Broncos' Dre Greenlaw Hyped by Sean Payton After Contract, 'He Plays Like Mike Tyson'

Denver Broncos coach Sean Payton is excited for the physicality veteran linebacker Dre Greenlaw will add to his defense after joining the team on a three-year, $35 million deal this spring.

"He plays like Mike Tyson," Payton said when asked at the 5:30 mark of Monday's press conference what Greenlaw brought to the Broncos defense.

Payton continued: "He's tough. He's physical. He's built that way. There's not a lot of leaky yardage. Some guys, he's a knock-back tackler. They stop where he hits them. There's an intensity to how he plays.

"He's one of those players that, if you put the film on and didn't say anything, at some point early on you would ask, 'Who is this guy?'"

When asked how he saw the Broncos' newest linebacker fitting in alongside Alex Singleton, who is returning from an ACL tear that cut his 2024 season short, Payton said he sees Singleton more as the middle linebacker and that Greenlaw will slot in "more of that weak side... a little more run and hit."

"They're both smart players, and to have Alex back healthy is big," Payton said. "And then, with the experience of Dre— if we can stay healthy, they're pretty formidable."

Greenlaw totaled 120 tackles in each of his 2022 and 2023 campaigns for the San Francisco 49ers, then missed most of the 2024 season after suffering a torn Achilles tendon while playing for the Niners in Super Bowl LVIII.

He made a dominant return to the field in Week 15 of last season, when he recorded eight tackles while playing 30 snaps of a 49ers loss, but was later shut down by the team for the end of the campaign.

The Broncos lost Greenlaw to some offseason activities due to a quad injury, but the linebacker recovered in time to join his new team as a full participant during Day 1 of training camp.

Denver led the NFL and set a franchise record with 63 total sacks last season, and the Broncos trailed only the Los Angeles Chargers and Philadelphia Eagles last season by holding opponents to 18.3 points per game.

That defense helped the Broncos make it back to the playoffs for the first time since the franchise's Super Bowl-winning 2015 season, but couldn't get the team past the Wild Card round.

Payton will hope welcoming back a healthy Singleton, bringing in free agents like Greenlaw and safety Talanoa Hufanga and adding draft pick Jahdae Barron to an already-deep cornerback room will help his team take the next step this winter.