Denver Broncos Roster Breakdown: Safeties—Questions Persist

Talanoa Hufanga and Brandon Jones

In the 2024 offseason, the Broncos made Jones a priority to give their safety room a significant upgrade, and he had a great first season. However, the Broncos wanted to upgrade Jones's safety partner, who was Locke in 2024.

Denver made Talanoa Hufanga a priority in the 2025 offseason. There was a lot of hype for the Hufanga and Jones duo, but it wasn’t fully realized. 

Hufanga proved to be one of the Broncos' best free-agent signings, but he had some issues catching passes, which led to many dropped interceptions. His versatility gave the Broncos another weapon to stir the defensive drink and made them more challenging for opposing quarterbacks to read. 

The problem last year was that Jones’s play dropped off. He was still a solid starter, but it was about 60% of what he gave the Broncos in 2024, and some of it stems from his usage.

Later in the season, he suffered a season-ending injury, forcing the Broncos to test their depth, though Locke played well in his absence before departing for Dallas in free agency. Jones is in the final year of the contract he signed with Denver in 2024. 

Backups

Devon Key, JL Skinner, and Tycen Anderson

Key is now the third safety with Locke's departure. Key did see the field on defense in 2025, but the sample size was extremely small.

While Key was an outstanding special teams player, earning second-team All-Pro honors, Denver has typically kept its third safety off special teams, which makes this interesting, given how well he did there last year. 

The other two backups, both expected to make the roster, are also special teams players: Skinner and Anderson. Anderson is new to the team as a free-agent signing, but was a Cincinnati Bengals special-teams ace. Both Skinner and Anderson have played some snaps on defense, but neither has been overly impressive in that arena.  

The Others

Miles Scott and Parker Robinson

While Scott and/or Robinson could unseat one of Skinner or Anderson on the roster, they are more likely competing with each other for a practice squad spot. Scott was one of the Broncos' last three draft picks and has only been playing safety for a few years, which makes him extremely enticing as a developmental player. 

The Takeaway

If Hufanga and Jones can stay healthy, and if Jones can bounce back from a down 2025 season, the Broncos could boast one of the better safety duos in the NFL. Even if they suffer an injury, the Broncos have a lot of faith in Key to step up.

The team is betting on the small sample size it saw with Key in the few opportunities he's had to play on defense.