Fangio Previews Will Parks' New Role in Broncos' Defense Amid Cornerback Decimation
When the NFL handed down its discipline on Denver Broncos' cornerback A.J. Bouye for his PED violations, the team's decision to bring back former safety Will Parks seems a lot more important than it did when the news first broke more than a week ago.
The Broncos' remaining four games of the season are presenting a real challenge for head coach Vic Fangio at the cornerback position. Bouye’s immediate suspension has only added to the damaging injury losses of veteran Bryce Callahan, who'd played at a Pro Bowl level all year, and rookie nickel Essang Bassey.
Sunday’s matchup with the Carolina Panthers will see Parks ushered back into the line-up and he's likely to see significant playing time in his new No. 27 jersey. Parks' versatility made him a hot commodity on the waiver wire after the Philadelphia Eagles cut him as six other teams purportedly made a claim to land the 26-year-old.
Undoubtedly, Fangio will be delighted that Parks can jump right back into the defensive playbook so effortlessly in the wake of the Broncos' crisis at cornerback. It's been suggested that Parks could be plugged in at nickel cornerback, as he did last year, but Fangio appears keen to use the veteran's Swiss Army talents in multiple positions.
“He’ll probably stay inside and be one of the guys that will play either nickel, dime or safety,” Fangio clarified on Wednesday. “We don’t plan on playing him at corner unless we have an emergency.”
One might wonder what exactly constitutes an emergency in the mind of Fangio, especially when you consider that rookie Michael Ojemudia (who had a stretch in Fangio’s doghouse already) will start alongside veteran retread De’Vante Bausby on Sunday. Such is the fragility at the position.
All things considered, it was a stroke of luck that Denver was able to get Parks back in the fold. The fifth-year defensive back was reintroduced to Mile High media on Wednesday and he explained how anxious he is to get back to business.
“I’m looking at this Carolina game and just doing what I can do and more than what I can do,” Parks said on Wednesday. “Obviously, just making plays for the Denver Broncos to come out victorious on Sunday... My mind is pretty simple. It’s working really hard to do what I have to do to put myself in the best position possible.”
When Parks returned to his hometown of Philadelphia on a one-year deal this past spring, he did so to challenge for a starting position. Few could have foreseen him returning so quickly to the Mile High City. But the former University of Arizona standout knows his value and is counting his blessings.
“Obviously, with the hometown team doing what they did with me—obviously that wasn’t the biggest factor,“ Parks said. “But six teams putting the claim in, obviously that’s a good feeling and stuff like that. I don’t really look at it that way. I figured somebody would come and grab me. Obviously, the second hometown team came to grab me, so kind of lifted me up even more than most.”
The good vibes are most welcome but it's Parks' comfort level and familiarity with Fangio’s defensive scheme that made him a quick-fix option as fate would have it.
“Yeah, to be honest, I feel like I haven’t missed a beat,” Parks said. “Obviously, there’s always going to be two or three wrinkles that a defense or a scheme has within themselves. But obviously the terminology factor kind of clicked in already—the plays and how we still use the plays that are kind of clicking already. So, when that happens, that means a lot of my recall information hasn’t really gone that far at all.”
Follow Keith on Twitter @KeithC_NFL and @MileHighHuddle.
