ENGLEWOOD, Colo. -- NFL plans are tenuous. A knee injury here, a free agency departure there and the drawing board gets messed up quickly.
But as the Denver Broncos (6-5) attempt to make the playoffs for the first time since 2015, a quest that continues Sunday at the Las Vegas Raiders (4:05 p.m. ET, Allegiant Stadium, CBS), they are executing a long-term plan that includes several of their young homegrown players. If things go the way they hope, the Broncos might have found a core to build around, especially on defense, despite having to navigate the salary cap troubles and missing draft picks that resulted from the 2022 trade for Russell Wilson and his release this past March.
"We have a lot of young, talented guys," said outside linebacker Jonathon Cooper, who signed a four-year, $60 million extension with $33 million guaranteed on Nov. 4. "You look around on the field and you see what we're doing. I'm excited to be a part of that and I think we're only going to get better."
Prior to extending Cooper, the Broncos signed guard Quinn Meinerz to a four-year, $72 million extension with $45 million guaranteed in July and gave cornerback Pat Surtain II a four-year, $96 million deal in September with $77.5 million guaranteed, the highest of any cornerback in the league.
The Broncos are executing this build despite historic constraints on their salary cap. They carry a league-high dead money charge -- salary cap charges for players no longer on the roster -- of $79.04 million this season, according to Roster Management Systems, with $53 million of that due for Wilson. They have pulled against those limitations while attempting to secure their top young players. Denver positioned itself to make these signings by adding voidable years to the contracts of offensive linemen Mike McGlinchey and Ben Powers, along with wide receiver Courtland Sutton.
The main priority was extending Surtain, a deal that general manager George Paton called "a no-brainer." Surtain, the Broncos' first-round pick (No. 9 overall) in 2021, was a first-team All-Pro in 2022 and was selected as the top cornerback in the NFL in an ESPN poll of league executives and coaches held before the season. Cooper was pick No. 239 in the same draft and poised to be a free agent following the season before he was extended.
"I'm very proud for a guy like [Cooper]," Surtain said. "When you talk about a guy who came in with the right approach, right work ethic and everything along the lines of becoming a great player, that's him ... and for us to keep guys like that here, that's big."
In many ways, the high-octane Cooper personifies the "grit" and "make-up" that coach Sean Payton desires from his players. A seventh-rounder who needed multiple heart procedures after he was selected in 2021, Cooper has steadily worked his way into more playing time each season and had a team-leading 8.5 sacks in 2023. He has 6.5 sacks so far this season.
The Broncos believe so much in Cooper's future that they traded linebacker Baron Browning, a third-round pick in 2021, to the Arizona Cardinals right before the trade deadline.
"Coop is a joy to coach," defensive coordinator Vance Joseph said. "I always like to see if a guy is the same guy every day, those are the ones you want -- the toughness, the effort, all of those things. We have that in our young guys; I like our room."
The Broncos started their core building with an offensive player, signing Meinerz this summer. He was a third-round pick in 2021 and, like Cooper, was set to be a free agent after this season. Meinerz has helped key a Denver offensive line that tops the league in pass block win rate (76.2%) and is sixth in run block win rate (73.6%).
But the Broncos' defense is the foundation of their new core and has done most of the heavy lifting over the first 11 games of the season. Denver is currently No. 3 in the league in scoring defense (16.6 points allowed per game), No. 3 in total defense (289.4 yards allowed per game), No. 1 in sacks (39) and No. 1 in fewest yards allowed per play (4.7). And there could be some more defense players in line for extensions following the season.
Outside linebacker Nik Bonitto, who leads the team in sacks with nine and is poised to be the first Broncos player to hit double-digits since Von Miller had 14.5 in 2018, might be the next big contract decision the Broncos face. Bonitto was the Broncos' top pick in the 2022 draft, selected late in the second round (No. 64 overall). He was near the top of the league in pressures created last season and has continued to grow this season. He ranks seventh in pressure rate at 13.9%, just ahead of All-Pros such as Nick Bosa and Myles Garrett. Bonitto is scheduled to be a free agent following the 2025 season.
"I think we have guys who fit what we want to do," Bonitto said. "We talk a lot about doing our jobs ... and staying focused, game to game, playing together. This group does that."
Nickel corner Ja'Quan McMillian could also be in line for an extension. An undrafted free agent in 2022, McMillian has been a stable presence at corner alongside Surtain and 2023 third-round pick Riley Moss. On offense, center Luke Wattenberg, a fifth-round pick in 2022, could also be up for a second contract with the Broncos.
"You just look around and you see young players making [an] impact," Cooper said. "I think the good teams have that part of the roster that grew up there, you know? We see that."
Added Sutton: "The ceiling is beyond high for those guys. ... We've got really good young guys in this locker room -- offensively and defensively. ... I think they're going to be the ones that foundationally allow us to have the success we want to have long-term."