The Denver Broncos might be shopping for bargain deals in free agency this offseason, and this recently released player from the AFC South might be a perfect fit for them. When the Broncos benched Damarri Mathis, a long-term need for the CB2 spot became very clear. The team then inserted well-traveled veteran Fabian Moreau into the lineup, who kind of fell of toward the end of the season.
In an ideal world, Mathis would have taken a step forward and cemented the CB2 spot. However, it doesn't look promising for Mathis, but they did see a breakout year from stud slot CB, Ja'Quan McMillian. Other than that, the Broncos took Riley Moss in the 2023 NFL Draft, but he hardly played. With Moreau a free agent in 2024, the Broncos could look to bring in a different veteran CB.
Well, on Tuesday, the Jacksonville Jaguars released CB Darious Williams, and Williams could end up being a very good signing for the Broncos. PFF gave Williams a healthy 79.5 grade in 2023. He's played in each regular season game over the last two seasons for the Jaguars and has four interceptions and a whopping 35 passes defended over that period.
106 combined tackles over the last two years is also a nice statistic for Williams. He was a late bloomer in the NFL and turns 31 in March, but he is very good in coverage and would truly solve the Broncos CB2 issues for at least 2024. Now, perhaps the Denver Broncos want to bank on Riley Moss going into year two, but they did just that with their 2022 NFL Draft mid-round cornerback selection in Mathis.
I am firmly in the camp that the Broncos need to add a CB or two in free agency, as the unit was largely not good in 2023. Furthermore, safety Justin Simmons could logically be a trade candidate this offseason, so the secondary could get very thin, very quickly. Vance Joseph was working with below-average personnel on defense in 2023.
Sean Payton could do right by Joseph and sign someone like Darious Williams, who is a quality CB and could give the Broncos a very strong trio of CBs with Patrick Surtain II and Ja'Quan McMillian.