The Denver Broncos may have a second iteration of the No Fly Zone bubbling.
In 2015 with Peyton Manning at quarterback, the team’s defense, specifically the secondary, led the way during the team’s Super Bowl run. The likes of Aqib Talib, Chris Harris, T.J. Ward, Bradley Roby, and Darian Stewart live on in Broncos Country’s heart forever.
Fast forward to 2022, and it appears second-year general manager George Paton’s taking a page out of his predecessor’s playbook. Instead of force-picking a QB during last year’s NFL draft, Paton drafted Patrick Surtain. Before the draft, Paton signed Ronald Darby and Kyle Fuller in free agency, in addition to re-signing Justin Simmons and Kareem Jackson.
While Fuller’s deal is up, entering next season, the Broncos’ secondary remains stacked. Simmons and Jackson mesh well together on the backend of the defense, while Surtain and Darby are en elite 1-2 cornerback duo in a passing league. Then, K’Waun Williams is a sturdy nickel corner, and presumably a one-for-one replacement for the departing Bryce Callahan.
Surtain’s ready to put this theory into action.
“We have a lot of potential,” Surtain said last week. “We obviously added new key additions in the secondary and on the defense. It should be a very exciting year — the defense is going to fly around and make big-time plays. I’m very excited for the upcoming season.”
Another thing going for the defensive unit is the carryover from Vic Fangio’s defense to newly-hired Ejiro Evero’s. The latter is a part of the former’s coaching tree. That should help Surtain and Co. build on their promising 2021 campaign.
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