TCU pass rusher Ben Banogu to visit Denver Broncos

The Denver Broncos will host TCU pass rusher Ben Banogu for a pre-draft visit. The Broncos are looking for backup pass rushers.

The Denver Broncos are looking for depth off the edge in the 2019 NFL Draft, and specifically, they appear to be targeting players who tested incredibly well at the 2019 Scouting Combine.

The latest target for the Broncos taking a top 30 visit to the team’s facility is TCU’s Ben Banogu, who racked up 156 tackles, 40 tackles for loss, and 20 sacks in his college career.

Banogu spent one season at Louisiana-Monroe before transferring to TCU, where he became one of the top players in the Big 12 conference off the edge.

You can check out some of Banogu’s highlights here.

When it comes to speed, explosiveness, agility, and quickness, Banogu’s numbers are pretty off the charts as far as edge players go.

At 6-foot-4, 250 pounds, Banogu has a pretty thin frame for an edge player but man can he move. He ran a 4.62 in the 40-yard dash with a 40-inch vertical jump and a 134-inch broad jump.

Those three specific times put Banogu in the 90th percentile or better for edge players, so there are elite physical tools to work with here.

A player with these types of elite tools should have even better production than Banogu had in college, which makes me think he’s a solid day three developmental player right now.

Even watching his highlights, there are some plays included in the reel that were plays made with excellent coverage on the back end after Banogu had been stifled in his initial pass rush attempt.

You can’t deny this guy gets after the quarterback and is relentless in pursuit, even when his initial move is shut down.

He often starts out on the edge and tries to cross over to the inside shoulder of the tackle, and that move proved successful a number of times but was also shut down a bit.

Still, his production speaks volumes and he was consistent, racking up 8.5 sacks in each of the last two seasons along with 16.5 tackles for loss in 2017 and 18 tackles for loss in 2018.

The Broncos lost Shaquil Barrett in free agency to the Buccaneers and could wind up losing Shane Ray as well. Perhaps Ray will see there are not a ton of other great opportunities available and return to the Broncos.

There were rumors last year at the trade deadline that the Bears might be interested in making a move for Ray as a backup edge, but that never came to fruition.

If the Broncos bring in Banogu, he will have to play on special teams and earn his keep as a rotational rusher. The Broncos need someone who can be effective in somewhat long stretches as they will attempt to keep Von Miller and Bradley Chubb as fresh as possible.