Trading for A.J. Bouye doesn’t mean the Broncos are done at cornerback
Mar 4, 2020, 6:52 AM
On Tuesday, the Broncos made a move that some had only speculated about when they traded the Jaguars for cornerback A.J. Bouye. Denver sent a fourth-round pick in the 2020 NFL Draft to Jacksonville to get a starting cornerback. That pick came from the 49ers as part of the trade of wide receiver Emmanuel Sanders last year.
Bouye is a starting cornerback who can be the No. 1 corner for the team in 2020. He’s a good fit for the defense and a favorite of Broncos head coach Vic Fangio. Back when Bouye hit free agency in 2017, the Bears (where Fangio was the defensive coordinator) offered him the most money before he chose to sign with Jacksonville.
Okay, so the Broncos now have a No. 1 corner, but they should not be done shopping at the position. They need at least one more cornerback added to the room and it should be a potential starter. They have Bryce Callahan as a starter, but he missed all of last year for the Broncos and has never played a full 16-game season in his pro career.
The Broncos must be looking at other cornerbacks to add to this defense. Who are they, and which route is the best to take to shore up the position? Let’s take a look.
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Fresh Prince
The most-logical free agent corner to go after is Prince Amukamara. He has been with the Bears for the last three seasons and he worked with Fangio for two of those years.
Amukamara is a seasoned veteran who brings plenty of experience to the field. A former first-round pick (2011) out of Nebraska, Amukamara started 15 games for the Bears in 2019 and finished the No. 43 cornerback in the league by Pro Football Focus.
He’s not in the prime of his career anymore, but he can be a quality player who has durability on his side. Amukamara only missed four games in three seasons with the Bears and still capable of being a good No. 2 cornerback. He could line up opposite of Bouye and then that would place Callahan in his more natural position of slot corner.
Amukamara has experience under Fangio and he’s got the physical makeup of the type of corner that excels in this system. He’s got length, is a sound tackler and is an intelligent player who puts himself in the right position to make plays on the ball.
He was released by the Bears in February and now waits for a new home in free agency. Amukamara is not going to get a big-money deal, but he could be signed for around $9 million per year. That’s a great price for a solid starter, especially when top corners in this market are going to make $15-plus million in free agency.
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Other (Cheaper) Corners
If they’re not able to secure the services of Amukamara, then the Broncos will have to find cheap veteran cornerbacks in free agency. I’ve written about some of these options before and most of those players are still out there on the open market.
T.J. Carrie, formerly of the Browns, had the Broncos interest when he was a free agent in 2018. He hasn’t played good football since that time and that’s why he was released about a month ago. The Broncos could readdress the position with a player they liked (with a different coaching regime) in Carrie.
Bashaud Breeland and Kendall Fuller won a Super Bowl with the Chiefs and now are both going to hit the open market. Both are capable of playing the slot, which would move Callahan to the outside, but neither one is going to hit it big on the open market. Breeland played more than 900 snaps last year and graded out as an average starter. Fuller was banged up with a thumb injury that limited him to just 11 games. Both know the division well and that could give them a slight advantage over other free agent corners who have not played in the AFC West.
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Draft Nasty
The Broncos could always turn their attention to the cornerback position with a premium pick in the 2020 NFL Draft. I do not think that a cornerback is in play at No. 15 overall, but I consider premium picks to be first to third rounders. The Broncos have five picks in the first three rounds of the 2020 NFL Draft and that gives them a chance at more than a few players that interest me.
Jeff Gladney should be a consideration for the Broncos if he’s on the board in the second round. The TCU cornerback is first and foremost a physical player who has a high level of aggression to his game. He’s a smaller corner (185 pounds) and is destined to play the slot in the NFL, but he is a smart player who is a good tackler and the type of corner that Fangio covets.
If you want more size – while still maintaining a high level of aggression – then Virginia’s Bryce Hall is your guy. Checking in at 6-foot-1 and 200 pounds, Hall had a whopping 24 pass breakups in 2018, but an injury-shortened 2019 campaign will hurt his draft stock. Most of the scouts I talk to grade Hall as a third-round player. He can work well in a zone system like Fangio runs, and in the third round he could provide tremendous value for the Broncos.
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Late-Round / Undrafted Gem
The Broncos has a knack for finding undrafted gems from the college free agent pool left over after the draft. Bouye was undrafted out of Central Florida years ago and of course everyone knows that Chris Harris Jr. was undrafted out of Kansas when the Broncos picked him up.
My favorite late-round or undrafted corner this year is Oklahoma’s Parnell Motley. He’s a smaller corner (180 pounds), but he has lightning quick feet and is constantly around the football. Motley was a standout player when I saw him during the week of practice for the East-West Shrine Bowl. In the game, Motley continued his strong play.
The NFL better get ready for @PeeMot11.
Parnell Motley in the East-West Shrine Game:
20 coverage snaps
4 targets
1 catch allowed
7 yards allowed
0 YAC allowed
2 PBUThe highest-graded CB by a long shot.
— Cam Mellor (@CamMellor) January 20, 2020
He finished his career with the fifth-most pass breakups (33) in Sooners history. Motley regularly went up against top competition and did a good job of making plays.
Parnell (@PeeMot11) Motley's coverage numbers are ridiculous considering who he routinely covered:
Overall targets: 53
Rec. allowed: 23
Forced incompletions: 13Versus No. 1 WRs:
Targets: 20
Receptions: 10
Yards: 124
TD: 0
INT: 1
PBU: 1 pic.twitter.com/9v5sELU2yA— Cam Mellor (@CamMellor) January 2, 2020
I’d like the Broncos to take a look at this guy late in the draft to add perhaps another undrafted or late-round gem to the 53-man roster.
