Cornerback
The Broncos have a stud at cornerback in Chris Harris Jr., but the departure of Aqib Talib means the team is relying heavily on former first round pick Bradley Roby moving forward.
Even more so than before.
Roby has played a significant role for the Broncos despite not being a ‘starter’. He plays more snaps than a lot of full-time starters, so the team considers him a starter since they play 70 percent of their snaps in a nickel type of defense.
With Talib out, the Broncos need to find a new third option that can either play inside and play well, or they will have to keep Chris Harris inside.
That’s not what he personally would like, even though he’s really good at it, so the team brought in a few corners who excel in press man on the outside.
Specifically, they paid $4 million in free agency for Tramaine Brock, a veteran who played really well for the San Francisco 49ers a few years back. Brock’s production in press man as a physical corner could allow him to make a successful transition to nickel with the Broncos.
The team also drafted Brendan Langley in the third round of the 2017 NFL Draft, an athletic freak with big time upside and raw skills. Hopefully Langley can show some progress this offseason, and give the Broncos depth at corner.
They also used a third round pick in 2018 on Boston College’s Isaac Yiadom, a player that has great length and reactive skills at the cornerback position.
Yiadom is physical, aggressive, and has very quick feet.
Last season, Marcus Rios was taking snaps from Langley in the regular season after going undrafted out of UCLA. If the Broncos have someone who profiles similarly to Harris, it would be Rios.
Others to keep an eye on:
Michael Hunter: The Broncos must feel highly about Hunter, as they blocked other teams from poaching him off their practice squad last year. Hunter was running with the Giants’ starting unit in camp last year, so don’t be surprised if he turns some heads.
C.J. Smith: Denver claimed Smith off of waivers from the Browns, and he is an intriguing player. He made the Philadelphia Eagles’ roster in 2016 as an undrafted free agent out of North Dakota State, and also got some regular season action last year with the Browns.