The Denver Broncos have money to spend for the 2022 free agency period but are in a peculiar position heading into the 2022 NFL season. Denver has arguably the most talented secondary in the NFL, yet the defense struggled to stay healthy in 2021. Bradley Chubb only played in seven games and didn’t look like himself. They traded Von Miller at the trade deadline. The Broncos should target Haason Reddick in free agency.
2022 NFL Free Agency: Why Haason Reddick is a fit for the Denver Broncos
The Broncos desperately need a pass rusher opposite of Chubb. Nonetheless, their modus operandi and how their roster is constructed lends itself to fielding hybrid players.
Denver tends to value the 3-4 OLB archetype as one of their rushers. The two free agents that come to mind are Harold Landry and Reddick.
Reddick hasn’t played in coverage much since taking on more of an edge rusher role two seasons ago, but he played off the ball with the Cardinals. That’s not to say he was great in coverage, but he has experience doing it occasionally.
Although Reddick isn’t Miller, he’s proven to be a productive pass rusher, notching 23.5 sacks over the past two seasons on two different teams. That’s something the Broncos could desperately use.
Reddick’s explosion and quickness are most valuable
You can’t teach speed. As we’re becoming more accustomed to, athletic traits at EDGE are becoming the most significant indicator of future success, at least with recent draft picks.
Maybe Reddick’s size, or lack thereof, was why Arizona decided to change his position. They have a thing for that. They did the same for Isaiah Simmons, who played safety for Clemson before switching to linebacker at the NFL level.
We saw what explosiveness and baseline knowledge of pass-rush technique could do for Micah Parsons. He similarly was moved from linebacker to pass rusher due to injuries to other Dallas defenders. Denver should be all-in on Reddick’s agility and explosiveness.
The above video isn’t a good rep for D.J. Humphries (No. 74), but it’s an excellent rep for Reddick. Humphries has help on the speed rush to the outside from James Conner. However, he still oversets due to the threat of the arc rush from Reddick.
That allows Reddick to plant off his right foot and cross Humphries’ face. Once he does that, all he needs to do is get a piece of the tackle’s strike arm to get through clean. From there, he’s on a straight path to the quarterback.
Signing Reddick helps the present and the future of the Denver Broncos
Barring injury, Reddick has a long way to go before he potentially starts to slow down. Heading into his second contract, he’s not even 28 years old. He signed with Carolina for one season at $6 million and should nearly double that on the 2022 free agent market.
Reddick splashes as a run defender, but he isn’t the strongest defender at the point of attack, even though he’s on the shorter and stockier side of things. He allows himself to be a target too often and becomes engulfed by blockers.
However, the Broncos have a decent run defender on the opposite side in Chubb. As long as they remain healthy, Denver has strong run defenders among their starting inside linebackers.
The Denver Broncos are a QB away from competing, and their skill-position players are locked up for a while. They can realistically pay top dollar for a pass rusher, which should help their talented defensive backfield thrive.