Denver Broncos 2018 roster evaluations: Safety

DENVER, CO - NOVEMBER 12: Strong safety Justin Simmons #31 of the Denver Broncos celebrates after a sack against the New England Patriots at Sports Authority Field at Mile High on November 12, 2017 in Denver, Colorado. (Photo by Justin Edmonds/Getty Images)
DENVER, CO - NOVEMBER 12: Strong safety Justin Simmons #31 of the Denver Broncos celebrates after a sack against the New England Patriots at Sports Authority Field at Mile High on November 12, 2017 in Denver, Colorado. (Photo by Justin Edmonds/Getty Images)
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DENVER, CO – NOVEMBER 19: Defensive back Will Parks #34 of the Denver Broncos celebrates after recovering a blocked punt in the first quarter of a game against the Cincinnati Bengals at Sports Authority Field at Mile High on November 19, 2017 in Denver, Colorado. (Photo by Justin Edmonds/Getty Images)
DENVER, CO – NOVEMBER 19: Defensive back Will Parks #34 of the Denver Broncos celebrates after recovering a blocked punt in the first quarter of a game against the Cincinnati Bengals at Sports Authority Field at Mile High on November 19, 2017 in Denver, Colorado. (Photo by Justin Edmonds/Getty Images)

Conclusions

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Based on the way the Broncos divvied up the snaps in 2017, this team is clearly in need of a more ‘traditional’ strong safety.

That position is not the strong suit of the team’s two best players in this position group, Darian Stewart and Justin Simmons.

This could lead to some interesting roster decisions down the line, but for now, the Broncos have Su’a Cravens to play the role that was not appropriately filled when the team decided to move on from T.J. Ward last year.

With Cravens set to play a similar role to that of Ward, the Broncos will be able to create some intriguing mismatches defensively with such a unique group of players that can play deep, in the box, blitz, or play as nickel cornerbacks.

Joe Woods and the rest of the defensive staff have their work cut out for them trying to find ways to involve all of these talented players a reasonable number of snaps per game, but expect the lion’s share to go to Stewart, Simmons, and Cravens.

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