ENGLEWOOD, Colo. While Drew Lock s future at quarterback and Von Miller s future at linebacker are already discussion in full swirl early in this Denver Broncos offseason, a very real down-to-down football problem is staring the team in the face as well.
The Broncos are wafer-thin at cornerback and face the possibility of remaking an entire secondary if some big checks don t get written. Those are things [general manager] George [Paton] will have to look at, said Broncos president of football operations John Elway.
Cornerback A.J. Bouye, who missed the final four games of this season and will miss the first two games of 2021 due to a violation of the league s policy on performance-enhancing drugs, faces an uncertain future and could potentially be released. Cornerback Bryce Callahan, who was playing some of the best football in his career before he injured his foot this season, has now missed 22 games over the past two seasons with injuries.
Is fortifying the Broncos’ defense the way to go early in the Draft?
Cody Roark of Pro Football Network joined Broncos Country Tonight earlier this week to talk building the defense in the offseason.
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We are officially into Speculation Season where everyone tries to guess what the Broncos will do in free agency, who/what position they’ll draft from the college ranks and what - oh what - will become of the quarterback.
With a new GM, the speculation is even less predictable, but in Monday’s “Broncos Country Tonight” segment with Cody Roark of Pro Football Network, Ryan Edwards and Ben Allbright steered mostly clear of the Deshaun Watson talk and focused on possibilities for the Broncos on defense in the coming season.
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Eleven players made their NFL regular-season debuts with the Tampa Bay Buccaneers in 2020. Rookie safety Javon Hagan could make it an even dozen on Sunday night.
The Buccaneers elevated Hagan along with inside linebacker Deone Bucannon and guard Ted Larsen from the practice squad on Saturday, making them eligible to play in the team s Divisional Round playoff game at New Orleans on Sunday. Hagen and Larsen were standard elevations while Bucannon was a COVID replacement for inside linebacker Kevin Minter, who remains on the reserve/COVID-19 list.
Hagan could be the rare player who plays in a postseason game before ever seeing any regular-season action. He joined the Buccaneers as an undrafted free agent out of Ohio University in May and has been on the practice squad all season. His first elevation of the season is likely due to veteran safety Andrew Adams being listed as questionable on Friday s injury report. In addition, starting safety Jordan Whitehead i
Even as the Broncos barrel their way through a second straight losing season under Vic Fangio, I’ve never once thought he should get the axe. I’m happy to debate the locker room, clock management, offense, and every other issue that cropped up. I won’t give a whole lot of thought to any complaints about the Broncos’ defense.
In 2019 the Broncos defense lost Bradley Chubb, Kareem Jackson, and Derek Wolfe while they rotated a number of corners opposite Chris Harris Jr. This year Von Miller didn’t play a snap. Jurrell Casey and Mike Purcell were lost for the year. As I write this Michael Ojemudia is the lone survivor from the original corner depth chart. What really stands out to me is how even through all the losses, the Broncos defense has been the clear backbone of the roster in part because they’ve performed heroically in the redzone. In 2019 the Broncos allowed opponents to score touchdowns just 39% of the time. Without Miller they allowed a whopping 47% through 16 ga
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The last time the Broncos faced Vegas they woke up with a hungover. Drew Lock threw four interceptions as the Raiders bludgeoned the Broncos with Josh Jacobs to the tune of 112 yards and two touchdowns. The loss knocked Denver to 3-6 and marked a bit of a turning point for Pat Shurmur and his young offense. Facing a dangerous blitz scheme in week 11, the Broncos moved away from the wide open looks towards a ground and pound type of attack. The change and Lock’s growth in the “new” offense makes the week 17 rematch an intriguing one. Can Lock’s progress hold up to a pressure scheme that so flummoxed a couple months ago?