Tramaine Brock could be an underrated pickup for Broncos
The Denver Broncos acted quickly signing free agent cornerback Tramaine Brock. He could be an underrated move for them this season…
The Denver Broncos took a bit of a gamble on free agent cornerback Tramaine Brock this offseason.
Brock was coming off of a year with virtually no playing time in Minnesota, getting on the field for just 51 snaps in a crowded defensive backfield with the Vikings.
His lack of usage was odd considering the Vikings traded with the Seattle Seahawks to get him.
Seattle signed Brock as a free agent after he was released by the 49ers and eventually cleared of a domestic violence charge. His value had apparently plummeted, and he basically had last season off.
As he and his agent perused the top destinations around the league, Brock opted to sign (rather quickly) with the Denver Broncos.
Considering how active we expected the Broncos to be in free agency, and rumors that they were looking to replace Aqib Talib in a very deep free agent cornerback class, the speed with which they acted in signing Brock was a bit shocking.
The Broncos signed Brock to a one-year, $3 million contract with $2 million in base salary and a $1 million signing bonus. That doesn’t necessarily make him a lock for the 53-man roster but it’s a pretty substantial investment for a guy that inexplicably didn’t play last year.
When he was playing full-time for the 49ers, Brock was ascending into one of the better cornerbacks in the NFL.
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He gave up six touchdowns on passes thrown into his coverage in 2016, but that number was somewhat overshadowed by the fact that he allowed less than 50 percent of the passes thrown his direction to be completed and he also emerged as one of the better run defending cornerbacks in the league.
In addition to nine pass breakups and the low completion rate on passes thrown his way, Brock racked up 12 run stops in 2016.
The Broncos are getting a physical player at this position who can be a bit ‘feast or famine’ at times in coverage but with an expanded role, it’s very possible that Brock plays his way into a decent contract next offseason.
Denver would like to be able to keep Chris Harris Jr. on the outside a little bit more often, and they’ve also upgraded their depth at this position by bringing in Isaac Yiadom in the third round of the 2018 NFL Draft.
Brock hasn’t been talked about much this offseason, but the Broncos clearly felt strongly enough about his ability to contribute immediately that they scooped him up before he had a chance to go and visit with any other teams.