Did Michael Ojemudia live up to expectations his first year with the Broncos?

In what turned out to be his final draft as the Denver Broncos’ general manager, John Elway selected a cornerback in the third round one final time when he grabbed Michael Ojemudia out of Iowa in the 2020 NFL Draft.

The other two third-round corners selected in the Elway era—Brendan Langley in 2017 and Issac Yiadom in 2018—didn’t last more than two years in Orange & Blue.

With that in mind, the expectations were very straightforward for Ojemudia his rookie season. Was the rookie able to have a better start to his career than Elway’s previous two third-round corners?

Expectations entering the season: Denver’s starting nickel corner and special-teams stud

Actual output in 2020: 11-game starter; 6 passes defended; 4 forced fumbles; 62 tackles

Did he live up to expectations? Yes

Langley and Yiadom had one combined start their rookie seasons. Ojemudia had 11 on his own. That alone gives the Broncos significantly more hope that Ojemudia will stick around in Denver longer than one more season.

However, Ojemudia’s rookie season was anything but easygoing. In fact, it was as bumpy and full of as many highs and lows as the Twister II rollercoaster at Elitch Gardens.

Nothing encapsulated this more than Ojemudia’s tackling. On one hand, the 200-pound rookie cornerback led Vic Fangio’s defense with four forced fumbles. But at the same time, Ojemudia was flat-out benched for two-straight games for his poor tackling.

After playing in at least 73 percent of the defensive snaps in the first eight games of the season—including six starts and four games in which he played 100 percent of the defensive snaps—Ojemudia didn’t see the field on defense the following two games.

“[Fangio] just told me straight up that, ‘The other lineup is going to be better for this game. I’m not down on you. I know what kind of player you can be. Just when you get back on the field, show us what you can do,’” Ojemudia said about his conversation with his head coach when he found out he was going to be benched leading up to the game against the Las Vegas Raiders in Week 10.

“Whether I was either playing or not, I was always learning every week,” the rookie corner continued. “I went to Vic’s office and he just talked to me and said, ‘Your opportunity is going to come faster than you think, so just be ready.’ Every week I’m just trying to learn and get better at at least one thing.”

After playing special teams exclusively for two weeks, Ojemudia was put back in the lineup for the remaining six games, including starting the final five.

“I thought he played pretty damn well the other night, and I hope he can continue that,” Fangio said after Ojemudia’s first start since being put back in the defensive lineup. “I see a little bit more confidence in him right now. I do think the couple of weeks where he didn’t play or played sparingly kind of helped him a little bit potentially.”

Ed Donatell agreed that the two-week break benefited the rookie.

“This is a guy who is very aware and very sharp,” Denver’s Defensive Coordinator stated. “He can take in large amounts of information. There are people who can do that, but to do it in rapid cognition when it’s coming at you in a game, that’s the next step. He’s started to show that. He’s started to show the tips and tactical clues that he’s taking to the game. I see a real bright future in Michael.”

While his play improved over the final stretch of the season, Ojemudia faced another low point in Week 15 when he was ejected for throwing a punch against the Buffalo Bills.

But, much like the Twister II, Ojemudia’s rookie season hit another high point. In Week 17, Ojemudia tied Josey Jewell for a team-high five tackles to go along with two forced fumbles.

“Those were great big hits to see him get,” Fangio stated after the season finale. “He’s another guy that I think will improve from this season, just from having been put in the fire. He missed a lot of training camp, besides all the other stuff that everyone missed. I think Michael will be a good player for us moving forward.”

While there were certainly some bumps along the way, Ojemudia did his part during his rookie season in lifting the curse put on Broncos’ third-round cornerbacks.