Denver Broncos: Grading every offseason acquisition so far
Jeremiah Attaochu, outside linebacker
Contract details: 1 year, $1.5 million
The Broncos had to deal with the unfortunate after-effects of losing Bradley Chubb to a season-ending knee injury in 2019.
No one wanted Bradley Chubb to miss all but four games of the season, but sometimes injuries pave the way for players to either make a name for themselves or, in the case of Jeremiah Attaochu, re-establish themselves as legit.
Attaochu was once a second-round pick of the San Diego Chargers (yes, they were in San Diego when he was picked) but he struggled with injuries of his own and bounced around the league a bit, including a regular-season stint with the New York Jets before being cut by the Kansas City Chiefs at final cuts last year.
The Broncos signed Attaochu after a workout involving a few other pass rushers, and he won the audition.
Although Vic Fangio said that Attaochu didn’t quite move the needle for him initially, he ‘won over’ the Broncos’ head coach with his play down the stretch last season and the Broncos re-signed him to be their primary reserve edge behind Von Miller and Bradley Chubb again.
In 12 games and five starts, Attaochu racked up 3.5 sacks, 21 total tackles, and five tackles for loss.
Signing him back for only $500,000 guaranteed is a bit surprising. I felt like Attaochu would get at least $4 million on the open market as a flyer for some team, but the Broncos got a really nice value here.