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Broncos Undrafted Rookie Spotlight: Dasan McCullough a familiar name for Sean Payton originally appeared on The Sporting News. Add The Sporting News as a Preferred Source by clicking here.
The Denver Broncos have long valued the edge rusher position, one of the most impactful in today's league. The team has built a strong corps of players at that position, but the Broncos are always looking for reinforcements to keep that position as a strength.
Following the 2026 NFL Draft, the team signed outside linebacker Dasan McCullough as an undrafted free agent. There may have been a particular reason why head coach Sean Payton sought this player out.
Name: Dasan McCullough
Position: Outside Linebacker
School: Nebraska
Height: 6-foot-5
Weight: 240
As a 31-year-old coach early on in his career, Payton was the quarterbacks coach at Miami (OH). There, a running back by the name of Deland McCullough was on the roster. Deland is the father of Dasan. All of these years later, Payton goes from coaching Deland to having the chance to coach Dasan.
Deland went undrafted and had a short NFL career as a member of the Cincinnati Bengals and Philadelphia Eagles in the late 1990s. His spot on the Eagles' roster was also due to his connection to Payton. Now, he will cheer on his son and his chances of making the Broncos' 53-man roster.
Dasan played for three different programs in college. Born in Bloomington, Indiana, he began his collegiate career at Indiana before transferring to Oklahoma for two seasons. He then transferred to Nebraska for his senior season.
He was a defensive lineman at Indiana before moving to outside linebacker for his final three seasons between Oklahoma and Nebraska. He didn't record a sack in two seasons for the Sooners but had four at Indiana and two at Nebraska, finishing his career with 117 total tackles and six sacks.
Chances of making final 53-man roster (1-10 scale): 1
McCullough is going to be an intriguing prospect right out of the gate due to his size and length. In addition, he has exceptional speed and the raw tools that a coaching staff can easily work with and start to mold into a complete player.
He didn't post big numbers in college, but that doesn't mean that he can't earn a role at the professional level as a rotational defender, particularly if he can learn to play the linebacker-safety hybrid spot that so many teams are starting to look for.
His extensive football family background indicates he will have a strong work ethic. He will need to flash on special teams this summer to hang around in Denver at any capacity. He will need to work on his pass-rush technique and make it more versatile in order to stick around in the league, but displaying good ball skills will also work in his favor.
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Unfortunately for him, edge rusher is not a position of need for the Broncos as they have a great group in place and he will be at the bottom of the totem pole, making his likely best-case scenario a spot on the practice squad, but he will have above-average odds to land on there and be a strong prospect for the future.
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