ENGLEWOOD – Dre Greenlaw has the sixth-best Pro Football Focus ranking this season among NFL linebackers, but he vows that the best is yet to come. Greenlaw missed the first six games of the season with a quad injury and then sat out Week 8 against Dallas due to an NFL suspension. In the last f ive games, the inside linebacker has been looking better and better, but he’s hardly getting carried away. “I’m still just trying to feel my way in and execute the defense and play the way I’m able to play,’’ Greenlaw, 28, told The Denver Gazette after Thursday’s practice at Broncos Park. “I’m still growing. I know I got plenty left in the talk. I’m continuing to learn the defense and just getting confident in it and honestly I haven’t even reached half of what I know I’m capable of doing.” The Broncos were excited last March about signing Greenlaw as a free agent to a three-year, $31 million deal after he spent his first six seasons with San Francisco. Greenlaw likely wouldn’t have reached free agency had he not suffered a torn Achilles tendon against Kansas City in Super Bowl LVIII in February 2024. That kept him out until he got into two games last December. After arriving in Denver, injury problems continued for Greenlaw. A quad injury suffered while working out sidelined him for spring drills. Then he suffered a different quad injury July 31, which led to him missing the entire preseason and the first six games of the regular season. “It was horrible,’’ Greenlaw said of missing all that time due to injury as well as the game against the Cowboys when he was suspended for unsportsmanlike conduct for verbally threatening referee Brad Allen following his Broncos debut in their dramatic 33-32 win over the New York Giants in Week 7. “It was a horrible feeling. It was horrible. I’m just happy to be where I am now.” Greenlaw had played just 21 snaps in his debut against the Giants and when he returned from his suspension, the Broncos continued to be very careful with his play count. He got in for 27 snaps Nov. 2 at Houston and 37 on Nov. 6 against Las Vegas. But his numbers were increased to 43 on Nov. 16 against Kansas City and then all the way up to 65 in a 27-26 overtime win at Washington on Nov. 30. In last Sunday’s 24-17 win at Las Vegas, Greenlaw played 30 snaps, but the Raiders ran just 50 offensive plays. “He’s playing good football,’’ defensive coordinator Vance Joseph said Thursday. “He’s still playing on a limited snap count but he’s fitting in. He’s physical. Our run defense is really good because of Dre Greenlaw. … I’ve seen his greatest asset to us is in run defense thus far.” Greenlaw, who said he is “100 percent” healthy, has had no problem with the Broncos bringing him along slowly. “I think it was great the way they did it just for health-wise and mentally just making sure that I’m understanding everything that is going on,’’ Greenlaw said. “They do a lot of things on defense. It feels good to finally get some snaps and get a little bit more on the field.” Against the Commanders, Greenlaw had his first Denver interception, returning it for 27 yards. “It’s definitely big anytime you get your first pick of the year,’’ he said. “I need some more, no doubt.” In five of the six games Greenlaw has played, he has teamed with fellow inside linebacker Alex Singleton. Singleton sat out the game against the Chiefs due to testicular cancer surgery and was replaced by Justin Strnad. “(Greenlaw’s) great,’’ Singleton said. “He’s figuring it out. I love playing with him. He’s fun to play with. He’s a freak. I enjoy everything about it. … We’re just seeing the beginning of what he can be. Every week and every day, it’s more and more.” Kansas City Chiefs quarterback Patrick Mahomes (15) is chased down by Denver Broncos linebacker Nik Bonitto (15) and Denver Broncos linebacker Dre Greenlaw (57) in the second quarter of a game at Empower Field at Mile High on Sunday, Sun. 16, 2025. . (The Gazette, Jerilee Bennett) The Broncos (11-2) have won 10 straight heading into Sunday’s big game against Green Bay at Empower Field at Mile High. Greenlaw knows the Packers quite well. In games Greenlaw played with the 49ers against Green Bay they went 1-1 in the regular season and 3-0 in the playoffs. In those postseason games, Greenlaw had a combined 20 tackles with one for loss and a fumble recovery. “He’s one of the best players in the world for a reason,’’ Singleton said of the reputation Greenlaw carved out with the 49ers. Broncos defensive end John Franklin-Myers watched Greenlaw plenty when he was with San Francisco. He has been thrilled to see the linebacker bring that edge to Denver. “He’s a tone-setter,’’ Franklin-Myers said. “Physicality, it’s kind of what he does. … He goes a thousand miles per hour (on the field). … He wants to know what everybody is doing on defense. That’s what he did at San Francisco. He knew everybody’s position, so he was able to work off that. Now, he’s trying to learn everybody’s position on top of his. So he’s going to do it.” Continuing to learn his teammates is one of the reasons Greenlaw figures he merely has scratched the surface on what he plans to do with the Broncos. “It’s a marathon, it’s not a sprint,’’ he said. “It’s a buildup to it. I’m in a good spot right now where I know I got more but we’re slowly just trying to get there.” ...read more read less