Today is the day the Denver Broncos take the field for the first day of organized team activities. Here are three storylines to watch for on the defensive side of the ball this week.
Denver Broncos OTAs: Three defensive storylines to watch for
As the Denver Broncos take the field today for the first day of OTAs, we’ll get to see the rookies mixing in with the veterans, and we’ll see the return of a Broncos captain who suffered a season-ending injury last season.
Jahdae Barron will get to mix in with Patrick Surtain II, Broncos secondary
We had the chance to get our first look at first-round rookie cornerback Jahdae Barron a few weeks ago for rookie minicamp, and we liked what we saw. This week, we’ll get the opportunity to see him mix in with Patrick Surtain II, Riley Moss, and Ja’Quan McMillian.
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Obviously, his status as a first-round pick naturally comes with high expectations, but internally, Sean Payton and the Broncos front office love the cornerback room and are excited about his addition, but it won’t come at the expense of writing off anybody in the rotation.
Payton shared this after they drafted Barron.
“These are premium positions, and this type of player is less available than so many other positions,” Payton said. “It’s harder to find these traits and what he does than at other positions not only in the draft, offseason. So he provides great flexibility if you want to play a third-down snap and put [CB Pat] Surtain [II] on a certain receiver, travel [CB Jahdae Barron] to one, travel [CB] Riley [Moss], there’s a lot of flexibility… ‘J. Mac’ (CB Ja’Quan McMillian), the four of them. It’s real difficult if you’re light there. It would be no different than 20 years ago if you were light at just one of the two corner positions. The value of these defensive backs in the last 10 years has really skyrocketed relative to how the game has changed.”
They’ll deploy all of these players in different packages this season, and we’ll get an early preview of that this week.
Alex Singleton’s return after ACL surgery
Despite Dre Greenlaw’s injury that will hold him out of OTAs, we’ll likely see the return of Alex Singleton to the field this week after he’s made progress from the long journey back from ACL surgery.
After tearing it in Week 3 against the Tampa Bay Buccaneers in the first quarter, he played through it and finished the game. His loss was noticeable throughout last year, but he’s been on track to return, and he hinted last week at his charity event that the media would have to wait and see until OTAs to see where he’s at.
With his pending return, it also appears that there will be competition for the other starting spot at inside linebacker next to Greenlaw. Justin Strnad and Drew Sanders are going to be in the mix here.
When Strnad re-signed in NFL Free Agency, the Broncos told him that he’d come in and compete for a starting job. At the NFL Combine, George Paton said that the team views Sanders as a future starter and he’ll get the chance to compete.
Broncos safety room is loaded with depth
Talanoa Hufanga will take the field for the first time as a member of the Denver Broncos defense after signing in NFL Free Agency. He and Brandon Jones will be the two starters defensively at the position, but the depth behind them is loaded.
P.J. Locke is back for another season after emerging as a starter late in 2023 and all of last season. The addition of Hufanga uproots Locke’s status as a starter on paper, but it’s possible the Broncos have a plan to use all three of them. Locke and Hufanga can both play effectively in the box as a big nickel or as a dime linebacker, while they maximize their coverage on the backend with Jones and the corner group Denver has.
Behind Locke, JL Skinner and Delarrin Turner-Yell return. Skinner has high expectations surrounding him this season after he emerged as a core four special-teams ace and could be in line to compete for a role as a big nickel defensively.
Other safeties on the roster are Sam Franklin Jr., Tanner McCalister, Keidron Smith, and Devon Key.
Franklin Jr. is a veteran special-teams ace, while McCalister and Smith return as promising young developmental prospects. Key returns after emerging as a core four specialist last season and proving to be a valuable depth option, who stepped up after several injuries impacted the safety position last year.
This will be one of the more intriguing rooms to follow all summer long.
Stay tuned over here at MHS for a complete recap and coverage of OTAs.