Top Broncos Draft Pick Shares Unique First Impression of CB Riley Moss
Since the Denver Broncos traded up to draft Iowa cornerback Riley Moss in the third round, much has been made of the 'white corner' trope. After a rookie camp practice over the weekend, the Broncos' rookie feigned ignorance over the football stereotype in good humor.
“I didn’t know I was the only white corner, to be honest (grins). No, I’m just playing with you," Moss said with a twinkle in his eye. "It’s pretty crazy. But at the end of the day, if you can do the job, you can do the job, and that’s what I’m here to do.”
Moss is coming off a decorated collegiate career, where he was a two-time first-team All-Big Ten selection at Iowa and the Tatum-Woodson Defensive Back of the Year. If it's about getting the job done, he proved he could do just that in Division I college football.
The Broncos are betting that Moss will continue to meet that standard at the next level. In his quest to break the 'white corner' stereotype and make a name for himself in Denver, it wouldn't hurt to learn how one of the NFL's premier shutdown corners goes about his business.
Suffice to say that while it doesn't sound like Moss has heard from Patrick Surtain II quite yet, the rookie is looking forward to the Broncos' All-Pro corner being in Centura Health Training Center, where he plans to shadow him.
“Once he’s in the building and stuff, I want to be chasing him around, doing whatever I can," Moss said of Surtain. "What he does, I do.”
Part of building Moss' NFL cache will be attaching some shine to his new jersey number. The Broncos assigned him the No. 37, which the rookie doesn't perceive as being a "good" number, but he plans on putting in the work to earn one that is.
“That’s the number they gave me," Moss said. "I mean, I’m cool with it. I’ve got to earn a good number, so that’s how I’m looking at it.”
A big part of earning the privilege will be handling his assignments out on the grass. That started over the weekend as the Broncos ran some 7-on-7 drills during team period, and Moss matched up with several wideouts, including rookie second-rounder Marvin Mims, Jr — Denver's top draft pick of 2023.
Moss made quite the impression on his fellow draftee during rookie camp.
“That’s a matchup I’ve been looking forward to since I got to camp," Mims said after Saturday's practice. "That’s probably one of the first guys I talked to when I got here, Riley. Great dude, obviously. Love him. We’ve known each other for just two days but just a great guy. Easy to have conversations with and out there, he’s going to make sure you feel him on the field. Even in walkthrough, he’s coming up and tapping me, all that stuff, so it’s great to have him out there.”
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Moss is feisty. He's got the speed to keep up (4.45s), the physicality, and tenacity to get into opponents' hip pockets, and their heads, and not let up. Applying those traits against similarly-sized wide receivers is one thing, but contending with pulling offensive linemen and squaring up with running backs who have more than a few pounds on you is a different thing altogether.
Fortunately, Moss prides himself on his physicality and willingness to mix it up in run support.
"You can’t be scared," he said. "You have to go and hit them in the mouth.”
Something tells me that Moss is going to fit right in with his veteran teammates on the Broncos' defense. Game recognizes game, after all, and it likely won't take long for the likes of Surtain and others to see just that in the fiery rookie out of Iowa.
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