SPORTS WOLFE MAKES A PLAY FOR LEADERSHIP ROLE
Broncos look for leadership this year from veteran DE
The heat sets in at Broncos training camp and tempers flare. One player is knocked down. Another pushes back. The hypothetical scene unravels almost every summer at the UCHealth Training Center with orange clashing against white.
Bring defensive end Derek Wolfe back to his 2012 rookie season, eager to prove he belonged, and Wolfe often wouldn’t think twice before fighting back.
“You take everything personal,” Wolfe said. “You think they’re trying to hurt you.”
Six seasons later, Wolfe’s grittiness in the trenches continues to fuel his reputation, and now more than ever, it appears critical to the Broncos’ success. Cornerback Aqib Talib’s departure to the Los Angeles Rams eliminated an outspoken emotional catalyst from the locker room. Wolfe has no problem picking up any slack, or as D-line teammate Shelby Harris explained, “When it comes to the more edgy, like, ‘rah-rah’ (leader), it’s probably Wolfe.”
However, there is more to Wolfe’s leadership style than meets the eye. The 6-foot-5, 285-pound defensive end with the scruffy beard and dreadlocks peeled back a layer. That overzealous rookie from 2012? A distant memory.
“You see we’ve gone two days in a row without a fight,” Wolfe said. “That’s saying something.”
Wolfe’s maturation from an emotional reactor to a calming presence, while maintaining his
elite aggression between the whistles, is the sort of dynamic leadership the Broncos seek in their quest to end a two-year playoff drought. Although it’s defined by more than simply actions. Denver coach Vance Joseph explained: “The lead-by-example is OK for a secondary leader, in my opinion, but if you’re going to be the sole leader of a locker room, you’ve got to be vocal.”
That proved initially difficult for Wolfe when he broke into the league surrounded by a veteransavvy roster. But seasons passed, various leaders hit the exit and Wolfe’s influence grew.
“You’ve got to learn what players you can speak to quietly and what players you have to get after them a little bit,” he said. “For the most part, you just want to be an extension of the coaches.”
Even the most respected players on the roster, such as six-time Pro Bowler Von Miller, have bought in.
“We’ve got great (vocal) leaders around that do that well, like Derek Wolfe,” Miller said.
Added Harris: “When things come down to it, (Wolfe) has a lot to say and people listen.”
Wolfe has done his best to teach young players how to control their emotions in the early days of training camp — “Some guys are fighting for a position and you have to understand that,” he said — and also knows he needs to contribute more. Injuries dimmed his 2017 season, and he missed the final five games with nerve pain that required season-ending neck surgery.
“Wolfe has to have a better year than he had last year,” Broncos general manager John Elway said after Wolfe tallied 31 tackles and two sacks a season ago.
Wolfe accepts the challenge. His philosophy can be found on his recently tattooed left forearm. The message reads: Humble But Hostile.
“We’re not looking for a fight, but if you’re looking for a fight, it’s on. That’s pretty much all it means,” Wolfe said. “I just got this one. It’s something that a good friend of mine used to say to me, ‘Be humble, but be hostile.’ So always be humble and always be nice, but when it comes time to turn it on, just know that that switch can be flipped.”