Former Bronco gives nephew blessing
Practice was over, but Henry Melton wasn’t done catching his breath. He huffed and puffed toward the locker room Tuesday, searching for air wherever he could find it.
“This altitude is not a joke,” Melton said, chuckling. “No joke at all.
Melton didn’t know much about Denver, besides the thin air, when his agent reached out to him to gauge his interest in joining the Broncos last week. The former Pro Bowl defensive lineman consulted with one of his closest confidants, his uncle and former Broncos cornerback Ray Crockett, to help him make the decision.
Joining the defending Super Bowl champions didn’t take much convincing, but it helped to get Crockett’s blessing. Melton has leaned on Crockett for advice
in nearly every scenario of his life, good and bad.
“That’s one of my good friends. That’s my mom’s brother. We’re pretty close,” Melton said. “He said, ‘You’re going to love it out here,’ and so far, so good.”
Melton, who signed with the Broncos on Monday, is expected to contribute pass rushing and depth on a defensive line that has been stricken with injuries. With the Broncos a little more than two weeks from their season opener against the Carolina Panthers, Melton will have his hands full learning the playbook and getting acclimated to his new team.
The biggest transition for Melton will be playing in a 3-4 scheme after spending eight years with Chicago, Dallas and Tampa Bay playing primarily as a 4-3 defensive tackle. He projects as a 3-4 defensive end in defensive coordinator Wade Phillips’ scheme, but versatility is the key at every Broncos position.
“We like to look at guys that we think can play end and play nose,” Broncos coach Gary Kubiak said. “Obviously he is a talented young man. He’s had some injuries and had some things happen to him. It looks like he’s healthy again. We worked him out and he looked good. We’ll see.”
Melton, 6-foot-3, 290 pounds, was on his way to being one of the best defensive tackles in the NFL heading into the 2013 season. He made 13 sacks over the 2011 and 2012 seasons in Chicago. Then he tore the anterior cruciate ligament in his left knee during a September 2013 game and hasn’t been as dominant since.
In the past two years with Dallas and Tampa Bay, he was used primarily as a reserve pass-rush specialist. The Buccaneers chose not to re-sign the 29-year-old defensive end after the 2015 season.
In Denver, he’s not expected to be a Pro Bowl player. Melton will be asked to add to a defense and a defensive line that was the best in the NFL last season. With many of the Broncos’ other defensive linemen, Derek Wolfe, Jared Crick, Sylvester Williams, Adam Gotsis and Darius Kilgo, all specializing primarily as run stuffers, Melton can assume a role as a pass-rush specialist.
“I’ve always been around the quarterback,” Melton said. “I know this defense is one of the premier defenses in the league, so whatever I can add to it, I’m ready to do. I got a long road ahead of me, but I’m all in.”