Broncos: UDFA success stories that never happen without preseason

Shaquil Barrett, OLB

The Broncos picked up Shaquil “Sack” Barrett in the 2014 offseason as an undrafted free agent out of Colorado State.

After watching Barrett’s games at CSU in the preceding years, it was unfathomable to me how he was not drafted.

Although he wasn’t twitchy athletically, Barrett was the Mountain West Defensive Player of the Year when he had 79 total tackles, 12 sacks, and 19 tackles for loss.

Barrett didn’t crack the Broncos’ initial roster even after a tremendous training camp and preseason in 2014 where it looked like there was absolutely no way the Broncos would be able to sneak him on the practice squad.

They did for almost the entire 2014 season until other teams starting sniffing around, and then the Broncos elevated Barrett off the practice squad in October, and then again in January. Somehow, the Broncos got away with cutting Barrett twice before he ultimately cracked a rotation that included Von Miller, DeMarcus Ware, and 2015 first-round pick Shane Ray.

Barrett was a key reserve on the Denver defense and a starter in 2017 before signing a free agent contract with the Tampa Bay Buccaneers in 2019. He wound up contending for Defensive MVP last season when he racked up 19.5 sacks, 19 tackles for loss, six forced fumbles, and 51 total pressures.

What would his career look like if he had never gotten the chance to compete in preseason play?