The Denver Broncos only pick in the fifth round of the 2026 NFL Draft is at 170th overall, where Walter Cherepinsky of WalterFootball has the Broncos taking Iowa defensive end, Max Llewellyn. “The Broncos would reportedly like to add an edge rusher at some point during the 2026 NFL Draft,” Cherepinsky wrote. “Max Llewellyn improved his pass-rushing ability throughout his collegiate career. He has plenty of upside, as he could continue to improve.” Here’s more information on the edge rusher who may end up in the Mile High City.
Urbandale High School (Urbandale, Iowa) — Class of 2021
Llewellyn is from Urbandale, Iowa, where he attended Urbandale High School and was a three-year letterman as a defensive end, helping the team reach the state playoffs in his junior and senior seasons.
The 6’5″, 263-pound defensive end was rated a four-star recruit and was ranked a top ten player in Iowa according to 247sports. As a senior, Llewellyn was on the Des Moines Register Elite All-State team and first-team all-state.
Tight end is another position Llewellyn has experience playing. He caught 13 passes for 278 receiving yards as a senior and also excelled in the classroom, earning academic all-state honors.
Iowa (2021-2025)
Iowa has always been home for Llewellyn, who chose to remain close to home to play college football for the Hawkeyes under Kirk Ferentz. During his freshman season in 2021, Llewellyn didn’t see any game action after redshirting. Still, he won the Team Leader Award on defense.
In his redshirt freshman season, Llewellyn saw more action, playing in four games. As a redshirt sophomore, he took another leap playing in all 14 games, making 13 tackles while also tallying 2.5 sacks and posting a career-high five tackles against Tennessee in 2023.
Things continued getting better for Llewellyn as he posted 22 tackles and 5.5 sacks as a redshirt junior. Llewellyn then started all 13 games and set career highs with 26 tackles and 6.5 sacks in his redshirt senior season.
Llewellyn also finished his career at Iowa with nine pass deflections and three forced fumbles. Accolades he earned with the Hawkeyes include being a two-time letterwinner, earning Honorable Mention All-Big Ten, and receiving the Hustle Award for defense in 2025.
The current defensive ends on Denver’s roster include Zach Allen, Jordan Jackson, Matt Henningsen, Eyioma Uwazurike, Sai’vion Jones, and Kristian Williams. Llewellyn could learn a lot from Allen, who was First-team All-Pro and a Pro Bowler in 2025.
Uwazurike also contributed significantly to the Broncos’ last season and could be another player who gives Llewellyn insight. If Llewellyn can continue producing each season as effectively as he did at Iowa, he will have a better chance of being a backup to either Allen or Uwazurike and potentially one of their replacements in the future if selected by Denver.