ENGLEWOOD, Colo. — At the end of October, the Broncos picked up a little known tight end named A.J. Derby in what seemed to be a forgettable trade with the New England Patriots. Almost two months later, while he’s still not a household name, it’s clear the Broncos got the player they wanted.
And, at least for this week, they got their money’s worth.
Derby, a sixth-round pick in 2015 by New England, was nothing more than a replacement plan for the Patriots as he sat behind Pro Bowl tight ends Rob Gronkowski and Martellus Bennett.
“I wasn’t even active every week, I was mostly on special teams,” Derby said. “I was really just an injury thing behind Marty [Bennett] and Gronk—they are both Pro Bowl players so I was really just learning from them and doing the best I could.”
Denver, on the other hand, had been searching for their tight end of the future for years. In 2015, the Broncos signed Virgil Green to a three-year extension worth $8.4 million and used a third-round pick to draft Jeff Heuerman. After seeing very little productivity from either Green or Heuerman through the first seven weeks of the season, though, Denver made a move for New England’s back up.
“He’s been a nice addition to our team,” head coach Gary Kubiak said. “He’s made some good plays for us. We need to continue to use him. He’s done a lot of good things in the game… We need him, and we need him making plays for us. I think he’s shown the ability to do that.”
In just five games as a Bronco, Derby has made his presence felt on the field. In the four games that he has played with Trevor Siemian as his quarterback, the two have built better chemistry each week, going from zero catches in Week 9—his first game—to two, four and five catches in the following games.
“[Siemian] throws a good ball,” the tight end said. “I’m just trying to learn exactly where he wants me and everything like that. You just got to move forward and do the best you can for your quarterback.”
Since his second game with Denver, against the New Orleans Saints, Derby has played in more than half of the offensive snaps in three of the four games and played more snaps than Green against the Titans. The former quarterback has also been very efficient; catching 12 of his 14 targets for an 85 percent catch rate, only behind newest Bronco Justin Forsett for the best on the team.
“I still think I caught the one against the Raiders, so it should be 13,” he joked.
Not only did Denver get their potential tight end of the future in October, though, they got someone who knows the ins and outs of one of their biggest rival and opponent this Sunday, the Patriots.
While Bill Belichick will certainly change the terminology this week against the Broncos to combat Derby’s knowledge of New England, his general knowledge of his former team’s system could give Denver some insight when it comes to preparing for the game. If the Broncos’ coaches ask him for insight on New England, he will tell them everything.
“I’ll just give [Denver] the information that I have and we’ll move on from there,” he said. “I remember everything. I have a good memory (laughs).”
Any contribution to a win this week would be huge for Derby, who is still reeling about fumbling away an opportunity at a game-tying drive last weekend in Nashville.
“[It was] definitely a sleepless night,” Derby said referring to Sunday. “I’m really pissed about that. It’s unacceptable. I can’t put the ball on the ground. They trusted me in the situation, and that can’t happen.”
While that was about the only negative play that he has had in his short stint in Denver, he can’t wait for a bounce back, especially against his former team.
“I’m excited; I want to get back on the field and start making plays again, get rid of that fumble in my mind,” he said. “Knowing all of those guys and practicing against them, it will be good to go live against them. It will be fun.”
After helping Denver beat the Jacksonville Jaguars with a pick-six, cornerback Bradley Roby said he was happy to help the team win since he felt like he lost his team the previous game against the Kansas City Chiefs. Although Derby didn’t solely lose the game against the Titans on Sunday, there would be no better bounce back than him being able to help the Broncos beat his former team and move one game closer to the playoffs.
