Broncos acquire safety Cravens from Redskins for draft changes
Help at wide receiver remains a major need
ORLANDO, FLA.» As the NFL’s annual meetings neared their end, Broncos general manager John Elway continued to make moves to bolster his defense.
Wednesday morning, Denver acquired safety Su’a Cravens from the Redskins in exchange for a 2018 fifth-round pick (No. 163 overall) and a conditional sixthround selection in 2020, an NFL source confirmed. The deal included a total of six draft picks, but the four others were swaps. In the fourth round this year, Denver moves from No. 109 to 113, and in the fifth round, Denver falls seven spots from No. 142 to 149.
The trade is the Broncos’ fourth this offseason and leaves them with eight draft picks. It also adds to a secondary that, in the last six months, lost veteran safety T.J. Ward and cornerback Aqib Talib.
In Denver, Cravens will essentially help to fill a void left by Ward, who was a thumper on the back end of the defense. Cravens will vie for a starting safety job with veteran Darian Stewart, who has a fully guaranteed salary of $4.5 million for 2018, and compete with Will Parks as the Broncos’ nickel linebacker. Third-year safety Justin Simmons will assume the other safety spot.
Cravens, 22, was selected by the Redskins in the second round of the 2016 draft after a standout career at Southern California. He played 11 games (three starts) as a rookie and recorded 33 total
If a bobblehead doll were constructed in the likeness of Demaryius Thomas, 2017 NFL season edition, its main facial feature would be a grimace.
The Broncos’ top wide receiver, hobbled by deep pain in his hips, Achilles tendon and other parts of his 6-foot-3, 229-pound body, caught 83 passes during Denver’s 5-11 slide in 2017, his lowest total since 2011. Emmanuel Sanders, who once formed one of the league’s most fearsome duos with Thomas, dealt with his own injury problems. A nagging ankle issue kept him out of four games and compromised him in a handful of the 12 in which he did play, and his 47 catches were by far his fewest in four seasons with the Broncos.
But when Broncos coach Vance Joseph looks at the production from Thomas, who played in all 16 games, and Sanders in 2017, he doesn’t point to the injury problems. After all, Thomas told The Denver Post in November that he hasn’t felt completely right since the AFC championship game after the 2013 season. Yet, in the three seasons that followed, he still averaged 102 catches.
No, Joseph sees a different issue when it comes to maximizing the talents of his top two wide receivers. Namely, they need more consistent help.
“We saw a lot of where the safety and corner doubled D.T., the safety and corner double ‘E’ and left those (other) guys one-onone,” Joseph told reporters this week at the NFL owners meetings in Orlando, Fla. “We have to find a way to attack those kind of coverages with our tight ends, with our slot and with our back so we can get more one-on-ones outside.”
In other words, the Broncos of the past several seasons, even dating to their Super Bowl team in 2015, have sorely lacked an ability to take pressure off their top two offensive weapons. Part of this has been a dearth of production at the tight end spot, and Joseph expressed hope that 2017 fifth-round pick Jake Butt can be “that guy” after missing his rookie season while recovering from an ACL injury.
But what about a reliable third wide receiver for new quarterback Case Keenum? Bennie Fowler, who is unlikely to return to Denver next season, set a career high with 29 receptions last season, but his average of 6.3 yards per target demonstrated an inability to stretch defenses. In 2016, the third-most receptions by a Denver wide receiver came from Jordan Norwood, who had • 21. Denver simply hasn’t been able to find consistent production at the position outside of its top two wide receivers.
The fix will start with players already on the roster. Carlos Henderson, a third-round draft pick in 2017, averaged 18.7 yards per catch with 19 touchdowns during his senior season at Louisiana Tech in 2016, and though there were growing pains last spring and during training camp as he adjusted to an NFL playbook, his playmaking ability at Dove Valley was hard to miss. That was all, of course, before a torn thumb liga- ment ended his season before it started.
“We’re counting on that kid to come in and play for us, especially in the slot,” Joseph said, “or even (Sanders) goes to the slot and (Henderson) goes outside. Someone has to go into the slot and win the one-on-ones, so we can get fair coverages on third downs.”
Moving Sanders into the slot, at least periodically, could create some interesting advantages for the Broncos. But the impact would still be limited if an opponent was able to slide one of its best corners into the slot to defend him — much as the Broncos have done with Chris Harris — because it isn’t worried about other wide receivers making them pay on the outside.
Henderson will have his opportunity to step up, but an attempt to build depth at receiver must run deeper. Jordan Taylor (13 receptions in 2017) could have a larger role with the departure of Cody Latimer, who signed with the Giants. And Isaiah McKenzie, who was used mostly on special teams in 2017, could also be in line for more opportunities on offense.
Still, the Broncos will almost certainly turn to the draft to seek more help. James Washington, the 2017 Biletnikoff Award winner out of Oklahoma State, could be an intriguing option in the second round. He said at the NFL combine last month that he met formally with the Broncos. Christian Kirk (Texas A&M), D.J. Moore (Maryland) and D.J. Chark (LSU) could be among other options in the early to middle rounds.
Broncos’ 2018 draft picks