The Denver Broncos are gearing up for the start of training camp on July 22nd, but until then, we’re previewing the team’s 90-man roster position by position.

Denver Broncos Training Camp Preview: Cornerback

Going into training camp, the Denver Broncos have a very deep room at the cornerback position featuring the reigning NFL Defensive Player of the Year, Patrick Surtain II, and this year’s first-round draft pick.

We’ll take a look at every player in this position group, the biggest questions surrounding it, and which position battles you should keep your eyes on within this group.

Broncos cornerback room has good depth

List of cornerbacks on the Denver Broncos 90-man roster:

  • Patrick Surtain II
  • Riley Moss
  • Damarri Mathis
  • Ja’Quan McMillian
  • Jahdae Barron (R)
  • Kris Abrams-Draine
  • Reese Taylor
  • Quinton Newsome
  • Mario Goodrich

Projected starters: Patrick Surtain II, Riley Moss, Ja’Quan McMillian/Jahdae Barron

Denver’s starting cornerback room is set for the most part on paper — Surtain isn’t coming off the field, but Moss, McMillian, and Barron should be three players who will play quite a bit in the nickel and dime. The Broncos saw what happened last season after they lost Surtain for one game due to a concussion and Moss for a handful of games with a knee injury.

Adding Barron in the 2025 NFL Draft was an important move for the Broncos, considering the grade they had on him and the fact that he was available. Now, Denver has four different ways it can prepare for some of the league’s elite-level passing offenses this upcoming season.

Position battles to watch for at cornerback

There will be a couple of battles to keep an eye on at this position that will run their course through camp and into the preseason.

Jahdae Barron and Ja’Quan McMillian at nickel

This is one position battle that we anticipate will take place all throughout camp and preseason. While both players will make the 53-man roster, there may very well be a battle for who starts. As stated above, both will play this season with the various personnel packages the team runs, but who starts in the base nickel will be interesting.

Barron played well in the nickel at Texas, but also played stout defense as an outside corner. McMillian earned his stripes as an undrafted rookie free agent just a few years ago, running with the starting job in 2023 after Week 3, and he hasn’t looked back.

McMillian offers value against the pass and against the run, racking up 132 tackles in the last two years and 11 tackles for a loss. Barron isn’t afraid to come up in the run either, which should make this competition one of the more important ones to keep an eye on.

Honorable mention: Can Reese Taylor throw his name into the mix? He was a standout last camp, but roster number crunching led to him being cut at the end of the preseason, and he returned to the practice squad.

Damarri Mathis, Kris Abrams-Draine, Quinton Newsome competing for special teams reps, package snaps

Denver’s top four depth options going into the season are strong on paper. Their depth behind Surtain, Moss, McMillian, and Barron is also in a great spot.

Damarri Mathis is a former starter who, overcame being benched in 2023 and an injury in 2024, but is still in the mix to be a player who can contribute to this team. Mathis, Abrams-Draine, and Newsome’s best chance to have an impact on the field this upcoming season will come from special teams first.

With the departure of Tremon Smith, who was a special teams ace, an opening has been created for a new gunner and jammer on punt and punt return coverage, as well as kickoff and kick return. Mathis embraced playing special teams last year, playing 44% of the snaps.

Abrams-Draine received some run late in the season and looked sticky as a jammer. Newsome was on the Broncos’ practice squad all of last season.