The Denver Broncos He entered the 2024 season with more questions than answers on the roster. Undoubtedly, the biggest question that is far from answered is whether rookie Bo Nix is ​​capable of being a long-term franchise quarterback for the organization .

That remains the most important thing for Denver to figure out this season, perhaps even more important than making the playoffs while a team is feeling the deadliest consequences of Russell Wilson’s release and has so few premium selections on the roster (only five). first-round picks on this roster overall).

The question of whether Nix can be a good quarterback for the Broncos isn’t the only issue George Paton, Sean Payton and the decision-makers are hoping to find answers to over the course of this season.

Given that Denver has so much dead cap, it has to deal with the downstream effects of previous trades (moving up in the draft multiple times in 2023, acquiring Wilson, trading for Payton and still paying late for John Elway). for several bad draft classes). During his tenure as GM, the Broncos have a large number of relatively inexperienced young players playing key roles on Sundays.

Can a young receiver replace Devaughn Vele, Troy Franklin and Marvin Mims Jr. to give Nix another weapon to complement the veterans? Can Denver find some value at the tight end position from Greg Dulcich or other young options?

Will Luke Wattenberg grow this season or will he continue to be one of the worst centers in football, leaving a gaping hole on the expensive offensive line? Can a rookie contract running back make a difference?

Unfortunately, through three games, the Broncos haven’t seen positive results from most young options on the offensive side of the ball. Luckily there is a lot of football to play.

Luckily, Denver’s defense was on the other end of the spectrum. Zach Allen is playing at a Pro Bowl level, Jonathon Cooper is so disruptive it might make sense to lock him up to stay in Denver before free agency, Jonah Elliss and Nik Bonitto also look impressive in the perimeter.

Ja’Quan McMillian appears to have regained some of his performance from the mid-2023 season after declining last year. However, the one unknown who has been thrust into an incredibly important position early in the season that has emphatically demonstrated his skill and competency is second-year starting boundary cornerback Riley Moss.

After trading with the Seattle Seahawks Denver was taken at No. 83 overall in the 2023 draft and gave up the 108th pick in 2023 and a 2024 third-rounder who would go No. 81 overall. Denver selected the rugged, hard-hitting Moss from the University of Iowa. While Iowa has produced several solid defensive players over the last decade under defensive coordinator Phil Parker, the boundary cornerback position has been one of misfires.

Josh Jackson, Desmond King and Michael Ojemudia were all solid cornerbacks for Iowa in college. Still, none of them seemed to translate to the NFL, due in large part to the scheme Iowa had run in the past.

Many of the Hawkeyes’ solid defensive backs had moved on to safety or position, such as King, Micah Hyde, Geno Stone, Armani Hooker and Dane Belton. Still, the boundary corner spot was a spot where Iowa’s cornerbacks were unable to compete in the league.

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However, after three games, it looks like Moss is breaking that trend. With a height of 6’2″, weighing 193 pounds, she has tremendous speed in 4.45 seconds in 40 seconds, a 1.48 second 10-yard split, a 39-inch vertical jump and a 127-inch -Long jump, Moss excelled overall in areas outside his arm’s length at a very short (8th percentile) 30 inches.

Perhaps this lack of length showed itself a few times as Moss had near-perfect marking and positioning, but the ball manages to dart past him for a hard-fought finish. Overall, the play on the field corresponded to Moss’s athletic test results.

While Moss may not have measurable length, he has good bulk for a cornerback. It showed on the field as he was a very solid tackler in three games.

Moss has been credited with 16 tackles so far this year Professional football focus and only missed two runs as opposed to five. The Broncos are still waiting for Moss’ first career interception, which he made 11 times for the Hawkeyes, including three returns for touchdowns. Last week he forced his first fumble with an outstanding tackle.

The sample size is very small and cornerback can be a very fickle position, but to date, Moss has handled one of the most difficult jobs in the NFL: playing cornerback against arguably the best in football – Patrick Surtain II.

Despite being targeted 16 times this season, Moss has given up just 100 yards and just 30 yards after completion. These statistics may seem trivial unless you consider that Denver plays man coverage as frequently as any team in the NFL outside of Jacksonville and has the fastest speed in the league.

In other words, Moss doesn’t get nearly the help he demands on coverage teams that utilize more passive rush and cover systems, and the consequences of a missed tackle and allowing YAC are far more severe because of more bodies rushing in front of him with fewer bodies available to help cover behind him.

Will Moss be able to maintain his performances, including being PFF’s highest-graded corner in all of NFL Week 3 at 91.1? Maybe, maybe not.

Moss has been healthy so far this season, but he missed college and much of his rookie season due to injury. It can be argued that an injury at the cornerback position is more damaging than in almost any other sport, given the kind of quick-twitch, reactionary, open-space athleticism required to play that position (and one reason why that playing this position tends to fall off a cliff as you get older). .

Through the first three weeks of the season, the Broncos have had question after question at multiple positions about the roster heading into this season, with more uncertainty than answers. Finding a cornerback worth playing against Surtain could have been considered one of the most important questions on the roster going forward, aside from anything involving Nix and the quarterback position.

There is still a lot of football to play this season. Still, the results of Denver’s attempt to find an additional borderline cornerback on the roster (namely one on a rookie contract with control through 2026) appear to be shaping up very positively for Moss.

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