Six months ago, George Paton went to the NFL owners' meetings in Florida and spoke of the organizational plan for "getting tough" down the middle of the Broncos' defense, a plan that informed much of Denver's movement in free agency.

Two games into the 2025 season, though, nothing's changed. Still, coverage over the middle of the field is the fontanelle of Vance Joseph's newborn unit, the soft spot that's yet to harden. Still, the Broncos have yet to see free-agent ILB Dre Greenlaw, the signee who could fix this. Still, the Broncos' returning linebacker corps was ineffective against hybrid pass-game weapons Sunday.

"Early in the game, we've got the runner coming out of the backfield uncovered," head coach Sean Payton said Monday, referring to a late first-quarter 43-yard catch-and-run from Colts back Jonathan Taylor.

"It's the second game in a row where we've allowed points on the first drive," Payton continued. "That's concerning."

No degree of advanced stats was needed to sound the alarm bells after Sunday's 29-28 loss to the Colts. Take one third-quarter rollout from Daniel Jones when he hit rookie tight end Tyler Warren for a short gain in the flat. Both of Denver's starting ILBs, Justin Strnad and Alex Singleton, were in clear position for open-field tackles.

Warren planted on the catch, cut to his right to avoid Strnad and gave Singleton a little one-two jig to escape for a 15-yard gain.

No NFL defender has been able to capably check the Colts rookie TE through two games so far. Warren even beat defensive player of the year Pat Surtain II on a 9-yard grab. But the play was indicative of a much larger issue: Colts quarterback Daniel Jones was 6 of 6 for 126 passing yards when targeting Strnad or Singleton, according to Pro Football Focus.

Taylor went fully uncovered on that 43-yard grab and a later touchdown catch, and Warren had too much space on a couple of grabs. It's a dangerous sign for Denver in the near future. The Broncos' Week 3 opponent, the Los Angeles Chargers, shredded Strnad and last year's starting ILB Cody Barton to the tune of 9 of 9 for 90 yards in a Week 16 win last year.

There's no easy solution at the moment. Practice-squad ILB Levelle Bailey popped in coverage during camp, but he has played all of seven NFL snaps in his two-year career. Strnad has been effective as a blitzer (two sacks) filling in for Greenlaw through two weeks, and Singleton wears the green dot in the middle of Denver's defense.

"He's a calming influence, relative to getting the defense lined up," Payton said of Singleton in early September.

Greenlaw was a limited participant in Friday's practice for the first time since the start of the year. If he can't go, though, Joseph will have to get creative to disguise a weakness against the Chargers in Week 3.

Ground-game emphasis: After Payton acknowledged he needed to be better as a play-caller with a strange early run-pass distribution in Week 1, the Broncos pounded the ground early against the Colts. J.K. Dobbins took between-the-tackles carries on Denver's first three offensive plays and picked up two first downs.

Even if Dobbins hadn't found a couple of holes early, Payton made clear the emphasis was part of the Broncos' game plan.

"The opening series was going to be three runs in a row to get our first first down, and it happens on the first down ... at that moment, when you're able to do that, you have more control of the game," Payton said Monday.

All told, 41% of the Broncos' offensive snaps Sunday were run plays, as opposed to 37% against the Titans in Week 1.

How bad do Broncos need Dre Greenlaw? How Colts exposed Denver's ILBs in coverage