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Denver Broncos UDFA John Diarse reminds of Anquan Boldin

By Sayre Bedinger

FORT WORTH, TX - OCTOBER 21: John Diarse #9 of the TCU Horned Frogs pulls in a touchdown pass against Shakial Taylor #8 of the Kansas Jayhawks in the first half at Amon G. Carter Stadium on October 21, 2017 in Fort Worth, Texas. (Photo by Tom Pennington/Getty Images)
FORT WORTH, TX - OCTOBER 21: John Diarse #9 of the TCU Horned Frogs pulls in a touchdown pass against Shakial Taylor #8 of the Kansas Jayhawks in the first half at Amon G. Carter Stadium on October 21, 2017 in Fort Worth, Texas. (Photo by Tom Pennington/Getty Images) /
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The Denver Broncos made an underrated signing getting UDFA WR John Diarse from TCU, whose highlight reel reminds of Anquan Boldin…

The Denver Broncos have a knack for making great pickups after the NFL Draft, evidenced by their rich history of undrafted free agents making the 53-man roster.

One player who could turn heads this offseason at a crowded wide receiver position is former LSU transfer and TCU Horned Frog John Diarse.

Diarse finished second on the team last season with 575 receiving yards (one yard off the lead) and third on the team with 35 receptions.

In each of the past two seasons at TCU, he finished with three touchdown grabs. With such modest production, it doesn’t feel right comparing him to the player I am about to, but Diarse’s style of play reminded me a little bit of Anquan Boldin.

Boldin is obviously one of the best and toughest receivers to play the game the past 15 years, and I am not saying Diarse is going to become the next Boldin or anything. But I have to admit, watching this guy’s highlight tape, I was reminded of the former second-round pick.

Just to prove to myself that I wasn’t crazy, I looked up some of Boldin’s pre-draft measurables to see how he compared physically to Diarse, and the results were pretty staggering.

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Diarse: 6-feet, 211 pounds, 4.58 40-yard dash, 33.5-inch vertical jump, 10’1″ broad jump

Boldin: 6-foot-1, 216 pounds, 4.71 40-yard dash, 33.5-inch vertical jump, 9’6″ broad jump

More than just physically, their style of play was what stood out to me the most. What I remember about Boldin as he carved out a career in the NFL (and a great one, at that) despite running a slow 40-yard dash was the fact that he was so physical, sure-handed, and an intimidating presence at the receiver position.

Boldin was as reliable as any receiver in the league at his best and could make plays after the catch and be physical in the red zone with his running back-like size and arm length.

Boldin provided the quarterback with a broad catch radius even though he was barely 6’1″.

Diarse looks similar at times on his highlight reel. He has long arms and very strong hands. TCU clearly valued him highly in contested catch situations, and he showed he could make some big plays downfield despite not being as athletic as other receivers in this draft.

Again, I’m not saying Diarse is going to become the next Anquan Boldin, but there are shades of Boldin in his game and he could be an interesting one to watch in camp.

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