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Denver Broncos: Justin Simmons can follow in footsteps of Dennis Smith, Steve Atwater

By Travis Wakeman

DENVER, CO - OCTOBER 1: Strong safety Justin Simmons #31 of the Denver Broncos points to the stands as he walks off the field after a 16-10 win over the Oakland Raiders at Sports Authority Field at Mile High on October 1, 2017 in Denver, Colorado. (Photo by Justin Edmonds/Getty Images)
DENVER, CO - OCTOBER 1: Strong safety Justin Simmons #31 of the Denver Broncos points to the stands as he walks off the field after a 16-10 win over the Oakland Raiders at Sports Authority Field at Mile High on October 1, 2017 in Denver, Colorado. (Photo by Justin Edmonds/Getty Images) /
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The Denver Broncos are not going to let hit Justin Simmons hit free agency.

As many expected, the team chose to use its franchise tag on the star safety, guaranteeing he will be in Denver for at least one more season. Now, the goal will be to give him a new long-term deal.

John Elway has stated that he wants Justin Simmons to be part of the team’s future and when he says that, there is good reason to believe it. In Elway’s tenure as team president, he has used the franchise tags four other times.

Each of those players agreed to a new deal with the team after being franchise tagged.

Simmons has quickly become one of the game’s best young safety’s and was probably the team’s defensive MVP in 2019. In four seasons with the team, he has 288 total tackles, 11 interceptions (one he returned for a touchdown) and two sacks.

The Broncos boast a long history of great play at the safety position.

In the team’s early years, Goose Gonsoulin and Bill Thompson were stars that would set the tone for years to come. In later years, John Lynch and then T.J. Ward had great seasons for the team. Of course, Dennis Smith and Steve Atwater will always be the standard for which all safeties in Denver are compared to.

Simmons has the talent to be mentioned with those guys at some point.

Smith was a ferocious hitter who went to six Pro Bowls as a member of the team and to this day is still the team’s all-time leader in tackles. He also helped open the door for Atwater, the team’s first-round pick in the 1989 draft.

Atwater spent 10 seasons in Denver, helping the team win back-to-back Super Bowls while earning a trip to the Pro Bowls eight different times. He was named to the Pro Football Hall of Fame class of 2020.

Simmons is the latest in a long line of great safeties for the Broncos and he will be an essential piece in a growing defense that is overseen by Vic Fangio. It was the right move to tag him and it will be the right move to sign him to a long-term deal.

Related Story. Ranking the Broncos safeties in 2019. light

This summer, Broncos fans will fondly remember the career of Atwater as he speaks in Canton during his Hall of Fame speech. Those same fans will then be able to turn to the team’s blossoming safety Simmons and realize that the safety position in Denver is still strong.

Simmons has a long way to go to be included in the same sentence as Smith and Atwater, but if the team gives him the deal he is looking for, there’s a good chance that he will make it happen.

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