Shane Ray is in the perfect position. He may not have felt that way on draft night, when he slipped from a top-10 pick to the 23rd-overall selection, but he’s fully aware now.
Instead of being thrown into a situation where he was forced to be the best player from day one, Ray has been given the opportunity to sit, learn and absorb from two of the greatest to ever do it. In guys like Von Miller and DeMarcus Ware, Ray has about as much talent, knowledge and experience at his disposal as any young pass rusher could ever dream of.
And he’s been using that to his advantage, since even before he was selected by the Denver Broncos in last year’s draft.
“I met Von in Miami before I was drafted — before I became a Bronco,” Ray wrote in his piece for The Players’ Tribune on Tuesday. “Coming out of college he was a guy I looked up to as a pass-rusher, and there I was, standing on the sidewalk listening to him talk about NFL locker room culture. Next thing I know, we’re talking football, and he’s demonstrating proper footwork and giving me tips right there on the sidewalk as people walk by.”
Ray continues, “He didn’t know me at the time. He didn’t know what team was going to draft me. And there he was, trying to educate me and make me better.”
And from that point, the education has yet to stop.
With Miller, Ray has one of the most physically gifted pass rushers in NFL history breaking down each and every fiber of his body, explaining how to channel as much speed and energy into each movement. Even for a first-round talent like Ray, witnessing Von Miller in action is “insane.”
When Ray asked Miller for advice, “He bent down, grabbed my feet and put them in the right stance, then showed me how to lean — how to balance my body to maximize my get-off speed. I started working on that on my own, and next thing you know, I’m getting off the ball faster.”
But as every athlete knows, playing a sport is much more than just a physical endeavor; you have to understand the game.
That’s where DeMarcus Ware comes in.
“DeMarcus is the veteran — the guy whose brain I just want to pick. He’s so much more technical,” Ray writes. “DeMarcus picks up on things nobody else in the room sees because he’s just been doing it for so much longer.”
We can see it, too. Since returning from injury Week 10, Ray looks to be improving with each and every week; you can make the case that his four-tackle, one-sack performance against the Chargers last weekend was his best of the year.
But it’s not just on the field where Shane Ray is learning; off the field, guys like Ware and Miller are teaching him how to be a true professional. They’ve accepted the 22-year-old rookie with open arms, whether that means driving him through a blizzard when his car won’t run or letting him come over to the house and study tape.
Most importantly, it’s a locker-room environment like this, a family mentality, that has fostered the Denver defense we see on the field each week. This is why we have so much fun watching the Denver Broncos play football.
