Broncos draft needs: defensive backs
Even if the Broncos trade for a veteran cornerback and/ or sign one during the first waves of free agency, it would still make sense to use their ninth overall draft pick on a cover man.
And it would really be sensible if they used their second- or third-round pick on a safety.
Kareem Jackson is currently on the books for a $12,882,353 cap charge, the final season of his three-year contract. Justin Simmons is scheduled to be a free agent next month save for the franchise tag being applied or a long-term deal getting hammered out.
After Jackson and Simmons, though, depth for 2021 is needed and a Jackson replacement (if he is brought back this year) for ’22 required.
In the Broncos’ six-defensive back personnel (dime) last year, coach Vic Fangio had to use
Duke Dawson and Alijah Holder as the dime defenders, partly because No. 3 safety Trey Marshall fought multiple injuries.
Draft a safety in the second or third round and he can be groomed to play a complementary role this year and start next year.
Four candidates:
Hamsah Nasirildeen, Florida State. A box defender who had 221 tackles in his first three seasons, but tore his ACL late in 2019. He returned for the final two games of ’20 (13 tackles, one interception).
Paris Ford, Pittsburgh. A two-year starter for the Panthers who had 147 tackles and six interceptions in 29 games (18 starts).
Jevon Holland, Oregon. He played 27 games in 2018-19 and had 110 tackles and nine interceptions, but opted out of the 2020 season.
Trevon Moehrig, TCU. A high school cornerback who moved to safety, he had 125 tackles and seven interceptions in 34 games. He was second-team All-America in ’20 (47 tackles).
New coaches. The Broncos added two members to their coaching staff this past week. Chris Cook is the offensive quality control coach, replacing Rob Calabrese (now the New York Jets’ quarterbacks coach).
Cook most recently coached tight ends and offensive tackles at Akron and his link to the Broncos is tight end coach Wade Harman (training camp with Atlanta in 2018) and offensive quality control coach Justin Rascati (Chattanooga in 2017-18).
Christian Parker is the new defensive backs coach, replacing Renaldo Hill (now the Chargers’ defensive coordinator). Parker, 29, was Green Bay’s defensive quality control coach the last two years and previously worked at Virginia State, Norfolk State, William & Mary, Notre Dame and Texas A&M.
Around the league
Watt on the move. Defensive end J.J. Watt asked for and received his release from the Houston Texans on Friday. A three-time NFL Defensive Player of the Year, Watt’s 101 sacks since he entered the league in 2011 are second-most behind the Broncos’ Von Miller (106). Watt played 16 games and 91% of the snaps in 2020, but had only five sacks. Tennessee and its wheezing pass rush and Pittsburgh (to play with younger brother T.J.) make a ton of sense for Watt, who is free to sign immediately. Remembering Marty. Former NFL coach Marty Schottenheimer died Tuesday at age 77. No coach in league history faced the Broncos more than Schottenheimer (35 games — 13-22 record, including 0-3 in the playoffs).
Among the many missteps through the years by Washington owner Dan Snyder, near the top is firing Schottenheimer after one year as coach (2011 — started 0-4, finished 8-8).
Looking ahead to 2022. The top first-year eligible Hall of Fame candidates in ’22 are Steve
Smith, Anquan Boldin, Andre Johnson, DeMarcus Ware and Robert Mathis.
Ware finished his career with the Broncos and his 138 1/2 sacks are ninth all-time so he merits strong first-year consideration. But the lack of a locked-in candidate could help offensive tackle Tony Boselli, the Boulder native who has been a finalist the last five years.
Simple fix to hiring rules. The usual hubbub returned during Super Bowl Week: Did Kansas City offensive coordinator Eric Bieniemy and Tampa Bay coordinators Byron Leftwich (offense) and Todd Bowles (defense) suffer due to their team’s success?
They couldn’t accept a headcoaching job until their season was over.
There’s an easy fix to this: Allow teams to make their hires official in a window after the conference title game