It wasn’t long ago that Caleb Farley seemed like the Denver Broncos’ most likely first-round selection by far, but additional injury concerns compounded with Denver’s free agency acquisitions make that pairing seem much less likely now.

However, the Broncos are likely to trade back in this year’s draft, which means Farley could be in their range despite him dropping down boards some.

Plus, two of Denver’s top cornerbacks — Ronald Darby and Bryce Callahan — have serious enough injury concerns that investing in insurance behind them would be wise. On top of that, Callahan and Kyle Fuller have their contracts expiring after the 2021 season.

Farley could enter the league as a rotational member of Denver’s loaded secondary, before becoming one of the best cornerbacks in the league, but is that upside worth the risk of drafting a player who might be seldom available and hasn’t played football in over a year?

Positives

Farley is a true lockdown man-to-man corner which has become a rare and valuable asset in the modern NFL with the rules favoring receivers and the passing game more and more.

That’s a result of the special athleticism and highly impressive fluidity Farley has. Those athletic traits are made even more deadly due to Farley’s excellent size for the position. It’s pretty rare that you see a corner that looks like Farley does, move like Farley does.

That athleticism really becomes apparent when he’s able to get his hands on opposing receivers in press coverage, where Farley can use all of his physical tools to impose his will on the pass-catcher. Unlike you occasionally see while studying Jaycee Horn, that physicality is carried throughout every aspect of Farley’s game, making him perfect for Vic Fangio.

He will show zero hesitance when it’s time to fire downhill and lay some wood in the ground game.

All of that athleticism and stickiness in man coverage is paired with Farley’s aggressiveness and natural ball instincts to make him a true defensive playmaker that quarterbacks must be wary of. He can flip the game on any given play.

He might even have upside as a returner considering the damage he can do with the ball in his hands.

In zone coverage, he’s also very talented given his frame and burst, but it’s clear his instincts are lagging behind there. However, that seems more likely to be a symptom of Farley’s inexperience playing cornerback than him being unable to thrive in zone. With time it should be correctable.

Negatives

The biggest concern with Farley is related to his injury history, some information that the media has much less access to than NFL teams, making it hard to determine the severity.

In 2017, Farley had an ACL tear, which is concerning but it shouldn’t plague his NFL career too much. The greater concern is the back spasms that forced him to miss two games of the 2019 season and that those spasms have continued to bother him.

On March 23rd, Caleb Farley saw a back specialist for a microdiscectomy to help with his back issues. While he should be ready for training camp, the greater concern is that he’s had nagging back issues at his age.

He also opted out of the 2020 season, further limiting the amount of tape we have on him and the amount of experience he will have as he enters the league.

That lack of experience playing cornerback is the biggest hole in his game, but even then it’s a fairly minor one. He started off as a receiver for the Hokies and played quarterback in high school, so frankly it’s impressive that he doesn’t appear to be more undeveloped.

In turn, that could suggest he’s a fast learner and that his remaining need for development might be easily filled. However, that’s nearly impossible to project, so the rawness — especially in zone coverage — is a concern entering Fangio’s defense.

With that said, he’ll have a great set of mentors to learn from.

Verdict

Based on the limited information we have, targetting Farley is one of the ideal trade-back situations for the Broncos. With his rare athleticism, his knack for making plays, and his level of polish relative to how new to the position he is, he has the potential to be an All-Pro cornerback and the only thing holding him back should be the medical concerns.

If the Broncos’ doctors feel like the back issue won’t shorten Farley’s career or severely hamper his playing ability or availability, they should pray Farley falls to wherever Denver finds themselves after a trade down.

Draft Projection: 1st Round

MHS Big Board Ranking: 16th overall (3rd among CBs)