Denver Broncos roster sleeper Delonte Hood flying under radar

Entering the 2023 season, the Denver Broncos have a much-improved cornerback room as opposed to last season, despite last year's unit performing exceptionally well, given the circumstances. Even after releasing underrated CB Ronald Darby earlier this offseason, GM George Paton and the Broncos have done an excellent job acquiring young, valuable talent at the position including Tremon Smith, Riley Moss, and signing rookie undrafted free agent Art Green.

However, one name that has completely flown under the radar and has been a member of the team since late last season, is Washington, DC native, Delonte Hood.

Hood, who is just 22 years old in his second season in the NFL, spent the 2022 offseason with the Cincinnati Bengals before being waived prior to final roster cuts. Hood then later was drafted to the XFL's Arlington Renegades in November of 2022 before eventually receiving the call from the Denver Broncos that they planned to work him out for a chance on their practice squad under interim head coach Jerry Rosburg at the time.

Hood brings a lot of skillful traits that are necessary for the position including his elite speed, ball-hawking/instinctual ability, and raw athleticism that can ultimately raise the floor of the Broncos' cornerback room in the bottom half of the depth chart. While Denver is very loaded at the position, Hood also has shown the willingness to be a versatile piece in the secondary dating back to his days at Peru State College where he had an impressive eight interceptions in 2019 and took snaps at free safety, nickel corner, the box, and of course at his natural position on the perimeter at outside corner.

In my recent interview with Delonte Hood on the Broncos Avenue Podcast, he mentioned during his attendance at the University of Nebraska's pro day in 2022, three scouts had clocked his 40-yard dash time in the 4.2s and that he had an official 4.29 second time, despite reports that listed his official time at 4.38 seconds. Nonetheless, Hood possesses crazy good speed to run with just about every NFL WR in today's game and already appears to be the fastest player on the team.

When asked about Denver's new coaches, Hood mentioned how Sean Payton was his favorite coach growing up and that he has followed new DC Vance Joseph since his college days and called him a "great" coach.

"He’s got very high energy and very good intellect on the game of how he breaks stuff down in short little time. Everything he shows on film, it really turns out to be like that in practice. I feel we’re going to have a successful defense."

- Delonte Hood on DC Vance Joseph

Hood expressed his utmost belief and confidence in what Vance Joseph is planning to accomplish schematically through the defense this upcoming season and stated that as long he executes his job to the best of his abilities, he will have a good shot at making the team come September. As of now, assuming the Broncos carry around six cornerbacks to start off the 2023 campaign, the last two spots seem to be up for grabs and Delonte Hood is already making a good case to steal one of them on the final depth chart.

A source tells me Hood has looked fantastic throughout OTAs and has had a crucial impact in the secondary and even special teams when provided the opportunity to do so.

Before the season concluded, Hood was able to learn under previous defensive coordinator Ejiro Evero for a short period of time and is also in a defensive back room picking the brains of two players that are arguably the best at their respective positions in CB Patrick Surtain ll and S Justin Simmons. Hood spoke very highly of the chemistry that is growing in Denver's DB room and how he continues to greatly benefit from that however, understands that he is required to take it upon himself to earn his spot on the roster, largely due in part to his individual skillset and potential.

Given his raw athletic ability, blazing 4.29 speed, and early impressions on the new coaching staff, I would not ride off Delonte Hood as a real possibility of making Denver's 53-man roster. He possesses all the tools coaches love to see in young defensive backs and even though he may not present the most attractive resume on paper, he's shown the willingness to play anywhere on the field and even be a crucial special teams contributor. Hood will only bring the best out of his teammates and will create useful competition across the defense while bringing valuable depth in the secondary. As it stands right now, Hood absolutely deserves a spot on the 53-man roster.