The Broncos employ three of the top slot cornerbacks in the league, with recent signings Kareem Jackson and Bryce Callahan joining longtime slot kingpin Chris Harris. Vic Fangio, however, confirmed the Broncos will also use Jackson as a safety, where he lined up in base packages all offseason. The Broncos have not settled on how they’re going to mix and match three corners who do their best work as inside cover men.
“We still have some things that we have to figure out as to exactly how we are lining up our secondary, figure out the starters up front of all the positions, and then playing the different packages — the five-DB packages, the six-DB, etc.,” Fangio said, via Nicki Jhabvala of The Athletic (subscription required). “I think we have some versatility. We’ve got three good players that have played nickel at a high level in this league, and that is highly unusual.”
Despite his status as one of the NFL’s premier corners, Harris does not have a surefire role yet, Mark Kizsla of the Denver Post notes. The ninth-year player has previously worked as a boundary corner in Broncos base sets before shifting inside in sub-packages, which has keyed the former UDFA’s rise to prominence. Pro Football Focus graded the four-time Pro Bowler as its No. 3 corner last season. Harris has requested to play more outside corner in the past but doesn’t appear to prefer ceding too much time at his top job.
“I think I have a different role every week,” Harris said, via Jhabvala. “We’ve got so many guys that are interchangeable, but we’ve got a chance of me playing all outside and then one day of me playing the inside. To me, I think it just looks different with me inside. I’m just a totally different man inside compared to everybody else.”
Here is more from Denver and the latest from other AFC cities:
- Emmanuel Sanders‘ chances of playing Week 1 seem to be improving. The 10th-year wide receiver will not begin training camp on the Broncos’ active/PUP list, with NFL.com’s James Palmer noting (via Twitter) the team did not place anyone on that list. John Elway said Wednesday that Sanders will begin practicing with the team Thursday, though the 32-year-old wideout cautioned he would not be full-go for a bit. Sanders is attempting to recover from a December Achilles tear.
- Ravens cornerback/return man Cyrus Jones has been dealing with a non-disclosed health issue, Jeff Zreibec of The Athletic notes. Jones missed Baltimore’s offseason program, but it sounds like he will be back in time for the Ravens’ preseason slate. If so, Zreibec expects the former Patriots second-rounder to keep his job as Ravens punt returner. Jones averaged a career-best 14.4 yards per return with Baltimore last season, including a 70-yard touchdown sprint.
- Kenneth Dixon does not appear to have as strong a chance to keep a roster spot. The fourth-year Ravens running back is behind Mark Ingram, Gus Edwards and rookie Justice Hill, and Zreibec is not certain the Ravens will carry four running backs this season. Even if Baltimore does keep four backs, the injury- and suspension-limited Dixon does not appear to be a lock to beat out former Texan Tyler Ervin or second-year UDFA De’Lance Turner.
- Staying on the running back subject, David Fluellen will likely be the Titans‘ third running back — behind Derrick Henry and Dion Lewis. The expectation entering camp is the team will not carry a fourth, per Jim Wyatt of TitansOnline.com, making a preseason battle between Jeremy McNichols, Dalyn Dawkins and rookie UDFA Alex Barnes more likely to be for a practice squad slot.