Broncos rookie plays pivotal role in team's most important win in a decade

The Denver Broncos selected Missouri cornerback Kris Abrams-Draine in the 5th round of April's NFL Draft, but even general manager George Paton could not have seen this coming from the rookie. Abrams-Draine has become a pivotal piece for the Broncos in light of the injury to corner Riley Moss, who had become the team's number two corner behind only Pat Surtain.

Moss went down with an injury in the Broncos' win over the Raiders and has not been able to take the field since. As his absence carries on, the Broncos have been in need of production from their depth chart. In what was going to be their most important game in almost a decade, Vance Joseph needed to dive deep into his bag.

Broncos rookie CB Kris Abrams-Draine comes up huge in win vs. Colts

The team initially turned to proven players such as veteran Levi Wallace, or former starter Damarri Mathis, but neither has been able to make it work in the absence of Moss. Most notably, Wallace turned in arguably the single worst one-game coverage performance in Broncos history and was a major factor behind the incredible performance of former Bronco Jerry Jeudy in his return to Mile High. In that same game, Wallace was benched in crunch time for the rookie Abrams-Draine, who took most of the snaps in the final minutes of a game that was far from decided.

The one major question for the Broncos going into the bye week and then week 15 was the availability and health of Moss, and who would take his place in the starting lineup is he was unable to go. When it became clear that Moss was not going to be able to make it for the Broncos this week, the questions as to who would replace him became louder and louder. Once Levi Wallace was made inactive for the Broncos, it was clear that the rookie Abrams-Draine was going to get the nod.

In his first start of his NFL career, Abrams-Draine more than held his own and flashed some serious potential for the Broncos going forward. In coverage, he was more than able to hold his own against what is a very strong Colts receiving group and showed that he might have a bright future in Denver. As the season goes on, the Broncos will need to lean on their depth more and more, especially if Pat Surtain's injury from the 4th quarter becomes a lingering issue. There is a strong argument to make that the play of Arbams-Draine and Surtain today is a major factor behind their playoff-chance-boosting win.

As Denver enters a short week in preparation for their showdown with the Chargers on Thursday night in Los Angeles, expect to hear a lot about the rookie Kris Abrams-Draine. If he continues to play like he did today, expect to see more from him in the coming years.