Between the NFL draft selection process and the signing of undrafted free agents that followed, the Denver Broncos weren’t anywhere near as active on the defensive side of the ball as they were in bringing in new offensive players.

However, of the team’s nine new defensive players, four of them are linebackers. One of those new linebackers is Joe Dineen.

Name: Joe Dineen

Height: 6-2

Weight: 235

Age: 23

School: Kansas

The team was clearly looking to get more depth at the linebacker position and if there is a position on the team that needs some guys to step up, it would be the inside linebacker position.

That works out for Dineen.

He is a player that “old school” football fans will enjoy as old school would be a good way to describe his playing ability. In the 1980s, this guy would have been an early draft pick.

Dineen is not a sideline-to-sideline player and would never profess to be. What he is is a hard-nosed, intelligent player who happens to be a tackling machine. He led the country in solo tackles last season with 109. The year before, he finished second in that category. The only guy with more was Leighton Vander Esch, who you may be familiar with after his monster rookie season with the Dallas Cowboys.

Early in his career, Dineen will need to make a mark on special teams but his success as a professional will likely depend on how well he can cover the pass. He wasn’t terrible in the department at Kansas but will have adjustments to make against speedier players in the NFL as pass coverage was far from a strength for him.

What he can do is diagnose plays well and get to the point of attack quickly in run support. He is a sure tackler who will get his man on the ground once he has his hands on them.

The speed of the pro game, as it is for many players making the jump, will be the only issue. If he can prove he can keep up, he could enjoy a solid career.

Chance to make final roster (1-10 scale): 5

Dineen probably doesn’t quite have the tools to be a force at this particular stage of his career. Vic Fangio’s defense will be an intricate one and Dineen might not be the perfect fit for it . . . yet.

That’s one way to look at it. The other is to consider the fact that if Fangio is great at coaching one single position, it would definitely be at linebacker. If you’re not totally familiar with that, look up the old “Dome Patrol” of linebackers that he once coached for the New Orleans Saints.

A player with as many tackles as Dineen should not fall out of the draft entirely and the fact that the Broncos were able to get him should be considered a great move. As stated, there is an opportunity at the inside linebacker position as things get very thin after Todd Davis and Josey Jewell.

That creates a light at the end of the proverbial tunnel and if Dineen can become a force on special teams, there’s no reason why he couldn’t take a roster spot away from a guy like Keishawn Bierria or Joe Jones.

That said, he has a 50/50 shot of making the final roster in my eyes at this point and possibly even a little better. He is certainly a player to keep an eye on this summer and as a worst-case scenario, he’ll have one of the 10 spots on the practice squad.