Champ Bailey prior to the game against the San Diego Chargers at Qualcomm Stadium. (Christopher Hanewinckel-US PRESSWIRE)

Champ Bailey has gone up against a lot of good receivers this season. He’s matched up with Roddy White and Julio Jones of the Atlanta Falcons, Brandon Lloyd of the New England Patriots, and Marques Colston of the New Orleans Saints just to name a few.

This week, Bailey will line up against second year Cincinnati Bengals receiver A.J. Green who is currently 8th in receiving yards, nestled between Calvin Johnson and Vincent Jackson, respectively.

“I just shook my head first day of training camp, and he continues to amaze you every time he goes out whether it’s the practice field or the game field with the things he does,” head coach Marvin Lewis said.

Green has 44 receptions for 636 yards and 7 touchdowns through 7 games.

“You can definitely see how talented he was,” quarterback Andy Dalton said. “You see why he was the fourth pick in the draft. It was very well deserved. He can do everything you ask him to do. He’s got great ball skills, and he’s got an extra gear when the ball is in the air. He’s one of the best receivers out there.”

A.J. Green makes a catch while being defended by Miami Dolphins cornerback Sean Smith in the first quarter at Paul Brown Stadium. (Andrew Weber-US PRESSWIRE)

Green was drafted out of Georgia which means he’ll be going nose to nose with a former Bulldog in Bailey.

“It’s definitely going to be a good matchup,” Dalton said. “I know A.J.’s looking forward to it. It will be a good test for him to go out there and play against a guy like that.  I feel like we match up well. I’d put A.J. against anybody.”

Along with Joe Simpson, Green went off on the Broncos last season. He had 10 catches for 124 yards a 1 touchdown. It was also a game that Bailey didn’t play in due to a hamstring injury.

Keep an eye on that matchup throughout the game. My money’s on Bailey to get plenty of stops.

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The #2 overall pick is the highest pick the Broncos organization has ever had in the NFL Draft. The Broncos have selected a player within the first 5 overall picks of the NFL Draft only 3 times in their history. This includes TE Riley Odoms with the 5th pick in 1972, G Chris Hinton with the 4th pick in 1983, and LB Mike Croel with the 4th pick in 1991. It is generally agreed that Hinton was an excellent pick since he was traded away (with others) to bring in the savior of our franchise, John Elway. Odoms had a spectacular 12-year career for the Orange and Blue where he started 134 games, played in 4 Pro Bowls, and appeared in the Super Bowl after the 1977 season. Croel, on the other hand, played only 4 seasons for the Broncos before moving on and eventually finishing his career in the XFL. Croel was a big disappointment because he started his career so well and looked like he was going to be a star, but his star quickly faded. This tells us is that the Broncos, like every other team, have had both hits and misses with high picks over their history.
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