ENGLEWOOD, Colo. — If the Denver Broncos list Kareem Jackson’s position on the roster in the season to come, they just might be able to jot down “wherever.”
As in wherever they need Jackson in the secondary in a given game, a given series or even a given play.
“I actually enjoy kind of floating around, playing a little bit of everywhere,” Jackson said. “I feel like that could be an advantage for us as a team game planning-wise, just depending on what type of skill sets that the offense possesses in terms of the guys that they have. Not knowing what I’ll be week in and week out can also be an advantage for us.”
In the initial wave of free agency, the Broncos quickly made their top priorities clear in the open market. They formally completed a trade at quarterback to acquire Joe Flacco, signed a right tackle in Ja’Wuan James, and they added two defensive backs — Jackson and Bryce Callahan.
And those two defensive backs fit coach Vic Fangio’s criteria in the secondary makeover — versatile players who tackle well.
Jackson, who will turn 31 in April, could be a risky bet. But Jackson, who didn’t miss a game in the past two seasons and has never played in fewer than 12 in any of his previous nine years with the Texans, can play cornerback or safety, line up outside or in the slot, as needed, and more than one pro personnel director in the league declared him to be the best-tackling defensive back in the NFL last season when he finished with a career-best 87 takedowns.
Couple those numbers with five tackles for loss, 17 passes defensed, two forced fumbles, two interceptions and one welcome-to-the-NFL hit on Broncos rookie running back Phillip Lindsay last season, and the Broncos have the guy Fangio wants roaming alongside Chris Harris Jr.
“It gives us a lot of options,” Fangio said. “Just from week to week we might be able to line him up where we feel he best fits to defend the team we’re playing. He’s smart enough to learn all the different positions. He’s proven it in games and on tape that he can execute the positions, not just know what to do, but play them competitively and at a high level.”
It also shows that the Broncos know their own divisional neighborhood as well. The Chiefs have Patrick Mahomes, the Chargers have Philip Rivers and Raiders coach Jon Gruden has gone all-in on offense already in this offseason with a trade for receiver Antonio Brown leading a pile of moves on offense.
The Broncos can bring edge pressure like few teams in the league with Von Miller and Bradley Chubb. And pairing Jackson and Harris gives Denver a versatile secondary.
Harris believes he can add an edge to the defense.
“I kind of pride myself on being physical, kind of imposing my will on the receivers or running backs if I get the chance,” Jackson said. “I think those things throughout the course of a game can kind of change the game. It can spark your team or it can cause turnovers or things like that. Obviously those things can definitely work in our favor.”
Harris, for one, ended the Broncos’ disappointing 6-10 season in 2018 — the team’s third consecutive playoff miss since the Super Bowl 50 win — saying the Broncos had to upgrade on defense.
With the No. 10 pick in the draft and a draft board heavy in defensive talent, Elway certainly will be tempted to draft a defender in the first round. In Elway’s previous eight drafts, the Broncos have used five of seven first-round picks on defensive players (in 2012 they didn’t pick until the second round and selected defensive end Derek Wolfe).
And Jackson added that defensive players simply want to play for Fangio, who had the Chicago Bears tops in the league in scoring defense and takeaways last season.
“I’m pretty good friends with (Bears cornerback) Kyle Fuller and has said nothing but great things about Coach Vic,” Jackson said. “For me, just getting a chance to play with my eyes, be instinctive and react. I don’t know a [defensive back] in this league that doesn’t want to be in these types of defenses where they can kind of see the quarterback, read, react and make some plays on the ball.”
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