The last time the Broncos played the Los Angeles Chargers, who come to town this Sunday, Denver decided to give inside linebacker Alexander Johnson his first NFL start. Johnson went off for eight tackles, earning the game ball after the win, and he hasn’t looked back since.

Johnson took the starting job from Josey Jewell and has been a force for the Broncos, proving he can stuff the run and be a factor in the pass rush. He earned AFC defensive player of the month honors for October from Pro Football Focus, and his 61 total tackles in the last seven games are second on the team, just two behind fellow linebacker Todd Davis.

So is Johnson a flash in the pan? Or, is the initial eye test correct about a linebacker who spent three-plus years out of football before getting his NFL opportunity?

The 27-year-old believes the latter.

“I want to keep proving it and keep building my reputation, and establish myself as one of the best inside linebackers in this league,” Johnson said. “That’s where I believe I can be. When I got my opportunity to finally start, I knew I was going to take it and run with it.”

With his penchant for being around the football — not to mention his dinosaur celebration after big plays, in which he mimics T-Rex arms and roars — Johnson’s acceleration into a defensive linchpin hasn’t gone unnoticed.

After being waived last November and spending the final month of the 2018 season on the Broncos’ practice squad, he’s played 87% of Denver’s defensive snaps since Week 5. The shift from irrelevance to defensive asset has come in less than a calendar year.

“Every week, you can see him picking up the scheme better, learning his assignment and his job, and you can tell the film study is paying off for him,” Simmons said. “He’s playing fast, physical. And one of the aspects I appreciate the most playing behind him in the second level is his disruptiveness with the front line. He causes so much gray area for the quarterback.”

With just three missed tackles so far, Johnson’s proved adept at swallowing up ballcarriers in the open field. He also has 4.5 run “stuffs” (gain of one or fewer yards, not including goal-line/short-yardage), 1.5 sacks and a pair of quarterback knockdowns.

Suffice to say few are surprised by his breakout back in Gainesville, Ga., where Johnson was a high school star. Nor are his supporters stunned in Knoxville, Tenn., where he wrote his way into the Volunteer record books.

“Everybody that’s behind me is excited by my success, but it’s not like they’re surprised about it,” Johnson said. “They knew just like I did. They also know I’m still hungry. Like, I’m not going to go crazy about getting (PFF) player of the month — it’s a great sign, it’s a blessing, but I want to keep stacking momentum.”

Johnson’s had future Hall of Famer Von Miller guiding his way on the practice field and in the film room. Plus, the influence of undrafted rookie Malik Reed, who is having a breakout year in his own right, has made for a potent linebacking corps even with Bradley Chubb sidelined for the season with a knee injury.

“Their ability to communicate, and the energy they provide, has been huge for me every day,” Johnson said. “I’ve learned a lot from them about pass rushing and feeding off their energy. Having those two guys on the edge, they make stuff happen. They make me want to make stuff happen, too, and let me play free and easy. You’re seeing those results on Sundays.”