A.J. Bouye Shares True Thoughts on Task of Replacing Chris Harris, Jr. as Broncos' CB1

After nine great years together, Chris Harris, Jr. and the Denver Broncos parted ways this past March. Some fans might feel that Harris, a four-time Pro Bowler in Orange and Blue, defected to the Division-rival Los Angeles Chargers but in truth, he just followed the money.

Fit surely had a little something to do with Harris' decision to sign with the Chargers but it's a common thing to see in professional sports. After competing against Harris for all those years in the AFC West, the Chargers certainly were well-acquainted with his skill-set when he hit the open market.

GM John Elway tried to stave off Harris hitting the open market last fall when he offered the veteran cornerback a multi-year extension that would have paid him roughly $3 million more per season than he got from the Chargers. Harris passed on Elway's overture, instead choosing to bet on himself and suffice to say, it's hard to find the silver lining that his gamble paid off.

Like two ships passing in the night, as Harris left the Mile High City, A.J. Bouye arrived (figuratively speaking). The Broncos had agreed to terms on a trade with the Jacksonville Jaguars to acquire Bouye a couple of weeks before NFL free agency opened but sadly, Harris and Bouye never got the chance to suit up together.

I say 'sadly' because the two cornerbacks are close friends. And they also happen to be two of the best undrafted success stories of the modern era.

When Bouye entered the NFL as a college free agent out of UCF in 2013, he signed with the same agent who represented Harris. Naturally, if Bouye was going to make the Houston Texans' 53-man roster as an undrafted rookie, his agent knew it wouldn't hurt his odds to forge a relationship with Harris — arguably the greatest undrafted cornerback of all-time.

That's what happened. Harris took Bouye under his wing, and the latter would go on to make Houston's team and eventually become a really good cornerback.

"Me and Chris have a great relationship," Bouye said earlier this week via virtual press conference. "That’s a guy that took me in when I first came into the league. That’s when we had the same agent. I’m close with his family. They’re great people. Honestly, when I was studying Chris a lot, especially early in the league, I always watched him on the inside, but I don’t really play on the inside. This was the first time I really got to see him play on the outside, and I liked everything that I saw."

What happens next for the Broncos? Don't miss out on any news and analysis! Take a second and sign up for our free newsletter and get breaking Broncos news delivered to your inbox daily!

By 'this', Bouye is talking about Harris' one year in the Vic Fangio defense where he was essentially asked to abandon his traditional slot corner role and be a boundary corner. Suffice to say, the returns were hit and miss.

With Harris out of the picture now in Denver, Bouye knows it's up to him to take on the mantle of leadership in the cornerback room but he's under no illusions about 'replacing' an all-time-caliber guy like his old mentor and he's not putting any inordinate pressure on his shoulders.

“No, I don’t look at it as pressure," Bouye said. "I don’t really listen to the outside noise and comparisons because at the end of the day, it’s a new year. It’s a new football year. I have to focus on what I have to do to be the best. I can’t focus on trying to live up to someone else who’s not even here anymore.”

It would have been cool to see Harris and Bouye throw down on the same squad together. But, at least for now, that ship has sailed.

Bouye is focused on leading the Broncos' (now very) young cornerback room and getting everyone on the same page while being located in different cities across vast distances. In the wake of his former teammate — Jalen Ramsey — getting traded in Jacksonville, Bouye filled the leadership vacuum himself. The lessons he learned last year he plans on paying forward in Denver.

"I started to become more of like a coach," Bouye said. "My knowledge for the game is great. I study the game a lot, concepts, everything like that. I learned a lot from that."

In Denver, Bouye will maintain his NFL tradition of wearing the No. 21 jersey — made famous by Aqib Talb from 2014-17. I'm not superstitious but I am a little 'stitious' and as such, here's to hoping some of that No-Fly Zone ju-ju the No. 21 has in Denver might help put some lift in Bouye's wings and help him elevate as a Bronco.

Follow Chad on Twitter @ChadNJensen and @MileHighHuddle.

Add us as a preferred source on Google