Denver Broncos: Team has not drafted a solid corner since 2005

Denver Broncos cornerback Darrent Williams #27 in action. The San Francisco 49ers defeated the Denver Broncos by a score of 26 to 23 at Invesco Field at Mile High, Denver, CO, December 31, 2006. (Photo by Rich Gabrielson/NFLPhotoLibrary)
Denver Broncos cornerback Darrent Williams #27 in action. The San Francisco 49ers defeated the Denver Broncos by a score of 26 to 23 at Invesco Field at Mile High, Denver, CO, December 31, 2006. (Photo by Rich Gabrielson/NFLPhotoLibrary)

The Denver Broncos have officially moved on from Isaac Yiadom.

The Broncos struck a deal with the New York Giants on Wednesday, sending the former third-round pick to the Big Apple in exchange for a seventh-round pick in next year’s draft.

Isaac Yiadom was disappointing during his entire tenure with the team, despite costing the Broncos a third-round pick in 2018. In two full seasons with the team, that third-round pick brought in one interception.

Yiadom is the latest disappointment in third-round cornerbacks for the Broncos, a trend that this year’s third-round selection, Michael Ojemudia, hopes to buck.

But it’s not just the third round in which the Broncos have struggled to draft cornerbacks. It has been an issue all over the board for the past 15 years. During that time, here is a list of every cornerback the team has selected.

Michael Ojemudia

Isaac Yiadom 

Brendan Langley

Lorenzo Doss

Taurean Nixon

Bradley Roby

Kayvon Webster

Omar Bolden

Perrish Cox

Syd’Quan Thompson

Alphonso Smith

Jack Williams

Karl Paymah

Dominique Foxworth

Now sure, there are some guys on that list who were late-round picks and not much was expected out of them. Some of these names many Broncos fans wouldn’t even remember.

But there are other players here who were big disappointments.

Some will point to Roby as being a player who wasn’t necessarily a bad pick, but for a first-round selection, he left much to be desired.

Langley was simply one of the worst draft picks in team history and the same can be said for Alphonso Smith, who was an absolute bust for the team after being drafted in the second round by the Josh McDaniels regime.

You know Yiadom was bad when the Broncos could only get a seventh-round pick in return for a guy who is entering just his third season in the league.

There is one guy who is omitted from the list above. That would be Darrent Williams, the last cornerback who could really be considered a good pick by the team.

Williams was drafted in the second round in 2005 and in two seasons, registered 126 total tackles and six interceptions, two of which he returned for touchdowns. He appeared to be one of the league’s rising stars at the position before his life was tragically cut short following the immediate conclusion of the 2006 season.

In 2005, the Broncos were in dire need of help at the cornerback position. That is why the team used its first three picks on cornerbacks, getting Karl Paymah and Dominique Foxworth to go along with Williams.

It has been a position the team has struggled to properly diagnose, particularly since John Elway has been in charge of the decision-making process.

Ironically, the cornerback spot is one of the team’s biggest perceived weaknesses. Elway can only hope that Ojemudia can be an impact player at that position.

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