Broncos trade late-round pick to Rams for LB Kenny Young

The Denver Broncos have agreed to trade a 2024 sixth-round draft pick to the Los Angeles Rams in exchange for linebacker Kenny Young and a 2024 seventh-round draft pick, ESPN’s Adam Schefter reported Monday.

Young (6-1, 234 pounds) entered the league as a fourth-round pick out of UCLA with the Baltimore Ravens in 2018. He was traded to the Rams midway through the 2019 season in a deal that sent cornerback Marcus Peters to Baltimore.

The 25-year-old inside linebacker has totaled 166 tackles, 13 quarterback hits, 5.5 sacks, four pass breakups, three forced fumbles and one interception in 53 career games (19 starts). Young started all 16 games for Los Angeles last season and the first seven games of the 2021 season.

Young is the second linebacker Broncos general manager George Paton has acquired ahead of the NFL trade deadline. Last Saturday, Paton traded a 2022 seventh-round pick to the Minnesota Vikings in exchange for outside linebacker Stephen Weatherly and a 2023 seventh-round pick.

Before making those trades, Denver was extremely thin at linebacker.

All four of the Broncos’ starting linebackers are injured, and two of them are out for the season. Inside linebackers Alexander Johnson and Josey Jewell won’t return this year while outside linebacker Bradley Chubb is currently on injured reserve. Fellow OLB Von Miller has an ankle injury.

Denver ILBs Baron Browning (concussion), Curtis Robinson (thumb, wrist), Jonas Griffith (hamstring) and Micah Kiser (groin) are also injured, as are OLBs Natrez Patrick (leg), Andre Mintze (hamstring) and Aaron Patrick (ankle).

New arrivals Young and Weatherly will give the team more depth, and Young might even be a candidate to start next to Justin Strnad on the inside.

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