It's Time Broncos Give Rookie CB Kris Abrams-Draine His Shot

The Denver Broncos can't afford to trot Levi Wallace out there again with a very playoff-relevant matchup with the Indianapolis Colts next up.

DENVER, CO - AUGUST 25: Denver Broncos cornerback Kris Abrams-Draine (31) down and ready during an NFL, American Football Herren, USA preseason game between the Denver Broncos and the Arizona Cardinals at Empower Field at Mile High Stadium in Denver, CO on August 25, 2024. / Kevin Langley / IMAGO / Icon Sportswire

The Denver Broncos defense took a significant step back against the Cleveland Browns with starting cornerback Riley Moss out of the lineup, giving up north of 500 yards and 32 points. Moss has had a good season, though with plenty of ups and downs, but he has provided more reliability in the secondary than Levi Wallace did vs. the Browns.

According to NFL Pro Stats, Wllace allowed six catches on 10 targets for 151 yards and a touchdown, but he's lucky it wasn’t even more. The Browns missed on multiple deep shots that saw Wallace beaten by the receiver, with one of them being a for-sure touchdown. 

Eventually, Vance Joseph and the Broncos switched cornerbacks by turning to rookie Kris Abrams-Draine, who had been inactive for most of the season. This surprised many, as Damarri Mathis was the Broncos' presumed fifth corner, but he has either been leapfrogged by Abrams-Draine, or the team felt the rookie offered better matchups against the Browns' receivers. 

With only 11 snaps in the game, Abrams-Draine was targeted twice, allowing a single catch for 14 yards. All 11 of his snaps came in pass coverage mainly because of the Browns' situation with the time on the clock and the score.

While it was only 11 snaps, Abraims-Draine showed he should be the one to step up if Moss continues to miss games, and it doesn’t look like he's expected back for the upcoming Indianapolis Colts game this Sunday or the Los Angeles Chargers game the following Thursday. Both games are vital for the Broncos' playoff hopes.

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One of the significant issues that has always been there with Wallace is the lack of athleticism, which is a loss as Moss is a good athlete, and it helps play into the aggressive scheme that Joseph has used this season. Coming out of Alabama in 2018, Wallace had a 2.68 relative athletic score, with Moss at a 9.68.

Wallace didn’t do all of the testing, but in what he did, the results were poor. Moss tested out exceptionally well, with good size, in almost every test he did. 

The relative athletic score considers players' height and weight, but it isn’t the end-all, be-all. When you look at Abrams-Draine, he scored a 4.69 relative athletic score, with poor weight (1.71) scores, for both jumps and cone and shuttle drills. However, for his 10-yard split, 20-yard split, and 40-yard dash scores, he was above 8.0 in scoring. 

With RAS, there are three colors: red is a bad result, yellow is okay, and green is good. Wallace had green scores in height and a 20-yard split, but the rest were red. Abrams-Draine was yellow for height and green for all three speed tests. The Broncos needed to add that speed to the position with Moss out and Wallace in. 

The athleticism isn’t the only reason why Abrams-Draine should be getting the nod over Wallace — and Mathis, for that matter — if Moss will miss these next two games. Abrams-Draine is a rookie, and the Broncos need to see him on the field to understand better what they have in him. With the season nearing its end, the Broncos need to get some insight into the player they drafted in Round 5. 

The Takeaway

With how important these games are to land the Broncos back in the playoffs for the first time in almost a decade, if Abrams-Draine struggles, the coaches can’t stick with him for too long. Abrams-Draine needs to have a short leash, and the Broncos have to be willing to make the change quicker than they did with Wallace if the rookie falters.

Hopefully, Denver won’t need to make that change, and Abrams-Draine plays well enough to inspire some confidence in his play. 

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