How the Denver Broncos identify athletes for every position

S (8) — Justin Simmons, Darian Stewart, Su’a Cravens, Will Parks, Dymonte Thomas, Jamal Carter, Jordan Moore, Trey Marshall

Ht: 6-1 1/8
Wt: 210
40: 4.58
Bench: 18
Vert: 35
20-yard shuttle: 4.32

The Broncos’ safety position was actually the one that caused this article to happen.

When I was looking through the Broncos’ safeties, I discovered they had a ‘type’ here with guys who didn’t necessarily excel in terms of straight line speed, but guys who are very explosive and quick in short bursts.

The golden child at this position is Justin Simmons, whose numbers athletically are nothing short of elite. He didn’t run the fastest 40-yard dash (4.52 at the Boston College pro day), but he posted a wild 40-inch vertical jump and a 3.85 20-yard shuttle which still stands as the best ever at the Scouting Combine.

Simmons is a special athlete, but he’s not alone in this position group. Darian Stewart tested very well coming out of South Carolina, and Dymonte Thomas had a very good pro day performance at Michigan as well.

The Broncos like guys with enough size at this position to be physical. They average 210 pounds at just over 6-foot-1, which would make a guy like Stewart or Simmons almost the prototype.

Jordan Moore, who is more like a smaller linebacker, brings up the averages some so the majority of this position group is a little bit smaller and faster than these times indicate.

Conclusion

It’s clear from these numbers that the Broncos have emphasized adding more speed to the roster over the course of the past two offseasons, as well as explosiveness and quickness.

They haven’t necessarily gotten bigger, but they’ve definitely gotten faster.

Even with a few outliers at each position, the Broncos are going to be able to compete much better athletically with teams than they have been able to in recent years.