The Denver Broncos 53-man roster is set, and two players solidified their spots in Sunday’s preseason finale against the Arizona Cardinals. How did Jordan Jackson and Levelle Bailey make their case undeniable and what other plays stood out?
Denver Broncos Film Room: Defense vs. Arizona Cardinals
The Denver Broncos throttled the Arizona Cardinals in their Week 3 preseason finale 38-12. Today’s film room series takes a look at several defensive players who made standout plays and contributed to Denver’s win on Sunday.
Jordan Jackson’s first sack of the game
Defensive lineman Jordan Jackson spent all of 2023 on the team’s practice squad and has drastically improved year over year.
“[DL] Jordan [Jackson] has really improved since we got him, and I would say he’s gotten stronger,” Broncos GM George Paton said. “He’s always had the athletic ability. He was a [project] of mine when he was at Air Force. We were going to draft him, but the Saints took him. So we monitored him, and then obviously we were able to get him on our roster. Again he’s been athletic. He could always rush, and now he’s gotten stronger, playing with better leverage and learning the defense more.”
He aligns in a three-technique as Denver’s defense executes a stunt with outside linebacker Nik Bonitto coming underneath. Jackson slides to contain and does a great job of staying patient as Clayton Tune dips underneath and wraps him up for a sack.
Jordan Jackson gets his second sack of the game
Jackson aligns in a three tech once again, and shoots inside upon the snap. His quick burst inside leads to an offensive lineman holding him, but he fights through it and gets the sack.
Justin Strnad forces a fumble, Keidron Smith recovers
Denver’s defense forces a takeaway right before halftime inside of the red zone. Inside linebacker Justin Strnad does a good job of recognizing the tight end’s vertical release, gets in alignment, and gets hands-on to re-route upfield to pass off, reshifts his eyes to check for anything coming underneath, which happens to be Cardinals running back Tony Jones Jr. Strnad positions his shoulder perfectly into Jones, dislodging the ball free and allowing Keidron Smith to secure his third takeaway in three preseason games.
Kris Abrams-Draine forces incomplete pass with perfect technique
Denver Broncos rookie cornerback Kris Abrams-Draine does a great job here in man coverage getting in phase against the receiver’s vertical release. The receiver ends up bending it inside and does a good job of keeping his hand in place, preventing him from losing positioning. KAD secures the hip of the receiver and brings his ball-side hand forward and through the hands of the receiver to force an incompletion.
Levelle Bailey secures roster spot with pick six
Another red zone takeaway by Denver’s defense. The Broncos align against trips left (from a defensive perspective), and Levelle Bailey is keying the release of the Cardinal’s tight end. Arizona’s TE releases vertically, and Bailey does a great job of getting hands-on to reroute. Because the Cardinals tight end is running inside, Bailey passes him off where he has inside help from Andre Smith Jr. and looks backside to see if any other receiver is coming across the field — which happens to be the case with the number two receiver. Bailey’s athleticism comes into play, and he steps underneath the route and the pass, picks it off and runs it back for a score.
