Denver Broncos second-year safety Alijah Holder is making a push to be part of the team’s final roster.
Undrafted out of Stanford last season, Alijah Holder began his tenure with the team as a cornerback. One of the most intriguing undrafted players on the roster, Holder spent most of his time on the practice squad.
Now converted to safety, Holder has looked great in camp, although he has missed the last two days of practice due to injury. Still, he is right in the mix to be one of the team’s backup safeties behind Justin Simmons and Kareem Jackson.
The Broncos also have Trey Marshall and undrafted free agent Douglas Coleman III on the roster but there isn’t great depth at safety. Holder seems to have found a role in Vic Fangio’s defense as a safety and has a much better chance to make the team than he would have as a cornerback.
He came to the league with good length at 6-foot-2 but he just didn’t have enough speed on the outside or the kind of hips teams look for at the professional level to stick at cornerback.
But at safety, he’ll have a better chance to keep plays in front of him. He will need to show more consistency, but it will be quite interesting to see how he has developed after spending all of last season in the system.
Simply put, in this defensive system, he has a much better chance of making the team at safety than at cornerback. He should also be able to be a solid contributor on special teams.
Holder is a name that may fly under the radar, but he is one that could easily end up on the team’s final roster.