Broncos preseason: 3 biggest questions facing the defense

After looking over some of the Denver Broncos' offensive concerns as preseason football begins, it’s time to turn the mirror over and look at an area that has far fewer questions surrounding it in 2019 on the defensive side of the ball.

Unlike the offense, which as been consistently disappointing, the defense has been rather consistent for the Broncos since the all-time unit that helped carry the team to a Super Bowl 50 victory.

However, the Broncos' defense has somewhat fallen off over the past few seasons, as they have been unable to carry the offense’s inadequacies like the 2015 squad was able to. From drop-offs in interior pass rush, linebacker ability, and secondary depth and talent, the recent defenses have been good to very good, but not great.

Given it is impossible in a salary-capped league to keep defensive personnel the same, let alone with Father Time and the wear and tear of the league grinding down these players' bodies and abilities, this drop-off was to be expected.

Even if the Broncos' defense has been regressing towards the mean since the Super Bowl, it is very possible the unit could be trending towards being elite once again. With the additions of defensive genius in Vic Fangio and defensive back developer-extraordinaire Ed Donatell, paired with arguably the best edge rusher duo in the league and a revamped secondary, the Broncos' defense could be trending back towards their 2015 level this season.

In order to do so, Denver will need to answer some nagging questions.

1. Inside linebacker athletic upside

The Broncos' linebackers woes stretch well beyond last season, and have been a perceived Achilles by the fanbase for some time. Even during the peak defensive seasons from 2014 to 2016, if there were any issues for the Broncos’ defenses it was coverage over the middle of the field against running backs and tight ends.

This was partially to do with scheme as the Broncos' LBs (and safeties for that matter) were left exposed in the man heavy scheme. Also, LB was just not a position that Wade Phillips and the Broncos believed in investing in heavily, forsaking the position early in the draft and the payroll for other positions such as the defensive line and cornerbacks.

Many had hoped that with the 2018 offseason the Broncos could take a stab at solving the LB woes. With a renowned linebacker coach in Fangio and resources in free agency and the draft, pursuing C.J. Mosley, Kwon Alexander, Devin White, or Devin Bush was high on the priority list for many.

However, those hopes fell on deaf ears in Dove Valley as the Broncos essentially completely ignored the position, instead bringing in some undrafted free agents for competition and camp depth.

The injection of talent in the defensive backfield, as well as a scheme, will help cover athletic deficiencies of its LBs with a more mentally demanding, matchup zone-heavier defense. Instead of having guys like Todd Davis lined up in man coverage after a receiver goes in motion, the zone heavier defense will help protect those players with those athletic deficiencies… in theory.

However, even still, the quality of depth and athleticism of the LBs should give anyone pause. While Davis is really solid in the box and underrated in coverage, he isn’t an outstanding coverage player for the position and can be picked on.

The same goes for Josey Jewell, who did well in Iowa’s almost exclusive zone coverage but struggled in his reads last season and showed to be a limited player both in size and speed. The depth, outside of Joe Jones who is now also likely to miss time following a tricep injury, is also a question as it is littered with limited athletes who lack the speed to be true impact sideline-to-sideline defenders or menaces in space against the pass.

The LB position is valuable, but it doesn’t match in value to that of pass rushers or cover corners. However, it is once again the biggest question on the defense heading into the preseason.

With Todd Davis set to miss the entirety of the preseason, the depth will have a chance to show out and carve out bigger roles such as the flashes from Alexander Johnson and Josh Watson against the Falcons, but a look at the depth chart should have expectations for the positional grouping as average.

2. The depth and quality of the cornerbacks

The Broncos were not bashful in opening up the wallet and spending cash this offseason for the defensive secondary. After the greatness that was the “No Fly Zone’, the Broncos' secondary faded quickly after players such as Aqib Talib were traded, T.J. Ward and Darian Stewart lost their battles to father time, and the athletic package never truly ‘clicking’ for Bradley Roby beyond being a solid nickel man corner.

To reinforce the unit, Elway went out and brought in the likes of Kareem Jackson to play in the defensive backfield, although early reports of him at cornerback seem misinformed as Jackson has almost exclusively played safety and will only be corner ‘in an emergency’ according to Fangio.

Jackson wasn’t the only addition to the backfield, as GM John Elway also brought in former undrafted Bears’ cornerback Bryce Callahan to Denver to be reunited with Fangio and Donatell. There are some concerns regarding Callahan’s foot injury and if it might be a lingering issue, as well as Callahan’s ability beyond playing nickel given his smaller size, but early camp returns suggest he is more than up to play more boundary corner this season against the big boys that line up at outside receiver in the NFL.

