Broncos Still Lack Clarity at No. 3 Cornerback Spot
The Denver Broncos have cut their roster down to 53 players as the start of the 2020 NFL season having officially kicked off. The Broncos’ roster has undoubtedly improved over the past few seasons as the team looks to climb out of three consecutive losing seasons for the first time in nearly 50 years.
Denver is not likely winning the Super Bowl in 2020, but the direction of the exceedingly young team is exciting and should gather more interest than the squad has deserved since the Peyton Manning years.
Most eyes will be on the offense this season. With the NFL becoming a passing-oriented league, other areas of rosters seem to gather less attention by the year. That may not be the case in Denver, though, given the team’s recent history with elite secondary play.
Just five seasons ago, the Broncos took the NFL landscape by storm by fielding one of the best defenses ever and the notorious 'No Fly Zone'. All those faces have come and gone since Denver won the Super Bowl, but the shadow and reputation of the No Fly Zone lives on in Denver.
Evaluating the Broncos’ current roster, it’s not at all a stretch to say the team's current safety duo exceeds that of the 2015 defense. Darian Steward and T.J. Ward were solid, but Kareem Jackson and Justin Simmons are legitimate difference-makers.
Where the comparison comes to a screeching halt is in comparing the cornerbacks. The 2015 Broncos had Aqib Talib, Chris Harris, Jr., and Bradley Roby — one of the best trio of man-coverage cornerbacks in recent NFL memory. This allowed the Broncos to keep coverages and play design simple and cover up deficiencies in other areas of the roster, if one could call any parts of the 2015 defense deficient.
Bausby's Shocking Turn
Where does that leave the current Broncos' cornerback room? It is, at best, an unknown and at worst, it's a major concern. The position doesn’t get the same level of scrutiny as offensive tackle for Denver due to Garett Bolles’ first-round status and John Elway’s comedy of errors at the right tackle position. Still, in a simple 2020 snapshot, cornerback should be right there with offensive tackle as both an immediate and long-term concern.
Outside of releasing Todd Davis, no move in the Broncos' final roster cuts came as such a shock as Denver waiving cornerback De'Vante Bausby. After a great (shortened) Alliance of American Football career, leading the short-lived league in interceptions, combined with the hype surrounding Bausby’s 1.5-game 2019 season, many projected him to be a potential starter on the Denver defense in nickel packages.
That won’t be happening any time soon as Bausby now finds himself on the Broncos' practice squad. Not as shocking but also noteworthy was Denver moving on from former third-round corner Isaac Yiadom. After a scheme switch from a more press/man-heavy scheme to more off- and zone-coverage looks under Vic Fangio, Yiadom just wasn’t a great scheme fit and was traded for a seventh-round pick to the New York Giants.
Where That Leaves Broncos' CBs
With veterans A.J. Bouye and Bryce Callahan likely to be the primary two starters at cornerback, the Broncos’ third corner, as well as the alignment of corners in nickel and dime sub-packages, becomes the main area of intrigue.
Without preseason games, it's nearly impossible to judge the best trio of corners for Denver to start the season. The coaches and decision-makers obviously have a better understanding, having intimate knowledge of how different players have performed in practice, but until real games are being played, the way Denver will settle on using its corners remains to be seen.
There are two main factors (outside the health of the corners which must be considered given Callahan and Bouye’s injury history) in determining how the cornerback position falls. Both start and end with Callahan.
Bouye is likely to be the single-side boundary corner in Fangio’s 3x1 sets, but where does Callahan fall in the equation? In the slot, like he did during his time in Chicago? Or will Callahan be moved to the boundary, an area in which there has been some buzz of him producing some impressive reps outside against Denver’s talented receivers like Courtland Sutton?
No. 3 Corner Candidates
If Callahan plays the boundary opposite Bouye, the door opens up for Essang Bassey. The undrafted free agent from Wake Forest impressed enough in camp to earn a roster spot in an offseason with no preseason games — an impressive feat given the state of this football calendar. Perhaps Bassey can follow the footsteps of ex-Broncos undrafted success story Chris Harris, Jr. and dominate the slot his rookie season.
If it is determined that Callahan is not fit for the boundary and is instead relegated to the nickel, then the question becomes: who starts between Broncos’ rookie third-round pick Michael Ojemudia and Davontae Harris?
On Tuesday, Coach Fangio said, "We haven’t decided that yet.”
Harris played last year but was rather up-and-down overall. However, there has been positive talk surrounding his play and aptitude for improving his craft leading up to the season-opener.
Ojemudia was obviously highly-regarded by the Broncos' staff, investing a third-round draft pick into him this past spring. He is long, physical, and does not get beaten deep. However, starting on the boundary out of the gate with so little ‘live’ reps should raise a few eyebrows in concern.
Bottom Line
How the Broncos shuffle their cornerbacks in 2020 remains to be seen and it is very likely that we will see a different assortment of packages and alignments with the corners before settling into the best rotation. It's possible as well that Denver brings in another cornerback to help solidify the position.
Long-term, the Broncos are probably looking at using an early pick or large contract to add a building-block cornerback to the roster, but for 2020, backed by arguably the best safety duo in football, the current set of cornerbacks will likely have to do.
With Fangio and Ed Donatell, the group should be adequate due to the scheme helping them, but the corners have a long way to go if they are to live up to the team’s illustrious No Fly Zone legacy. Given the insanely talented receiving talent in the AFC West, let’s hope the group is up to the task.
Follow Nick on Twitter @NickKendellMHH and @MileHighHuddle.
