{"id":243976,"date":"2025-08-27T12:00:44","date_gmt":"2025-08-27T16:00:44","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/nfl\/?p=243976"},"modified":"2026-03-19T20:22:16","modified_gmt":"2026-03-20T00:22:16","slug":"denver-broncos-defense-2025-season-outlook-alex-singleton","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/nfl\/2025\/08\/27\/denver-broncos-defense-2025-season-outlook-alex-singleton\/","title":{"rendered":"Alex Singleton: Denver\u2019s Tackling Maniac Isn\u2019t Slowing Down"},"content":{"rendered":"
Training camp in late July is hell on Earth. The sun\u2019s cooking, players are dripping sweat before warm-ups even start, and most guys look like they\u2019d rather be anywhere else. But there was Alex Singleton<\/a>, mainstay of the Denver Broncos defense, jogging back out onto the practice field with his right hand wrapped up like a boxing glove after thumb surgery. The dude literally had a club for a hand and was acting as if nothing had happened.<\/div>\n
<\/div>\n
That\u2019s just who he is. He doesn\u2019t care about the pain, doesn\u2019t care about looking pretty. He just wants to stop whoever is carrying the football.<\/div>\n

Alex Singleton: Denver Broncos Tackling Maniac Isn\u2019t Slowing Down<\/h2>\n

Tackle Magnet<\/h3>\n
Singleton\u2019s not flashy. He\u2019s not gonna pick off five passes or pop up on highlight reels every week. But when you look at the stat sheet, it\u2019s insane. Since 2020, he\u2019s piled up 600-plus tackles, which is sixth in the whole league. In 2023, his last full season? A jaw-dropping 175 tackles<\/a>. That\u2019s the most by any Bronco in over three decades. And 13 double-digit tackle games. Thirteen!<\/div>\n
<\/div>\n
Some defenders just have a nose for the ball. That\u2019s Singleton. If there\u2019s contact happening, he\u2019s there.<\/div>\n

Thumb Injury<\/h3>\n
When word came down on July 29 that he broke his thumb, Broncos fans were like, \u201cGreat\u2026 just what we need.\u201d The following day, surgery. Normally, that\u2019s a recipe for sitting out a chunk of camp. But Sean Payton<\/a> downplayed the concern.<\/div>\n
<\/div>\n
\u201cIf we had a playoff game tomorrow, he\u2019d be out there with a club on his hand,\u201d Payton told reporters.<\/div>\n
<\/div>\n
Sure enough, about a week later, Singleton was back on the field\u2014thumb wrapped, still finding ways to lay people out. No hype, no hoopla and no excuses.<\/div>\n

Next Man Up (temporarily)<\/h3>\n
Singleton’s short absence gave undrafted rookie Levelle Bailey a chance to run with the starters. Credit to the kid\u2014he looked solid. Even Payton said, \u201cHe\u2019s had a few good days, real good days\u2026 man, he\u2019s in good shape.\u201d<\/div>\n
<\/div>\n
But let\u2019s be real. Bailey isn\u2019t taking Singleton\u2019s job. Not when even the newly acquired Dre Greenlaw<\/a>, who just came over from the 49ers, is already calling him out as the guy:<\/div>\n
<\/div>\n
\u201cHe\u2019s a tackling machine. He\u2019s going to fight, he\u2019s going to battle, and he\u2019s going to give it everything he has on every single play.\u201d<\/div>\n
That\u2019s straight from a linebacker who\u2019s played next to a 4-time All-Pro, Fred Warner<\/a>.<\/div>\n

High Expectations<\/h3>\n
\n
\"Sean
Dec 24, 2023; Denver, Colorado, USA; Denver Broncos head coach Sean Payton in the first quarter against the New England Patriots at Empower Field at Mile High. Mandatory Credit: Ron Chenoy-USA TODAY Sports<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

The best part about Singleton is that he\u2019s not satisfied with just being \u201csolid.\u201d When asked about the defense, he didn\u2019t say, \u201cWe want to improve\u201d or \u201cbe a top unit.\u201d He wants to set the bar higher:<\/p><\/div>\n

<\/div>\n
\u201cLet\u2019s be better than the 2015 defense,\u201d he said. \u201cWe have to be the best every single day to get where we want to go.\u201d<\/div>\n
The 2015 \u201cNo Fly Zone\u201d Broncos D propelled the team to a Lombardi. Singleton\u2019s not shy about wanting that comparison.<\/div>\n

Preseason Performance<\/h3>\n
Even with the thumb hindering him, he was still rated as the top Bronco in the preseason opener. Pro Football Focus slapped him with an 89.9\u2014best on the team. Yeah, it\u2019s just preseason, but still, it shows he hasn\u2019t missed a beat.<\/div>\n
<\/div>\n
As soon as the depth charts came out, it was no shock\u2014Singleton\u2019s locked in as the starting inside linebacker alongside Greenlaw. With Drew Sanders<\/a> shelved for now, his role is even more important.<\/div>\n

Glue Guy<\/h3>\n
Superstar Pat Surtain<\/a> is the face of the defense. Greenlaw adds fire. Singleton is the glue. He\u2019s the steady presence in the middle, the guy who\u2019ll throw himself into any pile just to stop a run at two yards instead of four.<\/div>\n
<\/div>\n
So, how has he looked this camp and preseason? Pretty much like the same old Alex Singleton\u2014tough, reliable, and impossible to keep off the field.<\/div>\n
<\/div>\n
When the season kicks off, don\u2019t be surprised if he\u2019s once again leading the team\u2014and maybe the whole league\u2014in tackles. That\u2019s just who he is. No thumb injury, no padded club, nothing\u2019s keeping him out of the action.<\/div>\n

Main Photo: Kim Klement Neitzel-Imagn Images<\/em><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

The Broncos veteran is back to make an impact.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":5627,"featured_media":244062,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_lmt_disableupdate":"no","_lmt_disable":"","sfio_featured_image":false,"sfio_embed_code":"","_ef_editorial_meta_date_first-draft-date":"","_ef_editorial_meta_paragraph_assignment":"","_ef_editorial_meta_checkbox_needs-photo":"","_ef_editorial_meta_number_word-count":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[15,34308,36],"tags":[9663,7305,32048],"class_list":["post-243976","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-broncos","category-injuries","category-nfl-news","tag-alex-singleton","tag-denver-broncos-news","tag-nfl-injuries"],"modified_by":"Michael Kovacs, ADMIN","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/243976","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/5627"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=243976"}],"version-history":[{"count":13,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/243976\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":244063,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/243976\/revisions\/244063"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/244062"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=243976"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=243976"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=243976"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}