The safety position looks solid both at the top and in depth with Kareem Jackson, Justin Simmons, Will Parks, Su’a Cravens, Trey Marshall, Dymonte Thomas, and more, but the cornerback position is far more questionable as the season approaches.

While Callahan and Chris Harris, Jr. should provide a solid duo for the Broncos in base package, it is curious how the duo will hold up over the season against bigger physical receivers such as the Chargers’ 6-foot-4, 220-pound Mike Williams.

Also, given how the league is evolving to play more and more sub-package defense, taking defensive linemen and LBs off the field for DBs to counter the ever-increasing volume of NFL pass games, the cornerback depth is a massive unknown.

The No. 3 cornerback spot will come down to former third-round pick Isaac Yiadom and AFL standout De’Vante Bausby. Yiadom struggled as a rookie, showing some stiffness and grabbiness that led to him falling til late day two, but seemed to begin turning things around to close out last season, despite playing through a fairly serious shoulder injury.

Yiadom will need to show he can improve his ball skills to earn more playing time, but early camp returns have been positive. Bausby may have Yiadom in athleticism, but is less physical and more erratic in play.

Both have size and length that Harris and Callahan lack, and both will likely earn a fairly large portion of snaps this upcoming season given how much nickel and dime packages are required in today’s league. If either guy fails to step up to the plate for CB3, expect that to be a position other teams continually exploit through the air in 2019.

Luckily for the Broncos, both looked solid against the Falcons in preseason Game 1, but there is a ways to go yet as football intensity ramps up.

3. Three-down defensive linemen

Watching players such as Chris Jones, Aaron Donald, Akiem Hicks, and Fletcher Cox, as well as the duo of Malik Jackson and Derek Wolfe hurry the quarterback in the Broncos’ Super Bowl run, it becomes apparent that the difference between a just solid defensive line to a really good one could be a make-or-break situation for the Broncos’ playoff hopes this upcoming season.

On paper, the starting unit of Adam Gotsis, Shelby Harris, and Derek Wolfe, along with their backups in DeMarcus Walker, Dre’Mont Jones, and Zack Kerr should be fine for 2019, but can any of these players step up and be more than good?

Wolfe is a very good run-stuffing defensive lineman who does his job in opening up things for others with his physicality. However, since the Super Bowl run, his pass-rushing proficiency has dropped sharply.

Gotsis, much like a current Wolfe, can wreck offensive linemen at the point of attack, but the flashes against the pass have been few and far between. Both will be good against the run, but how much can they bring to the pass rush?

Their backups in Dre’Mont Jones and DeMarcus Walker are perhaps the starters’ polar opposites. With solid burst, hand usage, and some moves to get after the passer, Jones and Walker should have opportunities to rush the passer in 2019, but given their play strength, frame, size, and college tape, both could be liabilities against the run this upcoming season.

The starters and the backups do compliment each other and in obvious pass or obvious run downs should be fine in the rotation, but the limitations will be taken advantage of when opposing offenses are on schedule and can threaten with run or pass on any down.

Perhaps the most valuable player on the Broncos’ defensive line when it comes to both pass and run defense is that of Shelby Harris, but he too will be one to monitor this upcoming season.

Filling in as the starter in place of longtime nose tackle Domata Peko, Harris is the man in the middle this year. While not the plug that a nose tackle is in a typical 3-4, Harris will offer pass rush upside that very few nose tackles can.

However, there will likely be a net loss against the run and eating up blocks for LBs behind the D-line. Furthermore, the new responsibilities for Harris will likely lead to a heavier snap count this upcoming season.

Harris was very efficient in his pass rush reps over the past two seasons, but can he maintain his level of effectiveness taking on more blockers with a higher snap count? That remains to be seen.

Bottom line

These ‘concerns’ entering the 2019 season for the defense are not nearly as prominent as that of the offensive side of the ball. As long as the likes of Bradley Chubb and Von Miller are rushing the passer and the back seven can stay healthy, the Broncos defense should be a top-10 unit under Fangio and Donatell.

However, as has been the case over the last half decade, the defense is going to have to shoulder some of the load for the offense if the Broncos are to contend in a stacked division against what is projected as one of the toughest schedules in the entire NFL.

If the linebackers can show out and even be average in the new defensive scheme, the depth at cornerback can rise and answer the demands of a more DB-heavy league, and the defensive line can show out, this defense could be pretty special and carry the Broncos to the playoffs.

If not, the Broncos could be entering a transition year with a record around .500. The offense is still likely at least a season away, so the defense will have to step up and dominate once again in 2019.

Follow Nick on Twitter @NickKendellMHH.