Ex-Eagles LB Nigel Bradham Visiting Broncos
The Denver Broncos have had a lot of turnover at the linebacker position. Resisting the temptation to take a linebacker early in the 2020 NFL draft, the Broncos ended up landing Justin Strnad in the fifth round with the vision of him helping the coverage units as a rookie and becoming a starter in the future.
Alas, Strnad suffered a season-ending injury early in training camp, which began the scrambling process for the Broncos. The first solution? Sign Mark Barron, a former first-round safety-turned-linebacker, to come in and play the nickel next to Alexander Johnson.
Only a couple of days into Barron's arrival, he suffered a serious hamstring issue that saw him miss the remainder of camp. When the season started, the Broncos placed him on injured reserve. When (if) he heals up, Barron is already eligible to return to the 53-man roster.
But it doesn't appear that such a development is imminent as the Broncos are bringing in another outside 'backer. Nigel Bradham has been a free agent for a while now, and was available when Barron was signed but the team had other ideas.
Many fans pounded the table for the Broncos to bring in Bradham and that's exactly what the team is doing according to the NFL transaction wire.
Bradham is a 31-year-old linebacker entering his ninth year in the league. Originally a fourth-round pick of Buffalo's back in 2012, Bradham played out his rookie deal with the Bills and then signed a two-year deal with the Philadelphia Eagles where he would go on to play for four years, garnering an extension in between.
Bradham, 6-foot-2, 241 pounds, was on the Eagles' 2017 Super Bowl-champion squad. Philadelphia cut him loose earlier this year and he signed on late in the summer the New Orleans Saints but only made it about two weeks before he was cut.
All-in, Bradham has started 96 NFL games, amassing 619 tackles (403 solo), 34 tackles for a loss, 8.5 sacks, three interceptions, and five forced fumbles. He's about as experienced as it gets.
Last year, Bradham earned a 74.9 coverage grade via Pro Football Focus, which is very good, though he didn't earn high marks as a run defender. Bradham's 12.1 snaps per reception was 19th-best among NFL linebackers last season.
PFF's grading system has lost much of its luster over the last few years but one need only turn on the Eagles' tape from 2019 to see that Bradham has some coverage chops.
That's what the Broncos need right now. In truth, Bradham was always a better option than Barron and now Denver might get to have its cake and eat it too.
Follow Chad on Twitter @ChadNJensen and @MileHighHuddle.
