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Denver Broncos: Are we sleeping on Keishawn Bierria?

By Sayre Bedinger

GLENDALE, AZ - DECEMBER 30: Saquon Barkley #26 of Penn State Nittany Lions runs through an arm tackle by Keishawn Bierria #7 of the Washington Huskies during the first quarter of the Playstation Fiesta Bowl at University of Phoenix Stadium on December 30, 2017 in Glendale, Arizona. (Photo by Norm Hall/Getty Images)
GLENDALE, AZ - DECEMBER 30: Saquon Barkley #26 of Penn State Nittany Lions runs through an arm tackle by Keishawn Bierria #7 of the Washington Huskies during the first quarter of the Playstation Fiesta Bowl at University of Phoenix Stadium on December 30, 2017 in Glendale, Arizona. (Photo by Norm Hall/Getty Images) /
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The Denver Broncos took Washington Huskies linebacker Keishawn Bierria with their sixth-round pick in 2018. Are we sleeping on him?

Since the Denver Broncos won Super Bowl 50, replacing so many different players on the roster has been a difficult task.

Though the roster wasn’t perfectly constructed in 2015, it was the right combination of players at the exact right time and some of the key roles from that stellar team have not been capably filled since the team disbanded.

One area specifically that has taken a bit of a hit is special teams, where the Broncos have lost a number of key contributors and frankly ‘special’ players who contributed a lot in that phase.

Washington Huskies linebacker Keishawn Bierria was a day three pick in the 2018 NFL Draft for the Denver Broncos and has been somewhat of an afterthought with the team re-signing Todd Davis and drafting Josey Jewell in the fourth round.

Bierria didn’t flash nearly as much on tape as Jewell and didn’t rack up tackles in college like another former day three linebacker Danny Trevathan, but he’s got some very intriguing skills and could possibly give the Broncos a special energy on special teams that has been missing.

In terms of size (6-foot-1, 225 pounds), college statistics, and role within the defense and special teams, Bierria compares quite favorably to Corey Nelson coming out of Oklahoma.

Both players even wore the jersey number seven in college.

There are so many ways these two compare favorably coming out of college, but Bierria doesn’t have the same injury concerns Nelson did coming out and is probably a little bit better at everything overall.

Skill-wise, Bierria is an excellent complementary player who can play off the ball, blitz, and create momentum-shifting turnovers.

At Washington, Bierria forced four fumbles and recovered seven.

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He was always around the football and did his job well in the Huskies’ defense, which has been one of the best in the country over the past four years.

Since the Broncos need so many players to step up on special teams, it wouldn’t be a shock if Bierria was on the final roster and playing a pretty prominent role in the game’s third phase.

He could also carve out a role in the defense if the Broncos suffer any injuries at linebacker, similar to what Corey Nelson did when he was a rookie in 2014.

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