Broncos head into 2024 with optimism about secondary — and plenty of questions (2024)

ENGLEWOOD, Colo. — If you had been asleep since January and showed up to Denver Broncos practice last week to see No. 31 and No. 22 patrolling the secondary, it would have seemed like business as usual. Those were the numbers worn by safeties Justin Simmons and Kareem Jackson since 2019, when Jackson arrived as a free agent and helped Denver form one of the NFL’s top duos at the position.

Those who haven’t been in a six-month slumber are aware those numbers now belong to rookie defensive back Kris Abrams-Draine (31) and free-agent acquisition Brandon Jones (22). But seeing those digits on different players during the Broncos’ OTA practices has been a stark reminder of how much things are changing for Denver’s secondary.

Jackson, after two suspensions, was ultimately released by the Broncos toward the end of last season. He was never expected to be on the roster this offseason. The surprise came when the Broncos released Simmons, on the heels of a Pro Bowl season, as he approached the final year of his contract. It was a move wrapped in an offseason of roster upheaval for the Broncos, who also moved on from quarterback Russell Wilson, center Lloyd Cushenberry, wide receiver Jerry Jeudy and linebacker Josey Jewell, among other veteran players.

On a fresh episode of @BuckingPod, why Sean Payton is pleased with his team’s progress at the halfway point of the offseason program: https://t.co/VMDx6bD0pU

— Nick Kosmider (@NickKosmider) June 1, 2024

It has all created what coach Sean Payton has called “heavy competition” in Denver’s secondary. The Broncos will look to a committee of players to replace Simmons and Jackson, a group that includes Jones and two of his former University of Texas teammates, P.J. Locke and Caden Sterns. Jones, a third-round pick of the Miami Dolphins in 2020, started 30 games during his four seasons in Miami. The rest of the safeties on Denver’s current 90-man roster have combined to start 15 games. By contrast, Simmons and Jackson started together in 56 of Denver’s 66 games from 2019 through 2022.

It’s a new era for a critical component of Denver’s defense.

“We’re a young, young group,” said Jones, who signed a three-year, $20 million contract as Denver’s first free-agent addition in March. “This will be the first time having to actually be the seasoned vet in the room and hold guys accountable and get everyone to the standard we need to be at.”

The change isn’t limited to safety. The Broncos could have a new Week 1 cornerback opposite Pat Surtain II. Damarri Mathis, who had that role to open last season before eventually being benched, is in the mix. So is second-year player Riley Moss, veteran free-agent acquisition Levi Wallace and Abrams-Draine, the fifth-round rookie out of the University of Missouri. The secondary also has a new coach in Jim Leonhard, the former NFL safety and University of Wisconsin defensive coordinator. He replaced Christian Parker, who had coached in Denver for three seasons — and three defensive play callers — before leaving for a coaching position with the Philadelphia Eagles in February.

The Broncos might not be able to replace Simmons’ elite ball-hawking presence — his 30 interceptions since 2016 are the most in the NFL during that span — but it’s up to Leonhard and defensive coordinator Vance Joseph to turn the new parts of Denver’s secondary into a more effective whole. The Broncos in 2023 ranked 30th in opponent passer rating (98), 26th in yards per opponent pass attempt (7.5) and 25th in TruMedia’s defensive pass EPA per opponent dropback metric. Those poor marks don’t fall on the secondary alone. An inability to contain the run left the Broncos in too many vulnerable coverage situations. But there is nonetheless significant room for improvement as Denver turns toward a younger group in the secondary.

To achieve that improvement, the Broncos must turn their versatility into a strength. In Jones, Locke and Sterns, the Broncos have three players who have demonstrated an ability, in varying stretches, to create consistent pressure on the quarterback. Jones had five sacks as a menacing, blitzing defensive back for the Dolphins in 2021. Sterns, who is still recovering from the knee injury he suffered in Week 1 last season, turned five of his pass-rush snaps as a rookie in 2021 into three pressures and two sacks. Locke had three sacks last season and forced fumbles on two of those.

Those pass-rush skills in a vacuum can be beneficial, but it’s an ability to mix and match the pieces that could prove most impactful for Denver. When the Broncos signed Jones, Payton said he was intrigued by the safety’s ability to play “high and low,” capable of making ranging plays in the back end, but also willing to mix it up at the line of scrimmage. Jones said he prides himself on that kind of versatility.

“Throughout my career, I’ve been labeled as only being able to do blitzing or only being able to do one thing,” said Jones, who suffered an ACL injury in 2022. “This year is going to be a good opportunity for me to show I can be versatile. I can come down. I can play high. I can be in man coverage. I can also still blitz. Just being able to show people that I can do a lot of different things.”

When Jones began his career with the Dolphins in 2020, his position coach, Gerald Alexander, encouraged the rookie to watch film of Budda Baker, who had already made two Pro Bowls and earned an All-Pro honor during his first three seasons in the NFL. Alexander saw shades of Baker in Jones’ games, and so Jones began digging into Baker and the Joseph-coached defense in which he played. Jones was intrigued by how Joseph deployed Baker and the freedom he gave the safety. It was part of what made Denver the right fit when he hit free agency.

“It’s kind of weird how it worked out,” Jones said, “but I’m super excited.”

How effectively Jones’ talents mesh with Denver’s other safeties is one of the most intriguing questions for a defense with a lot to prove in 2024. But there are others in the secondary. Namely, can the Broncos identify and develop a strong option at cornerback? The Broncos must force teams to test Surtain more often. He’s one of the best cornerbacks in football, but teams have largely been able to pick their spots when it comes to throwing in his direction. Multiple factors contribute to that fact — Denver has rarely played from ahead the past two seasons; the pass rush has been inconsistent at times — but finding a playmaker at outside corner, similar to what Denver uncovered in nickel Ja’Quan McMillian last season, would go a long way toward freeing Surtain up to make more plays.

No matter what happens, the secondary will have a different look — even if some numbers look familiar.

“It’s felt a lot different,” Payton said of the revamped defense. “Not with any one new player or any one certain player removed, (but) there’s something about the youth and energy that we’re going through right now that’s contagious.”

(Top photo of P.J. Locke: Perry Knotts / Getty Images)

Nick Kosmider is a staff writer for The Athletic covering the Denver Broncos. He previously covered the Denver Nuggets for The Athletic after spending five years at the Denver Post, where he covered the city’s professional sports scene. His other stops include The Arizona Republic and MLB.com. Follow Nick on Twitter @NickKosmider