Denver Broncos: Grading every offseason acquisition so far
AJ Bouye, cornerback
Contract/trade details: 2 years, $23.9375 million / 4th-round pick
With the impending departure of Chris Harris Jr. and a lot of turnover coming on defense in general, the first move the Broncos made to upgrade their roster in 2020 was trading for Jacksonville Jaguars cornerback AJ Bouye.
Bouye, a former undrafted player, had a tremendous start to his career with the Houston Texans before he hit free agency in 2017 where he was pursued by Vic Fangio and the Chicago Bears.
He wound up signing with the Jaguars and had a Pro Bowl year in 2017, but he fell off a bit in 2019 and may have been playing through injury.
The Broncos are banking on Bouye being healthy along with Bryce Callahan in 2020 and if Bouye is healthy, he’s a great fit in Fangio’s defense as a physical, disciplined cornerback who plays with great instincts and attacks the football in the air.
If Bouye can return to form, the Broncos paid a very reasonable price for him. They are not getting a player of this caliber in the fourth round of the 2020 NFL Draft.
They are also paying less than $12 million per year over two years of his contract with the Jaguars. The going rate for corners in free agency this offseason reached upwards of $17 million per season. Bouye is a solid value overall for the contract and draft compensation.