Broncos Reach Agreement with Third-Round CB Michael Ojemudia on Four-Year Deal, per Report
With training camp set to kick off in little more than a week's time, traditionally, the Denver Broncos would have most of — if not all of — their rookie draft class signed and under contract. But 2020 has been about as atypical of a year as there's ever been in the United States and the NFL.
However, the first domino fell on Tuesday, according to KUSA's Mike Klis, as the Broncos reached agreement on a four-year deal with rookie third-round cornerback Michael Ojemudia.
"Broncos and 3rd-round draft pick Michael Ojemudia have agreed to terms per source," Klis tweeted.
Trying to get to the bottom of why the Broncos have waited so long to sign even one draft pick has been a bit mystifying. Whatever logic the team is using can't be chalked up purely to the COVID-19 pandemic and its associated impact on NFL finances because under the new CBA which was codified and agreed to just a few months ago, the contracts of rookie draft picks are slotted.
Ojemudia was the No. 77 overall pick and thus, he'll receive a $1,015,560 signing bonus to go along with his contract that's worth a total of $4,310,560. The Broncos always were going to have to pay that money, and agree to that contract, unless for some reason they had buyer's remorse on Ojemudia, which they didn't.
The only logical explanation for the Broncos' apparent dragging of heels with regard to inking their draft class is geographic proximity. Until this week, players have been precluded from attending team facilities, unless that player is a holdover from the year prior who is recovering from an injury and needs to use the facility and its trainers for rehab. That would include players like Bradley Chubb or Bryce Callahan.
With the rookies being the first players to get the green light to report for training camp, the Broncos likely decided to just wait until they could be at the facility in person to begin consummating the deals. The benefit? Photo opportunities. The downside? No signing bonus for these rookies who've been in limbo since they were drafted back in April.
The only other explanation for such a delay would be if the Broncos had a real doubt that the 2020 NFL season was going to happen and didn't want to be on the hook financially for their rookies' signing bonuses and salaries if there wasn't going to be a season. But I'd be surprised if GM John Elway and company ever really doubted there'd be a season.
The good news is, Ojemudia is locked down contractually and can now focus fully on football instead of business. Ojemudia is coming off an impressive collegiate career at Iowa where he appeared in 51 games with 22 starts and tallied 125 tackles (87 solo), six interceptions, 17 passes defended and one fumble recovery.
Considered to be a very heady and smart defensive back, Ojemudia is a quintessential Vic Fangio cornerback. At 6-foot-1, 200 pounds, he brings some length to the Broncos cornerback depth and is an accomplished tackler.
That length should come in handy as a boundary corner this year in Fangio's scheme. Ojemudia will turn 23 years old in September.
Follow Chad on Twitter @ChadNJensen and @MileHighHuddle.
