In the wake of the season-ending injury to Elvis Dumervil, Broncos coach Josh McDaniels suggested he would look within the current roster to find a solution for the void left on the defense.

The pressure immediately fell on Robert Ayers and Jarvis Moss as the main options, along with Mario Haggan, who has moved outside.

Following Saturday’s open practice, it appears Ayers is gaining some momentum. He has been penciled in as a starter, according to The Denver Post, and McDaniels didn’t hide his enthusiasm for what Ayers has shown early after a mostly disappointing rookie season.

“He dominated our goal line period. He’s a totally different player,” McDaniels told reporters. “We’re proud of him because we told him at the beginning of the offseason that it’s time for him to take a step from being a rookie to being the type of player we thought he could be. He had a great offseason program and then he’s started training camp well. We keep telling him, ‘You started it well, now we’ve got to finish it.’

“We’ve got to go into the season playing the same way, but he’s doing the physical things that we thought he could do and really dominating the edge. He’s working against one of the best tight ends in football in terms of blocking on the edge, so that’s a competitive situation and he showed up a lot tonight.”

The Broncos certainly hope Ayers keeps showing up.

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