Denver Broncos: Horace Richardson a sleeper at cornerback
The Denver Broncos signed cornerback Horace Richardson off of the Kansas City Chiefs’ practice squad with some players going on IR.
The Denver Broncos have eyes on 2019 and their roster decisions are starting to reflect it. The team placed running back Phillip Lindsay and wide receiver Andre Holmes on injured reserve on Friday, replacing them on the 53-man roster by signing outside linebacker Aaron Wallace and cornerback Horace Richardson.
Wallace was signed off of the Bengals’ practice squad, and we have a full write-up on what he brings to the table here. The Broncos appear to have gotten a twitched up pass rush candidate for next season.
The subject of this post is going to be Richardson, a big cornerback prospect who spent the majority of his first two seasons in the NFL with the Minnesota Vikings. He bounced from the Vikings to the Detroit Lions, then to the Kansas City Chiefs. The Broncos poached him off of Kansas City’s practice squad.
Richardson at a glance
Height: 5-foot-11
Weight: 199 pounds
College: SMU
40-yard dash: 4.48 seconds
Bench Press: 14 reps
Vertical Jump: 35 inches
You can check out some of Richardson’s college highlights here. He certainly knew how to get his hands on the football while he was with the Mustangs.
Richardson certainly knows Broncos wide receiver Courtland Sutton. The two were teammates at SMU and played against each other in this year’s preseason opener when the Vikings came to Denver.
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Richardson missed quite a bit of time throughout his college career, starting his freshman year. He suffered a knee injury in 2012 that limited him to just one game. In 2013, he played just eight games. In 2014, he played in nine after missing the first three games of the season.
In 2015, he played just seven games.
He finally played 12 games in 2016 and showed what he was capable of when given a full slate of games. He wound up picking off six passes in his final season at SMU, and had 10 interceptions in his college career as a whole.
Athletically, Richardson has the ability to hold up against anyone in the NFL. He’s well-built with great speed and leaping ability.
In college, he showed off great ball skills, so what is the deal here? Why is this player bouncing around the league?
That’s a good question. By all accounts, Richardson had progressed well with the Vikings before ultimately being waived off of injured reserve. Perhaps his injury struggles forced the team to part ways with him, as well as a very deep and talented cornerback room.
It will be interesting to see if he’s able to compete with Denver’s current situation, where the only cornerbacks under contract for 2019 are Chris Harris Jr., Brendan Langley, and Isaac Yiadom.
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Maybe Richardson will be able to show he’s grown as a player with Denver and crack the rotation in 2019.