When the Falcons and Broncos meet on Sunday, one among the things at stake is: The Ellis family's bragging rights

As the Denver Broncos prepared to make their third-round pick within the NFL Draft in April, they were thrilled to see Jonah Elliss' name was still on the board.

Denver coach Sean Payton said earlier this season that the team had a second-round grade on pass rusher from the University of Utah. They believed he had the tools to contribute in his first season, a necessity that was heightened by a spring injury to last yr's third-round pick, Drew Sanders.

There was only one problem. The Atlanta Falcons selected two picks ahead of the Broncos. Their general manager is Terry Fontenot, who previously served within the New Orleans Saints front office for nearly all of Payton's 16 seasons because the team's head coach. And on Atlanta's roster was a linebacker named Kaden Elliss, Jonah's brother and a seventh-round pick by Payton, Fontenot and the Saints in 2019.

“I turned to George (Paton, Denver general manager) and said, ‘Terry is going to draft the brother; “I know it,” Payton said this week. “They picked another player and then of course we were excited to make our selection.

The Falcons selected Washington outside linebacker Bralen Trice, who suffered an ACL injury in the preseason, with the 74th pick. Two picks later, the Broncos took Jonah Elliss.

Immediately, Payton's phone buzzed with a text message. It was Kaden.

“I won’t inform you what it said,” Payton said with fun, “but I would say that getting to know Kaden really helped us understand the mindset of football as it relates to the next election.”

Kaden Elliss also didn't reveal many details of the exchange.

“(I was) just like, 'You got a good hit,'” the Falcons linebacker said. “Other things have been said, but it is what it is. I'm just so excited that he's in Denver and out there with Sean (and) a good team. We have family out west, so it’s a good place.”

Two weeks after the draft, the NFL schedule was released and a date was set for an Elliss family reunion. On Sunday, when the Falcons visit the Broncos in a matchup of two teams attempting to take one other step toward the playoffs, Kaden and Jonah will face off for the primary time within the NFL. Both play defense – Kaden because the starting inside linebacker, leading the Falcons with 88 tackles; Jonah as an out of doors linebacker who has secured a job within the pass rush rotation and has two sacks – so there can be no direct conflict between the 2 brothers.

Unless …

“Maybe we can find a way to sneak in a special teams match,” Kaden said.

The brothers are two of 5 Ellis relations to make it to the NFL. Christian Elliss is a linebacker for the New England Patriots and Noah Elliss is a defensive tackle who hung out with the Philadelphia Eagles the last two seasons and is a free agent. Along with Kaden and Jonah, they’re considered the one 4 brothers to have played within the NFL. Jonah said Friday he wouldn't be surprised if Elijah Elliss, a rookie defensive end at Utah, joins the family's NFL fraternity in the approaching years.

“I can’t help but know an Elliss,” Falcons coach Raheem Morris said this week. “There are a million of them.”

Her father, Luther Elliss, played ten seasons within the league as a defensive tackle. The first nine got here from the Detroit Lions, who chosen him in the primary round in 1995 after an All-American college profession at Utah. His final season was with the Broncos in 2004, a fitting end to his profession for somebody who grew up in Mancos, Colorado. Elliss later became the Broncos' team chaplain, a job he filled in the course of the team's Super Bowl season in 2015.

This panel at 1pm is definitely very funny because I just saw Elliss 55 attempting to sack Dak after which I saw Elliss 52 attempting to cover for Justice Hill after which I saw how Elliss 53 moved forward to tackle Tony Pollard.

— Benjamin Solak (@BenjaminSolak) November 3, 2024

During Elliss' only season with the Broncos, it was not unusual for the family's large pickup truck to drag as much as the team's facility. Luther and his wife Rebecca have 12 children, seven of whom were adopted. With a family this size, competition was inevitable. Sometimes the hardest races took place on the dinner table.

“We made up games. We would play every game under the sun, every sport,” Kaden said. “Sometimes it was football. Sometimes it was football or random games we made up.”

Luther's profession served as a guide. Most of the Elliss boys didn't play tackle football until eighth grade – Kaden sneaked in in fifth and seventh grade – however the love of the game embedded of their shared upbringing quickly grew.

“My father was obviously able to lead our work,” Kaden said. “So we’re not only working hard, but we’re also working smart and showing ourselves where we need to improve, what we need to do if we want to take this step.”

Sunday's matchup between the Broncos and Falcons is stuffed with familiar connections. Falcons safety Justin Simmons spent his first eight years in Denver after the team drafted him with a third-round pick in 2016. Thirty of his 31 profession interceptions got here in a Broncos uniform. He and his wife, Taryn Simmons, have established deep roots within the Denver community through their work with the Justin Simmons Foundation, and the protection has been named the team's Walter Payton Man of the Year thrice. He said he'll be “a Bronco for life” this week, but his concentrate on Sunday can be helping the Falcons to their seventh win.

“Training against him for years is one thing, but getting hot balls will be fun,” Broncos wide receiver Courtland Sutton said. “I jokingly told him, 'Hey, bro, when you see me in the middle, remember that we're friends.'”

Falcons offensive coordinator Zac Robinson grew up in Denver. He was a Broncos fan whose family had season tickets. He later became a standout football player at Chatfield High School in suburban Littleton, Colorado.

“When I saw we were going to Denver, (my) family was definitely excited,” Robinson said. “The atmosphere is hard to beat. There and KC are probably the two best in the NFL. I’m looking forward to getting back home.”

This return can be special, but reunion games and homecomings occur every week within the NFL. A fight between brothers at one among their father's home stadiums with greater than 30 relations? Not a lot.

“I played with one of my brothers in college, but this is obviously different,” said Broncos tight end Adam Trautman, whose locker is next to Jonah's in Denver and who was previously a teammate of Kaden's in New Orleans. “It’s always been competitive between me and my brother, and I’m sure they treat it that way.”

The Elliss brothers aren't taking Sunday's opportunity with no consideration. But at the top of the day, it's one other competition in an infinite series of competitions. Every yr, normally over the Fourth of July weekend, the family gathers for the Elliss Olympics, a multi-day event with a rotating list of competitions, from corn hole to board games. The event features a trophy with the names of the winners, which is kept in Luther and Rebecca's house. Including spouses and shut family friends, the competition can include greater than three dozen participants.

Trash talking is an integral a part of the spectacle. Jonah shared this week that he and his fiancée are dominating the pickleball competition, a proven fact that angered his older brother.

“I think we only scored three or four goals in a game before 11 a.m.,” Jonah said. “We're pretty good. We killed (Kaden). He didn’t like it.”

However, most appear to agree that Kaden sets the pace in the case of tweeting. So it's perhaps no surprise that the Falcons linebacker, who already has a straight NFL win over Christian of their 2022 meeting, delivered the parting words before his duel with Jonah.

“I’m 1-0,” he said of the Elliss matches. “This week we’ll make it 2-0.”