Broncos' Kris Abrams-Draine was thrown into the fire as a rookie. It's paying off now.

New York Times

a day ago

Carter Bradley was sure there was enough space. When the San Francisco 49ers quarterback spotted his target, Jordan Watkins, on a third-and-11 play in the second quarter of Saturday's preseason game against the Denver Broncos, there seemed to be plenty of room to fit a spiral into the receiver and pick up a first down.
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What Bradley quickly realized, though, was that the space Broncos cornerback Kris Abrams-Draine allowed Watkins was a ploy. The second-year defensive back had charted his route to the ball as he backpedaled and then lurched forward to deflect it away just before it hit Watkins' hands. Abrams-Draine has practiced similar scenarios all offseason, baiting receivers into the comforting feeling of open space, only to erase it in a blink.
'That's what I worked on the most this offseason was off coverage,' Abrams-Draine said. 'In college, I played a lot of press. Off coverage, being able to break on the ball and break on receivers, is what I really wanted to work on. It's kind of just trusting myself and trusting my speed, not trying to backpedal too fast. Just read the tempo of the receiver.'
It was a familiar scene for anyone who has watched Abrams-Draine take a major leap in his second NFL training camp. Taking cues from how the receiver is getting off the ball is one way Abrams-Draine has improved his read 'of tendencies of the offensive concepts,' teammate Pat Surtain II said. It is a far cry from where Abrams-Draine was during his early days in the league. Broncos coach Sean Payton last season said that Abrams-Draine, a fifth-round pick out of Missouri in 2024, had the most ground to make up of any of the team's draft picks following OTAs last year. As he gazed over the practice field following Tuesday's practice, the defensive back had a message he'd deliver to the rookie version of himself if he had access to a time machine: This is the game you love, the one you've played since you were 4 years old, growing up in Alabama. Don't overcomplicate it.
'Go out there and just play confident so you can play fast,' he said. ' … It wasn't so much (struggling with the playbook). It was really about getting the terminology down. It's kind of like what I played in college, but it's different names. I didn't want to say the wrong name (of a play) and have it mean something else. … But at the end of the day, it's football.'
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Abrams-Draine closed the gap by the end of last season. He was a healthy scratch during Denver's first 12 games of the season. Then, he was thrust into high-leverage action as Riley Moss dealt with a knee injury and veteran Levi Wallace struggled as a replacement before subsequently being released. Abrams-Draine intercepted Justin Herbert in a nationally televised Week 16 game in Los Angeles — only the third pick thrown by the Chargers quarterback all season — and ultimately got 123 defensive snaps of experience. A relatively small sample, sure, but Payton said it's easy to see how those reps, which came in the heat of Denver's playoff chase, helped launch the young cornerback into a sharper offseason.
The rookie Kris Abrams-Draine picks off Herbert in the end zone!#DENvsLAC on Prime VideoAlso streaming on #NFLPlus pic.twitter.com/td0iVzozRg
— NFL (@NFL) December 20, 2024
'The tail end of last year, his play and his confidence, you have a stretch of, like, four weeks where, all of a sudden, that can carry over into the next year,' Payton said. 'He's someone who prefers to play off, keep the ball in front and break on the ball. I like his ball skills, and I like between the ears. He's very smart.'
Abrams-Draine has epitomized in this camp the depth the Broncos have built defensively this offseason. He is currently slated behind Moss and Surtain at outside corner, but he has looked in camp like a player more than capable of holding up in a starting role. The same is true at nearly every level of the defense. Justin Strnad started nine games for the Broncos last season, including the playoff matchup with the Buffalo Bills, and is now a trusted reserve behind Alex Singleton and Dre Greenlaw. The Broncos brought in Talanoa Hufanga to pair with Brandon Jones, turning P.J. Locke, who has started 23 games for the team across the past two seasons, into something of a super sub in the back end. Ja'Quan McMillian, who ended Tuesday's practice with an interception of Bo Nix, has given the Broncos strong play at the nickel position the past two years as a starter, and now he's sharing work at that position with first-round pick Jahdae Barron. Promising rookies Sai'vion Jones and Que Robinson, both of whom had splash plays in their preseason debut Saturday, have provided an influx of talent to an already stacked defensive front.
'We're definitely deeper,' Payton said Tuesday. 'You guys have all written about tough (roster) decisions. … Those are all indications that there is a little bit more depth than in years past. Generally speaking, that creates that higher level of performance, that competition, and then it becomes, 'How do we keep trying to give these guys opportunities where it gives us more exposure?''
Broncos defensive coordinator Vance Joseph has delivered a clear message to his unit since the start of camp: Everyone will be needed at some point. Abrams-Draine lived that truth last year when he was shoved into the mix late in the season. So even as he's making clear steps forward in his second NFL season, he isn't letting himself get caught up in when his next opportunity will come.
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'It's just (about) the standard here now,' Abrams-Draine said. 'Like VJ always says, 'If someone goes out, we have to keep the same standard for everybody.' I feel like we built up a culture this spring with the new guys and everybody is just on the same page, from the D-line to the safeties. We've just all got to communicate and we'll be good. There can be no drop-off. We just have to uphold that standard we have for ourselves.'
• Singleton participated in 11-on-11 work Tuesday for the first time since suffering a broken thumb late last month. Greenlaw, who is working his way back from a quad injury, participated in portions of practice but was not on the field during full-team periods.
• Outside linebacker Nik Bonitto did not practice Tuesday while dealing with a minor foot injury that nagged him in Saturday's game. Payton said Bonitto is 'fine' and should return to practice on Wednesday.
• Second-year wide receiver Devaughn Vele had arguably his best practice of camp Tuesday. Among the highlights: an acrobatic, leaping catch in traffic along the sideline on a deep ball from Jarrett Stidham. Payton said Vele has dealt with a knee injury in camp, but he is pleased with the receiver's progress.
'It's a little easier to maintain in-season than when you're just stacking (practices) day after day in training camp,' Payton said of working Vele into the mix. 'We'll continue to find his spots. He's a big target on third down and in the red zone.'
• Just before hitting Vele on the sideline, Stidham hit Troy Franklin for a 50-yard touchdown during 7-on-7 work.
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