Denver adds to new-look secondary with another big signing

When watching Vic Fangio’s 2018 league-leading defense, it didn’t take long to notice do-it-all slot cornerback Bryce Callahan and his impact.

With him on the market, Callahan seemed like a logical signing for the Denver Broncos who desperately needed to patch up a leaky secondary from a year ago. After waiting a bit longer than expected, the arranged marriage between Callahan and the Broncos finally happened, with the 5-foot-9, 188-pound corner signing a three-year $21 million with $10 million guaranteed.

Though he was the Bears’ third cornerback, Callahan appeared in just under 700 snaps a year ago in 13 games, producing 45 tackles, six tackles for a loss, two interceptions and six pass deflections.

With the addition of Kareem Jackson earlier in the week, who can play both safety or cornerback, Callahan can be used as a cornerback when Jackson is utilized as a safety. This also gives the Broncos another phenomenal cover man in the slot who excels as a tackler and can be counted on against the run when playing close to the line.

The additions of Jackson and Callahan combined with Chirs Harris Jr. and Justin Simmons give Denver arguably the best group of slot cover guys in the entire NFL. More importantly, this gives a virtuoso defensive play caller like Fangio plenty of options in coverage, allowing him to pick and choose who he wants to cover the slot and create plenty of confusion for opposing quarterbacks.

Unlike everyone else on the Broncos defense, Callahan also has the advantage of having played the entirety of his NFL career under Fangio, and now he can continue to play under Vic with a healthy pay raise.

Don’t let the money confuse you, this is a big signing for Denver.