SANTA CLARA, Calif. — Broncos fans clamored for months about the lack of playing time for Jahdae Barron.
“Where’s the first-round pick we used?”
“Is Barron a bust?”
“Why is Jahdae Barron not playing?”
Those questions, and more, were constantly asked during Barron’s rookie season and into his second year. Barron has been behind cornerbacks Patrick Surtain II, Riley Moss and Ja’Quan McMillian on the depth chart through his first two seasons. Defensive coordinator Vance Joseph has said he’s wanted to find ways to put Barron on the field, while coach Sean Payton pointed to a lack of dime formations as the reason behind Barron’s lack of playing time.
But after Surtain and Moss both suffered injuries in the first half of the Broncos’ 24-14 loss to the San Francisco 49ers on Sunday afternoon at Levi’s Stadium, Barron was suddenly tasked with becoming Denver’s top cornerback. Surtain was helped off the field by two staff members, and Moss didn’t come out of the locker room after halftime.
“It probably impacts the defense when both your corners are down going into the second half,” Payton said.
He, along with reserve cornerback Kris Abrams-Draine, played the entire second half as Denver’s outside cornerbacks. Despite the Broncos’ loss, those two held their own against Brock Purdy and the 49ers’ receivers. Purdy had a much more efficient second half, but a good chunk of his production came on a 56-yard tight end screen to George Kittle that did not involve either cornerback.
The stats won’t show much: Barron had one pass deflection, and Barron and Abrams-Draine each had three tackles. But when the top two players at the same position go down with injuries in the same half, most defenses would fall apart. It’s already difficult to replace one starting corner — and arguably the team’s best defender at that — but replacing two at once is an entirely different challenge.
“You go 16 weeks, and that might happen once every two years,” Payton said. “Certainly it affects Vance and what you want to call.”
Denver’s secondary depth is uniquely equipped to handle such losses, though. Mike Evans caught just two passes for 26 yards; Deebo Samuel Sr. managed three receptions for 15 yards, and none of San Francisco’s tertiary wideouts made an impact in the second half.
Despite hardly playing through the first three weeks of the season (30 defensive snaps), Barron didn’t express frustration or disappointment publicly. The Texas product knows he’s behind two talented defensive backs, and Joseph’s system is difficult to learn.
“The older guys just kept me going, everybody’s reminding just each other, me and (Abrams-Draine) staying on each other, just play hard, play fast and communicate,” Barron said.
During his time at Texas, Barron showed up in Austin as a 150-pound defensive back from Corpus Christi. The Longhorns had a load of talent in the secondary, but the young, local kid kept making plays in practice, Texas defensive backs coach Blake Gideon told The Denver Post.
“I think Jahdae called me right. I would tell him to just keep pounding the rock and keep digging,” Gideon told The Post. “I think Jahdae is built for this type or any other type of adversity. We created that adversity for him (at Texas), and he’s been one of the best we’ve had at growing himself and challenging himself and looking in the mirror.”
Gideon said he promised Barron would place the blame on himself, not the Broncos’ coaches, for why he wasn’t playing.
“That’s not Jahdae Barron. Jahdae is frustrated, if he is at all, with himself and what he needs to do more of, or do differently, in order to prove that he deserves to be out there,” Gideon added.
He got his chance Sunday because the Broncos suddenly needed him. He could be tasked with even more in the coming weeks.
Surtain and Moss’ statuses remain uncertain, and Surtain could barely put weight on his right leg as he left the field. If either misses significant time, Barron could move into a starting role alongside Abrams-Draine.
Barron has rarely had an opportunity like this since the Broncos drafted him in the first round. Now, with uncertainty at the top of the depth chart, Denver may finally find out what its first-round pick can do with an expanded role.
