Here's how the Broncos' defensive newcomers fit Ed Donatell's plans

DENVER — The offseason buzz is about Drew Lock and the offense. Given the high-octane draft selections of wide receivers Jerry Jeudy and K.J. Hamler and the big-ticket free-agent additions of running back Melvin Gordon and guard Graham Glasgow, it’s understandable.

But the Broncos are incorporating a new scheme and could field a starting offense featuring six rookies or second-year players. Hiccups are likely, if not inevitable.

So, it could be the defense that carries the Broncos. And if it does, it will rely on some new additions of its own.

Thursday, defensive coordinator Ed Donatell met with local media on a Zoom conference call. While he discussed several topics, the most interesting aspect of his question-and-answer session was his breakdown of his newcomers, why the Broncos targeted them and how they will fit.

DEFENSIVE LINE

It’s all about interior pass rush.

The Broncos got 20.5 sacks and 31 total quarterback hits from their defensive line last year, with Derek Wolfe leading the way in both categories — seven sacks and 12 quarterback hits.

But the Broncos want more. Even with Shelby Harris returning and Dre’Mont Jones emerging with 3.5 sacks in the second half of the season, the search for interior pass-rush punch was a focal point of their offseason work.

That’s why Jurrell Casey and McTelvin Agim are here. Casey is one of just three interior defensive linemen with at least 5 sacks in each of the last seven seasons. Agim’s primary skill is rushing the passer, something he showed in flashes at Arkansas.

Not that run-stuffing doesn’t matter anymore, but with Agim, Casey and Jones, a third-round pick last year, the Broncos are making their D-line choices based around rushing the passer.

“There’s a common theme,” Donatell said.

“In today’s football, most of our picks, you’re going to see pass rush in them, when you’re talking about an interior or an exterior defensive lineman.”

Agim has what Donatell called “a raw sense to him that we think we can bring out.” Casey is the finished product.

But both will be pass rushers first.

INSIDE LINEBACKER

Two years ago, the Broncos’ Day 3 inside linebacker was Josey Jewell, for whom coverage has been an issue in the last two seasons. He had a chance to make spot starts as a rookie and early last season, but by Week 5, Alexander Johnson had supplanted him.

Johnson is athletic and dynamic. Todd Davis remains a steady, intelligent presence at the core of the defense.

But just as pass rushing is the cornerstone of what the Broncos want from their defensive linemen, coverage is what they seek from inside linebackers that they add.

This has been a bugaboo for the Broncos from the linebacker position in recent years. Even in the salad days of the “No-Fly Zone” with Wade Phillips as the defensive coordinator, the Broncos struggled to cover tight ends.

Consider this: In the last five years, NFL teams have, on average, surrendered 76 catches and 839 yards per 16 games to opposing tight ends, according to pro-football-reference.com.

Here’s what the Broncos have surrendered in those five years to tight ends:

• 2015: 79 catches, 914 yards
• 2016: 88 catches, 939 yards
• 2017: 79 catches, 1,023 yards
• 2018: 72 catches, 1,035 yards
• 2019: 90 catches, 974 yards

This is why the Broncos drafted Wake Forest linebacker Justin Strnad in the fifth round. His strength? Coverage.

“You’re going to see the speed and explosion to the players that are in the coverage areas, whether it be DBs or linebackers,” Donatell said. “He brings that coverage element and the adaptability to match up with some of the great offenses in our division.”

Specifically, productive tight ends. The AFC West features three of the league’s better tight ends in Kansas City’s Travis Kelce, Las Vegas’ Darren Waller and Hunter Henry of the Los Angeles Chargers.

If you can’t stand up to opposing tight ends in the AFC West, you don’t stand a chance. If Strnad is what Donatell and the Broncos believe he can be, they have a chance to fix a longstanding glitch.

CORNERBACK

Donatell explained why trade acquisition A.J. Bouye is a good fit for his scheme.

“He plays in the outside lanes, and he brings size and length,” he said. “[He is] a very instinctive player, he’s been very productive over the years, and he’s really fit in well with our group. We didn’t know that until after we got him, but he’s fit in in these virtual settings, he played with Kareem Jackson in Houston, and he’s a guy [who is] just pouring his heart out to the Broncos.”

Bouye is set in the starting lineup. So is Bryce Callahan, assuming he does not have a recurrence of the foot problems that torpedoed his 2019 season.

“He’s running full speed, and he’s going to be right in our camp and ready to go,” Donatell said.

That leaves the focus on the battle to provide depth at cornerback among returning players such as De’Vante Bausby, Duke Dawson, Isaac Yiadom, Davontae Harris and Shakial Taylor and third-round rookie Michael Ojemudia.

The Broncos selected Ojemudia because of his leadership, intelligence and extensive experience in the zone-based scheme used at Iowa. All of that should augur well for making a smooth transition to the NFL as the Broncos hope he can find his footing quicker than the last two cornerbacks they selected in the third round: Yiadom (2018) and Brendan Langley (2017).

Losing on-field repetitions over the last month will hurt his cause. But Donatell made a point of noting Ojemudia’s cerebral progress.

As Donatell sees it, Ojemudia is “in the top part of the [rookie] class as far as his learning curve.

“He’s picked up our scheme in a virtual sense about as good as you’ll find in a rookie,” Donatell said. “So, he’s off to a good start.”

It’s not everything; Ojemudia’s contribution will be determined by how he applies what he has learned. But it’s a promising start.