew about him. Now, he’s a hot commodity. It goes to show the work that he’s put in, and how much he values and hones in on his craft. I’m excited for J-Mac. He’s a big-time player, and I’m happy that he is finally getting his spotlight.”
Now, with a new second-round Restricted Free Agent tender contract under his belt, McMillian should continue his status as one of the best nickel defenders in the NFL — and still one of the most underrated.
Advertisement
Underrated free agent: EDGE Dasan McCullough
CENTENNIAL , CO – JULY 29: Dasan McCullough (57) of the Denver Broncos adjusts his helmet during practice at the Broncos Park in Centennial, Colorado on Wednesday, July 29, 2026. (Photo by AAron Ontiveroz/The Denver Post) | Denver Post via Getty Images
The Broncos didn’t do much in free agency, because you don’t need to when you’re returning 21 of 22 estimated starters from the 2025 season, and Jaylen Waddle is the new guy. So, I looked through the team’s undrafted free agents instead, and one name made me do the eyebrow thing — Nebraska EDGE Dasan McCullough.
And that was before the backstory came into focus. McCullough’s father Deland was a running back at Miami (Ohio) in 1994, and his first-time playcaller was an offensive coordinator and quarterbacks coach by the name of… Sean Payton.
Injuries got in the way of Deland’s NFL dreams, but now, there’s the opportunity for Dasan to get it all done for the family. Certainly, the Broncos considered selecting McCullough late in the 2026 draft. Ultimately, he signed a $245,000 UDFA contract with a $20,000 signing bonus, one of the biggest such deals the Broncos have ever given anybody.
Advertisement
Last season for the Cornhuskers, the younger McCullough had two sacks and 16 pressures in just 155 pass-rushing snaps. The 6’5:, 235-pound McCullough fits the Vance Joseph ideal of leaner edge guys who just singe tackles and tight ends with their speed around the edge off the snap. The athletic potential is there, and you can see the embryonic version of a Nik Bonitto type at certain times.
“They’re already a really good team with a bunch of really good pass-rushers, and I feel like my skill set definitely fits in that room perfectly with how they play,” Dasan said after he signed that contract. “And with Vance Joseph being there and developing his system, I definitely see my career skyrocketing under him… I’m really physical. I’m just really a fast, relentless guy. You always see me running to the ball hard.”
Obviously, Payton isn’t going to give a roster spot to a rookie based on family ties, but with a strong preseason, who knows what Dasan McCullough is capable of down the road?
Advertisement
Underrated draft pick: LB Red Murdock
CENTENNIAL , CO – JUNE 16: Red Murdock (50) of the Denver Broncos stretches during minicamp at the Broncos Park in Centennial, Colorado on Tuesday, June 16, 2026. (Photo by AAron Ontiveroz/The Denver Post) | Denver Post via Getty Images
I almost went with fourth-round running back Jonah Coleman here, because I believe that Coleman is seriously underrated as a big-play threat. But when Buffalo linebacker Red Murdock was Mr. Irrelevant in the 2026 draft — the last player selected with the 257th overall pick — he was my guy. Because there was no way the 6’2″, 232-pound Murdock should have gone that low.
In 2025, his fourth season at Buffalo, Murdock had 93 solo tackles, 56 stops, seven tackles for loss, six forced fumbles. He also had six sacks and 20 pressures… on just 47 pass-rushing snaps. Not a bad return rate there.
Advertisement
“Murdock, just man… he’s a tackling machine,” GM George Paton said of that pick after it was made. “Just really instinctive. Really good against the run. He may hold the record — you guys may know — for forced fumbles. Everyone talked about the Texas Tech guy [Dolphins LB Jacob Rodriguez], and he was amazing, but this guy — oh my gosh, if you look at his career and all the forced fumbles he had. Just a nose for the ball, relentless motor. Think he could be a good special teamer. Great makeup; all of these [draft picks] I think have great makeup.”
Murdock does indeed have the NCAA record for forced fumbles in a career with 17, which put him ahead of another Buffalo alum with the first name Khalil (Khalil Mack), who had 16 from 2010-2013. When you watch Murdock’s college tape, and see him hit with the force of a guy 20 pounds heavier, it’s easy to see why.
You got to see a bit of it when Murdock suited up against the Atlanta Falcons in the preseason opener.
If there’s a limitation to Murdock’s game, it’s in coverage, and that’s a primary reason he fell as far as he did in the draft. If you’re looking for the true do-it-all ‘backer in today’s NFL, he’s not that guy. Not yet, at least. But as a forward-moving defender hell-bent on anarchy all over the place, Red Murdock will find his way in Denver’s defense — or somebody else’s.
