Answering What Seventh-Round Rush LB Derrek Tuszka Brings to Broncos' Defense
Von Miller is a great edge rusher while Bradley Chubb flashed a lot of potential his rookie season with the Denver Broncos.
Malik Reed started off hot as an undrafted rookie last year and Jeremiah Attaochu stepped up late in the season. That's all great, but each rush linebacker presents unique concerns with the position going forward.
Miller is up there in age, Chubb is coming back from an injury, Reed ran headlong into the rookie wall, and Attaochu was a former draft bust that has become solid depth. There are many concerns with the position going forward and the Broncos recognized this, but there was enough comfort for them to not reach for an edge rusher.
Instead, Denver landed North Dakota State's Derrek Tuszka with the second-to-last pick in the draft.
Denver needed more competition for their depth at edge and Tuszka can add that. He has good strength to his game and tested out well athletically at the Combine.
While he doesn’t have much bend to get around tackles, he is the type of rusher to just go through blockers to make the play. There is also a lack of length, but he doesn’t let that hold him back and he possesses additional traits to help cover for that.
Will Tuszka be a star? Who knows, but he is going to come in and push the edge rushers Denver already has.
Tuszka has the attitude and chip on his shoulder to push for a decent role for the Broncos this year. His technique is solid which can help his transition and it will be interesting to see what he picks up from Chubb and Miller.
This is a selection where I feel confident saying Tuszka will outperform the seventh-round expectations because he just has that kind of mentality. For a deep-dive on Tuszka and what he brings, check out the video above.
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