By Jordan Long
The Denver Broncos have been busy in free agency. They picked up Von Miller’s option and agreed to a 3-year contract with defensive lineman Shelby Harris. Denver decided to sign free agent cornerback Ronald Darby to a 3-year agreement, worth $30 million, paying him $10 million a season.
The Broncos knew going into free agency the secondary needed to be improved. Last year, the Broncos gave up 237.9 passing yards per game ranking 16th in the NFL. There were times they left a wide receiver wide open who would gain a chunk of yards for first downs or longer. Quarterbacks found their receivers and Denver couldn’t create turnovers. The Broncos totaled 10 interceptions.
Denver Broncos’ General Manager George Paton was looking to upgrade the secondary especially the cornerback position. The Broncos already let go of veteran A.J. Bouye who started at cornerback last season. The Broncos wanted more than Bryce Callahan who is going to be one of the starting cornerbacks. They could have gone after Patrick Peterson, Malcolm Butler, or Josh Norman. All of them can play in coverage and pick the ball off. Instead of those high-profile names, Denver agreed to a deal with Darby.
Darby is entering his 7th season in the NFL. Denver is his 4th franchise, previously suiting up for the Buffalo Bills, Philadelphia Eagles, and the Washington Football team. Last year for the Washington Football team he appeared in all 16 games for the first time in his career. In those games, Darby proved he could tackle an opponent in the open field with 55 of them. When it came to passes defended, quarterbacks had a tough time fitting the ball to a receiver who was covered by Darby with 16 passes defended. Those are all great stats which may help the Broncos.
Unfortunately, Darby didn’t have an interception last year for the second time in his career. The Broncos are way overpaying for a cornerback when all he does is tip passes away. Those end up in incompletions and will just end a play. It could create a turnover if there is a defender near by but otherwise those tipped passes are not game changers. Darby totaled 8 interceptions in his career but he is not known for being a ball hawk who takes the ball away. The Broncos may think they have upgraded at cornerback but they haven’t.
The Broncos might still look to improve the secondary. There are still names left in free agency. If not, they have the #9 pick in the first round of the NFL draft. There they could select a cornerback but could look at other rounds to add depth. The Broncos hope to be a better team overall on defense in 2021.
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