The Broncos might have found a diamond in the rough
Oct 3, 2019, 6:28 AM
There might be a silver lining with Bradley Chubb tearing his ACL in Sunday’s loss to the Jaguars. This means more playing time for Malik Reed.
It appears that the Broncos have a lack of depth on this roster, but we also have not seen Vic Fangio use anybody, but his starters. Bradley Chubb and Von Miller have both played 92% of the snaps in their positions, making it tough for players like Malik Reed and Justin Hollins to rush the passer.
Reed does have one sack on the season and it came Sunday against the Jaguars, but so did everyone else’s sacks this season. Reed has played a total of 36 plays on defense this season compared to Bradley Chubb’s 236.
The undrafted rookie out of Nevada who recorded 8.0 sacks in each of his last two seasons for the Wolf Pack. Reed also had a combined 25.5 tackles for loss in those final two seasons, as well.
Reed really stood out in training camp and opened a lot of eyes starting from day one. He continued to shine in the preseason with 4.0 sacks in just three preseason games, which ranked second in all of the NFL during the exhibition season.
Reed can make an immediate impact starting this week against Chargers. Los Angeles has been struggling on the offensive line, allowing the same amount of sacks as the Broncos. That’s 11.
Reed doesn’t have to shine in the passing game, but he can make an impact stopping the run as well because teams tend to run away from Von Miller who is one of the better run stoppers in the NFL.
It also appears that the Broncos messed up by not re-signing Shaq Barrett, since he is leading the NFL in sacks this season. Barrett is on his way to becoming the Defensive Player of the Year, but Reed can make Broncos fans forget about the rising star in Tampa Bay if he makes an immediate impact with the potential that he has.
The Broncos might have found a diamond in the rough in Malik Reed. He will add depth to this team for years to come. It might feel like the 2015 pass rush all over again when von Miller, Bradley Chubb, and Malik Reed are rotating in 2020.
