Following free agency, Broncos Country has been injected with more optimism than it has been since, well, last year’s off-season.
George Paton has come into the building and is performing like Vladimir Guerrero Jr. at 2019’s Home Run Derby; pummeling 500-ft bombs left and right.
He brought back key stars, some of which he wasn’t expected to, like Von Miller, Shelby Harris, Kareem Jackson, and of course, Justin Simmons. He also infused the roster with new talent and turned the team’s most glaring weakness (cornerback) into a strength in a week, by signing Ronald Darby and Kyle Fuller.
Broncos Country isn’t the only group excited by Paton’s moves, as Pro Football Focus loves them too.
After the first week of free agency, PFF graded every team’s signings and the Denver Broncos were one of just three teams (Cleveland Browns, Washington Football Team) to earn a grade of ‘Excellent’.
“The Denver Broncos haven’t made many moves this offseason, but they’ve been smart and targeted, regardless,” PFF’s Sam Monson and Brad Spielberger wrote of the team’s early moves. “Denver prioritized retaining key players on defense initially, placing the franchise tag on safety Justin Simmons before inking him to a new long-term contract that makes him the game’s best-paid safety. They also re-signed Shelby Harris, one of the NFL’s most underrated interior defenders.”
Monson and Spielberger also loved the players from other teams which Denver chose to bring in.
“On the open market, the Broncos signed cornerback Ronald Darby to a modest contract and then reportedly took all of 34 minutes to reunite Kyle Fuller with his former coach Vic Fangio once the Chicago Bears released him for cap savings.”
PFF listed the Fuller signing as Denver’s best move of the free agency period so far.
“Fuller’s best season came in Chicago under Fangio in 2018, a season in which he racked up 20 combined interceptions and pass breakups and allowed a sub-70.0 passer rating when targeted. With A.J. Bouye’s release, that pair completely remakes the cornerback group in the space of a few days of business.”
