GM-Less Broncos Awarded Former Rams LB Natrez Patrick
General manager? Who needs a general manager?
Even at a time when the Denver Broncos are transitioning away from the John Elway era, the organization continues to highlight the NFL's transaction wire.
The Broncos claimed former Los Angeles Rams linebacker Natrez Patrick off waivers on Friday. In a rare twist, the move will be deferred until Feb. 8, the first league business day following the Super Bowl, with Denver assuming his current Rams contract — $850,000 base salary for 2021, his walk year.
Patrick entered the professional ranks as a 2019 undrafted free agent, signed by Los Angeles. He cracked the club's final roster and appeared in 12 regular-season games, notching two tackles.
He returned to the Rams in 2020, yo-yo-ing between the 53-man squad and the practice team, registering 3 tackles across 13 appearances before being waived Thursday.
Patrick (6-3, 242) played collegiately at Georgia where he totaled 160 tackles (79 solo), 14 tackles for loss, and two sacks over 40 games from 2015-18. He was arrested on three separate occasions for marijuana-related offenses while with the Bulldogs, which could have torpedoed his draft stock.
One scouting report likened Patrick to ex-Cowboys and Chiefs LB Anthony Hitchens and projected him as a fourth-round selection.
His skill set is very much geared towards that of an off-ball linebacker, as his main strength comes from his ability to mobilize in coverage, and his seemingly swift movement to crash down on runs, and pick up any backs coming to the flats out of the backfield. While others have written off Patrick’s tackling ability as being poor, as far as I saw, he was average. He was at a level that you would expect from a draft prospect, though he is definitely not the best.
Patrick, 23, will participate in offseason workouts with the Broncos and could be carried into training camp. From there, he'll compete for a depth role behind OLBs Von Miller and Bradley Chubb, or, depending on his position flexibility, behind incumbent starting ILBs Alexander Johnson and Josey Jewell.
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