Chicks may “dig the long ball” when it comes to baseball, but in football it’s all about the guys who find the end zone and those who get them the ball. Broncos tight end A.J. Derby, a converted quarterback, knows that very well.
Derby met his wife, Calli, while playing at Arkansas, where he converted from quarterback to tight end.
The second-year player has yet to break the plane for six points in the NFL, but in new offensive coordinator Mike McCoy‘s offense there’s a good chance that’s going to happen very quickly.
“There’s a lot more versatility for our role, for our position,” Derby told Mile High Sports after Thursday’s training camp practice. “We move around a lot, get a lot more opportunities.”
He also knows that being more of a passing threat in the offense will open things up for Denver’s biggest offensive playmakers, Demaryius Thomas and Emmanuel Sanders.
“Distributing the ball around is going to help DT and E make bigger plays,” Derby said.
Being in a more pass-friendly offense this year should certainly help Denver put up six points more regularly, but it doesn’t mean Derby is exempt from the usual bumps and bruises everyone but the quarterbacks suffer during training camp. That, Derby says, also plays back at home.
“I get more sympathy because I’m actually a little bruised now when I come home,” Derby said.
Chicks dig the bumps and bruises, too, it seems.
Listen to the full interview with Derby, including why he didn’t convert to a linebacker, in the podcast below…
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