Jared Crick Taking The Process Of Change In Stride

Jared Crick’s role for the Broncos in 2016 didn’t meet expectations, but in 2017 he is having more fun during a process of change for the Broncos.

In 2016 Jared Crick tallied 53 tackles and three sacks for the Broncos defense. Crick showed flashes of dominance and came up big for the Broncos in certain pivotal moments last season.

His production not only consisted of rushing the quarterback and stopping the run, but he helped the Broncos at the point of the line of scrimmage batting passes down. The Broncos previously relied on former Bronco Malik Jackson for that role, but Crick stood out in 2016.

Now that Crick has had an offseason to get bigger, faster, and stronger, he is ready to have a breakout year under new Broncos defensive coordinator Joe Woods.

During OTA’s, Crick has expressed that Woods defensive scheme has been fun.

"“It’s been fun so far. We’re changing a lot of things up from last year. It’ll give us a lot more freedom up front. We’re going to move around and do some different things. So far so good. I’m kind of just taking it in stride, getting better everyday with it” – Jared Crick on Joe Woods defensive scheme (Via Denver Broncos PR)"

Change can be good sometimes and in Crick’s situation it fits the bill. This offseason, Crick put on 15 lbs. Last season Crick felt that being under 275 lbs was a disadvantage to him when facing larger guards and tackles.

Last season he indicated that it was difficult for him to keep the weight on and eventually lost ten pounds playing at 275. But this season he feels as if he is stronger than he has ever been. “I feel a lot stronger going into this summer than any of the summers I’ve been in the NFL.”

In order to gain more healthy weight he had to change certain eating habits and lived in the weight room.

"“Just ate a lot more. Obviously, I ate the same things, ate healthy, but instead of trying to eat four times a day, turning it into six or seven times a day. Just smaller portions, but more times. And obviously keep lifting hard, keep training, like I have been, like everybody does in the offseason. There’s no real secret as far as training-wise. You just have to train hard and eat right, and eat a lot. So, that’s what I did.” – Jared Crick on his weight gain in the offseason (Via Denver Broncos PR)"

The Broncos last season struggled to stop the run. While there was no particular indication, Crick believes that being undersized was a disadvantage for the defensive line. “We were undersized last year and we knew it.”

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With Crick’s role set to increase in 2017, what do you think Crick must do in order to see important  minutes on the field?