ENGLEWOOD, Colo. -- Von Miller's not old. But he isn't young either, by NFL standards.

At 29, he's no longer the "Dancing With the Stars" Miller. Or the guy Peyton Manning once said was on the “Von Miller Tour" in the weeks and months following the linebacker’s MVP performance in Super Bowl 50.

Eight years into his pro football career, the Denver Broncos’ highest-profile player, with the biggest contract, the player other personnel executives in the league say any team could build a defense around, is at a crossroads. And the clock is ticking.

Von Miller won't stop dancing after sacks anytime soon. Dustin Bradford/Getty Images

“I can’t just lead by example, I know that. It’s easy for anybody to say I’m going to lead by example, but I know I have to do that and I’ve got to talk to people," Miller said. “I tried that, by example, and that’s it, but I know now you’ve got to get in there and lead. You’ve got to say something. Two years ago, three years ago, maybe, if they wanted me to give speeches, it was hard. Now, I know.

“And I want to be the best football player in this defense I can be and to get anybody who wants to come with me to do that, to come with me. That’s the priority."

There was a time when Miller, who has always been well-liked by teammates and coaches for his talent and work ethic, had his maturity questioned. Former Broncos linebackers coach Richard Smith delivered the question loudly and with a few spicy adjectives tossed in along the way.

“When Von matches that athletic ability he has with that drive he has with understanding what he can be to other players, you’re going to see him do so many great things," Smith said. "People always say we need a player like Von in our defense. Well guess what? They don’t come around very often, or ever, but Von is going to figure out he’s the total package."

Up to this point in his career, Miller has been content to let others lead. During four of his seasons, both Peyton Manning and DeMarcus Ware were in the Broncos’ locker room.

The far-reaching presence of those future Pro Football Hall of Famers essentially freed anyone else from being the voice of reason, discipline or encouragement. But Manning retired after the 2015 season, and Ware followed after the 2016 campaign.

Cornerback Chris Harris Jr. said 2017 was “a season when we never really clicked. ... When you have guys like Peyton and DeMarcus and then they’re not there, it’s not going to be settled right away."

And that's where Miller stands, at a crossroads.

"When Von matches that athletic ability he has with that drive he has with understanding what he can be to other players, you're going to see him do so many great things." Former Broncos linebackers coach Richard Smith

Maybe it was the 5-11 finish last season, and maybe it was the 10 sacks -- Miller's lowest total since his injury-shortened 2013 season. Or maybe it’s just that Miller has noticed what most players notice at some point, that “time goes fast, things change and you don’t want to say you didn’t get everything you could out of it."

“Leaving a legacy, what guys will say when I walk out of the room, what guys say when I’m done playing," Miller said. “That’s the type of stuff that matters to me now. How much we can do as a team, how much I can do to help my team."

For Miller, 2013 might still be the before-and-after line. That's when it all got so real for Miller, when he says he learned how fast it could all go away.

There was his six-game suspension for violating the league’s substance-abuse policy, there was a missed court appearance for outstanding traffic violations and there was a torn ACL after he had come back.

Two seasons later, he was the Super Bowl 50 MVP.

“I’m a football player, that’s what I do," Miller said. “I’ve got a short opportunity to play football; this is my eighth year. I’m not a singer or rapper or an actor or any of that stuff. I do a lot of stuff and I’m good at a lot of stuff, but I play football. I rush the passer, I do that well; why not do everything to take advantage of that?

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“Getting approval or feedback on those types of things, that’s not what I’m about now ... it’s not important people give me compliments and pats on the back. That’s not a concern for me; I know what I’m doing."

Ware, who is now a part-time assistant with the Broncos, said you have to “look behind the smile" with Miller. And Ware has pushed Miller to reach higher, to chase leadership like he chases quarterbacks.

“It’s his time. He’s leading, he’s pulling guys to the side," Ware said. "He’s still dancing on the sideline sometimes, but he knows he performed his best in the biggest game. He can pass that along. I really like seeing him do that, because it means something when it comes from him."

Miller still poses for the photos -- a fan at training camp who named his son Von got one recently. He is still dancing between plays. And with a ready smile, he still fires one-liners at his teammates. He wants to be "the same Von" with his teammates, because he says it's important to be authentic.

But the football clock is ticking. He hears it, he sees it in the new faces around him in Denver's locker room.

“I love who I am, I love who I am, I really do," Miller said. “I’m pleased and honored with who I am and the opportunities I’ve had, but I’m not satisfied. I want another Super Bowl.

“But when you get to the Super Bowl and you win it the way we won it, it really creates this kind of passion that you don’t want it to be over with. ... Just to make Super Bowl 50 just part of the conversation, not the high point or whatever. I just don’t want to live in that moment for the rest of my career."