Serving as a rotational pass rusher and occasional fill-in starter when needed, Shaq Barrett totaled 151 tackles and 14 sacks over the last four years. After he left the team during free agency, the Broncos will need to find a replacement for Barrett’s production in 2019.
Second-year outside linebacker Bradley Chubb believes Jeff Holland is up for the job.
“Jeff, I feel like last year, he took a year just to see what to expect,” Chubb said on April 4. “When you had great veterans like Shaq, Shane [Ray] and Von, it’s definitely [hard] to come in and adjust.
“I feel like him in Year 2 is going to be fun to see him take that step from the practice squad coming in those last two games to seeing to what he does with an actual role.”
Holland signed with Denver as a college free agent out of Auburn following the 2018 NFL draft. After spending the first 13 weeks of his rookie season on the practice squad, Holland dressed for the team’s final three games of the year and totaled six tackles.
With more snaps in 2019, Holland will have a chance to put up numbers similar to Barrett’s. At the moment, he appears to be the favorite to win the team’s No. 3 OLB job behind Miller and Chubb.
