Broncos 7-round 2021 mock draft: Offensive tackle early?

Let’s take a look at the Broncos’ cornerback situation for a moment.

As I type this, the active roster has exactly two cornerbacks on it. The CB1 down the stretch of the 2020 season is Michael Ojemudia. De’Vante Bausby, who miraculously was cut after signing with the Arizona Cardinals and playing just one game, is CB2.

Everyone else? Out.

Bryce Callahan has been one of the best corners in the NFL in 2020 after taking a pay cut following his injury-plagued 2019. Callahan will be back in 2021 for the Broncos, but how heavily can they rely on him? He should be expected to miss at least some time at this point.

AJ Bouye has a cap hit of over $13 million next season and in addition to being suspended the last four games of 2020, he will be out for the first two games of 2021 due to suspension. In addition to that, Bouye has struggled to stay healthy and frankly cannot be counted on to play even the full 14 games he is eligible for in 2021.

Essang Bassey suffered a torn ACL against the Kansas City Chiefs, putting his status for the start of 2021 in question.

Duke Dawson suffered major damage to his knee against the Panthers and his status for 2021 is clearly in question.

Kevin Toliver suffered a torn ACL, also putting his future status in jeopardy.

Does that about cover it?

There is really no certainty right now for the Broncos at cornerback in 2021 or really beyond that besides Michael Ojemudia, who looks like a good young player despite his tough learning experiences in 2020.

That leads us to the Paulson Adebo selection.

The Broncos could easily be in the cornerback market for round one. It wouldn’t even surprise me to see them pull what they did at wide receiver in 2020 and use back-to-back picks there. Why not?

The selection here of Adebo makes plenty of sense given his skills as a zone, read-and-react kind of cornerback. He has tremendous length and ball skills as a former wide receiver who does a great job breaking on the ball.

He’s also physical in the run game and willing to come up and hit someone.

As an outside-only corner with just two years of starting experience, the Broncos may opt for more experience but Adebo is the kind of player who could fit in great with Vic Fangio’s defense and develop well under Fangio, Ed Donatell, and Renaldo Hill.