SPORTS BRONCOS ROOKIE YIADOM HAS WINNING STRATEGY
Broncos cornerback Isaac Yiadom has been in the NFL for less than two months but has already figured out two important tips to surviving as a rookie.
“Perform and keep your mouth shut,” he said last week.
Sounds like the right strategy — learn from the coaching staff, follow the lead of veterans Chris Harris and Bradley Roby and let his practice do his talking.
A third round draft pick (No. 99 overall) in April, Yiadom is one of eight cornerbacks on the roster and could be competing with Brendan Langley for the fourth spot behind Harris, Roby and Tramaine Brock.
“He’s making progress,” de-
fensive coordinator Joe Woods said. “He’s a guy that’s very smart and he challenges people and doesn’t back down. He’s making some mistakes but he corrects them pretty quickly.”
The value of the 13 organized team activity/minicamp practices for players like Yiadom is two-fold: They get plenty of of 11-on11 snaps (as many as 30 per workout) and they get to make mistakes (no scoreboard). That allowed the Broncos’ coaches to throw every coverage and technique at Yiadom.
“Knowing where your help is and knowing the formations and then going out there and playing fast (is the challenge),” Yiadom said. “You need to know what you’re doing out there so you don’t have to think.”
Helping Yiadom’s transition to the Broncos is the presence of strong safety Justin Simmons, a former teammate at Boston College.
“I’ve talked to him a few times, asked him how he’s doing and how he’s picking up the schemes of the defense,” Simmons said. “All of that is super helpful for him because we obviously have the same lingo coming from B.C.”
Before Boston College, Yiadom was the thirdranked recruit in Massachusetts, per ESPN, and a state champion in 2013. He picked the Eagles over Connecticut.
He played 127 snaps on special teams as a true freshman, experience that will help him on the Broncos.
Over his final three years, he started 28 of 35 games and made 120 tackles and broke up 26 passes (three interceptions).
Yiadom’s interception total wasn’t eye-popping, which played into him never being recognized with All-ACC honors.
But Yiadom’s game tape was better than his statistics — there isn’t a metric for not getting challenged by opposing offenses. Yiadom was the 11th cornerback selected in the draft. (Nine cornerbacks went in the first two rounds.)
But Yiadom’s highlight video shows why the Broncos were interested. He has good size (6-foot-1, 190 pounds) and ran 4.52 seconds in the 40-yard dash at the combine. He played press coverage at Boston College, showing good strength to cut off a receiver’s route and jam at the line of scrimmage. And he showed good technique, able to quickly turn his hips to combat a double move.
And with OTAs and minicamp in the books, the preseason games will be especially key for Yiadom if he’s to challenge for sub-package duty behind a more veteran secondary
Of not pressing when he gets his opportunity, Yiadom said: “You have to just do your job and not try to do too much and then make plays on the ball.”