During offseason drills in 2023, D.J. Jones was thrilled with the development of fellow Broncos defensive lineman Eyioma Uwazurike. 

Uwazurike had shown some promise in 2022 as a rookie after being taken in the fourth round of the NFL draft out of Iowa State. And when he returned to Denver the following spring, Jones said he had made great strides. 

“I was interested in what he was going to do (in 2023) because his OTAs (organized team activities) were amazing,’’ Jones said. 

As it turned out, Uwazurike never made it to the season. On July 27, 2023, he was suspended for at least a year by the NFL for violating the league’s gambling rules. It was determined he had bet on NFL games in the 2022 season. 

After he sat out in 2023, the NFL reinstated Uwazurike on Aug. 5, 2024, but 2024 was mostly a lost season. Uwazurike played just 63 defensive snaps while getting into four games. 

But Uwazurike is once again finding his groove. With top reserve defensive lineman Malcolm Roach put on injured reserve before the start of the season, assuring he would miss at least four games, Uwazurike has stepped up. 

Coming off the bench, Uwazurike played 15 snaps in a 20-12 win over Tennessee in the opener. He then played a career-high 34 snaps in a 29-28 loss in Week 2 at Indianapolis and topped that with 38 last Sunday in a 23-20 loss at the Los Angeles Chargers. 

“I prepare for every game the same way as if I’m going to have 100 snaps,’’ he said. 

Uwazurike is grateful he has any games to prepare for. There was uncertainty about his career after he was suspended, whether he would return to Denver or be signed by another NFL team. 

“I’m just grateful overall that they did that and I got the opportunity to play football,’’ Uwazurike said of the Broncos bringing him back. “I take (football) seriously and every day I’m in, I’m like, ‘What can I do to be better?’ That’s the mindset.” 

Uwazurike singled out Broncos coach Sean Payton, who took over in 2023, for having faith in him. 

“Very real coach,’’ Uwazurike said. “I love him.” 

It has taken time, though, for Uwazurike to return to form. He was usually a non-factor in 2024. 

“I didn’t have the OTAs where I could actually show the coaches (what he could do),’’ Uwazurike said of being reinstated 1 ½ weeks after the start of training camp. “When I first came back, it took really that first month (of the season) to get in football shape. You can run as long as you want and you can do cardio, but nothing is going to get you in football shape other than playing football.” 

Payton recently said, “it’s difficult to sit a year and then come back.” He has been pleased to see Uwazurike looking better this season, saying, “When his pad level is right, he’s tough.” 

In three games, Uwazurike has nine tackles. Jones likes what he has seen. 

“He’s getting better and better,’’ Jones said. “He wants to get better. That’s all that matters. He’s a big piece after Roach went down. He’s stepped into that role fully.” 

That Uwazurike has bounced back after sitting out a season has impressed Jones. 

“That’s not easy to do,’’ Jones said. “The majority of people would bow down to that obstacle, but he leaped over it obviously.” 

Next up for Uwazurike is Monday night’s game against the Cincinnati Bengals at Empower Field at Mile High. When the Broncos lost 30-24 in overtime at Cincinnati last December in Week 17, Uwazurike was inactive and watched from the bench. But now he is expected to play a valuable role. 

Vaughn’s lost inch 

Deuce Vaughn has lost an inch in height. At least according to a roster, the Broncos have put out. 

After being listed throughout his college career at Kansas State and the previous two seasons with Dallas as being 5-foot-6, the Broncos listed the running back at 5-5 after he signed Sept. 9 with their practice squad. 

“They can put whatever they want on a piece of paper’’ Vaughn said with a laugh, saying his actual height is 5-6 and that he hasn’t been measured since coming to Denver. 

Regardless of his listing, Vaughn was thrilled to be back on a roster after being waived by the Cowboys on Aug. 26. He worked out with the Broncos on Sept. 2, and they then put him on hold before he was signed. 

“They said to give us a week, but Denver was a place I wanted to be, so a week was nothing to wait for,’’ he said. “For me as a smaller back, I think Sean Payton is the perfect coach to try to take your game to the next level.” 

Payton once coached the New Orleans Saints, and they had 5-6 Darren Sproles from 2011-13. Sproles had played at Kansas State, where Vaughn rushed for 1,404 yards in 2021 and 1,558 in 2022. He then had 40 carries for 110 yards in his two Dallas seasons. 

“To play in the NFL going on my third year is huge just for that little kid who wanted to do this,’’ he said. 

Sherfield in the community 

It hasn’t taken long for Broncos wide receiver and special teams ace Trent Sherfield to become involved in the Denver community. 

Sherfield, an eight-year veteran, who signed with Denver last March, was named the Week 4 NFL Players Association Community Most Valuable Player after he helped provide essential baby items for local families in need. 

Sherfield, who runs his Diamonds Amongst the Rough Foundation, recently was involved in the distribution of diapers, wipes, baby food and formula in a partnership with WeeCycle, Colorado’s largest diaper bank. 

“It was a no-brainer for me to do it,’’ said Sherfield, who credited his agency Klutch Sports Group for reaching out to him with the opportunity. “It was eye-opening for me because I was really oblivious to it that there were children that didn’t have diapers and wipes.” 

Sherfield wants to continue to do more work in the Denver area. His foundation long has been active in his hometown of Danville, Ill. He currently is involved in helping raise funds there for an indoor sports facility. 

“I’m a big, big, big guy of giving back,’’ he said. 

What I’m hearing 

–At the start of practices leading into Monday’s game, the Broncos played the longtime Monday Night Football theme song and Hank Williams “All My Rowdy Friends Are Here on Monday Night.” Tight end Evan Engram loved it. “You grow up hearing that stuff and you dream of playing in the league,’’ he said. “It’s year nine for me but it’s still surreal realizing I get to play football in this league, let alone on Monday Night Football.” Engram came up big in his last Monday appearance, which was against the Bengals. He caught nine passes for 82 yards with a 22-yard touchdown in a 34-31 overtime loss on Dec. 4, 2023. 

–Outside linebacker Nik Bonitto expects the Broncos to tighten up matters soon on defense. After giving up just 133 yards in Week 1 against the Titans, they’ve allowed an average of 424.5 yards in the past two games, making them a disappointing No. 19 in the NFL in total defense “I wouldn’t worry too much,’’ he said. “I still feel like we’re playing good ball and at the end of the day, it’s really little things as far as executing that is keeping us from being the defense that we can be.” 

What I’m seeing 

–Monday night won’t mark the first time the Broncos have faced Cincinnati quarterback Jake Browning, who will make his second straight start after star Joe Burrow was lost at least until December with a toe injury. In the first preseason game in 2021, Browning started for Minnesota against Denver in Minneapolis, and the Broncos made things miserable for him. In the Vikings’ 33-6 loss, Browning completed 5 of 10 passes for 31 yards with an interception and a miserable passer rating of 17.6. Browning was cut by the Broncos two weeks later but bounced back well two years later with the Bengals. He went 4-3 as a starter when Burrow was hurt in 2023 and in nine games that season threw for 1,936 yards with 12 touchdowns and seven interceptions while having a solid passer rating of 98.4. 

–In the first three games, Bo Nix hasn’t looked like the same quarterback he did in the second half of last season as a Denver rookie. But tackle Mike McGlinchey insists there is nothing to worry about. “Certainly, there’s a heightened urgency to get things right in year two, and he’s got that intensity about him,’’ McGlinchey said. “But Bo just needs to keep being himself and he’ll be fine.”