Head coach Vance Joseph expects Bradley Chubb to fit right into the Denver Broncos’ defensive scheme. The 2018 first round pick has already seen some time at outside linebacker as well as defensive end.
Joseph, from post-practice interviews on Tuesday, per the Denver Broncos PR team:
“Schematically, he won’t change our defense. He’s playing the SAM linebacker position, which is obviously opposite of the WILL, so he’s an outside linebacker. On sub downs, he’s playing defensive end. Last year, just talking numbers, we were in base probably 35 percent of the time and in sub the rest. He’s going to be an outside linebacker/defensive end on sub. So schematically, we won’t change what we’re doing because of one player.”
OTAs can be tricky for a coaching staff, as they try to implement their new schemes and evaluate personnel, while also trying to avoid injury to any of their important players. Joseph gets that, which is good for the Broncos.
“I think there’s a fine line in OTAs as far as the pace. You want to keep guys healthy; we’re not wearing pads. You don’t want guys flying around all over the ground. That being said, you get in football shape by playing football. We want to play fast, obviously, so our pace is going to be fast, just to get in shape to play football. We’re just being careful with the bodies and not getting guys injured, but yes, we want a fast pace every day to get in good football shape so we can play fast.”
With all the change at the running back position, rookie Royce Freeman is expected to play a key role in the Broncos backfield this season. Although, throughout OTAs, Devontae Booker has been running with the first team, showing there’s some stiff competition behind Case Keenum at running back. Of course, the look of the depth chart may change come training camp.
“It’s hard to evaluate a running back without pads, but you can see the cutting ability,” Joseph said of Freeman on Tuesday. “You can see the vision he has when he’s carrying the football. He catches the ball well, also. His evaluation won’t be complete until we put pads on, but he’s a very detailed player. He knows what to do, and that’s half the battle with runners.”
Speaking of rookies, both Courtland Sutton and DaeSean Hamilton have already made an impact on the practice field. Those two, young receivers will be competing for the No. 3 spot behind Demaryius Thomas and Emmanuel Sanders.
“DaeSean at the Senior Bowl—he’s a guy that has veteran presence as a route runner. He is a sharp route runner. He gets route running. He is definitely ahead of his time. With Courtland, he needs some work with it, but he is so physically gifted that once he gets that part, he’s going to be hard to defend. Both guys are working and both guys need more work at route running, but Hamilton has a knack for running routes.”
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