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I will present information on each player as it relates to their:
1) Contract numbers for the 2013 season
2) 2012 Production
3) Likely place on 2013 Depth Chart/Roles
The goal will be to determine what potential holes the Broncos need to fill on the current roster and whether or not that position group has a low, moderate, or high need heading into the 2013 NFL Draft. Next up is the secondary!
The Broncos currently have 6 cornerbacks on their roster. Champ Bailey, Chris Harris, Dominique Rodgers-Cromartie, Omar Bolden, Tony Carter and Mario Butler. The Broncos also have 6 Safeties on their roster currently. Rahim Moore, Quinton Carter, Mike Adams, David Bruton, Blake Gideon and Duke Ihenacho.
Contracts:
Cornerbacks:
| Player | Position | Base Salary | Signing Bonus | Other Bonus | Dead Money | Cap Figure |
| Champ Bailey | CB | 9,500,000 | 0 | 1,500,000 | 1,250,000 | 11,000,000 |
| Chris Harris | CB | 555,000 | 668 | 0 | 668 | 555,668 |
| Dominique Rodgers-Cromartie | CB | 800,000 | 2,100,000 | 0 | 5,000,000 | 2,900,000 |
| Omar Bolden | CB | 480,000 | 118,607 | 0 | 355,821 | 598,607 |
| Tony Carter | CB | 715,000 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 715,000 |
| Mario Butler | CB | 480,000 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 480,000 |
Notes:
- Champ Bailey is the second highest paid player on the Broncos behind Peyton Manning
- Chris Harris really needs a pay raise
- Tony Carter would not count against the Broncos cap if he was cut.
| Player | Position | Base Salary | Signing Bonus | Other Bonus | Dead Money | Cap Figure |
| Rahim Moore | S | 779,375 | 433,750 | 0 | 867,500 | 1,213,125 |
| Quinton Carter | S | 555,000 | 113,750 | 0 | 227,500 | 668,750 |
| Mike Adams | S | 1,750,000 | 0 | 250,000 | 0 | 2,000,000 |
| David Bruton | S | 800,000 | 400,000 | 0 | 1,200,000 | 1,200,000 |
| Duke Ihenacho | S | 480,000 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 480,000 |
| Blake Gideon | S | 405,000 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 405,000 |
Notes:
- Mike Adams is the highest paid player amongst the safeties.
- Mike Adams would not count against the Broncos cap if he was cut.
2012 Production
Cornerbacks:
| Player | Tackles | Sacks | Interceptions | Forced Fumbles |
| Champ Bailey | 66 | 0 | 2 | 0 |
| Chris Harris | 61 | 2.5 | 3 | 0 |
| Dominique Rodgers-Cromartie | 51 | 0 | 3 | 0 |
| Omar Bolden | 13 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Tony Carter | 27 | 0 | 2 | 0 |
| Mario Butler | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
Notes:
- Outside of the playoff game, Champ Bailey enjoyed another dominant year.
- Chris Harris is turning into one of the better corners in the league
- DRC has the talent, now can he put it all together?
- Tony Carter has a good year and Omar Bolden has turned into a pretty good special teams player
Safeties:
| Players | Tackles | Sacks | Interceptions | Forced Fumbles |
| Rahim Moore | 72 | 1 | 1 | 0 |
| Quinton Carter | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Mike Adams | 80 | 1 | 0 | 2 |
| David Bruton | 5 | 0 | 1 | 0 |
| Duke Ihenacho | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Blake Gideon | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
- Rahim Moore had a very solid season for the Broncos. Lets see if he can improve on this past season.
- Mike Adams wasn't flashy, but played well.
- Quinton Carter is coming off an injury plagued 2012 season. I personally think he's the best safety on the Broncos roster, so lets see if he can step up this season
- Bruton once again was our special teams ace.
Depth Chart/Roles for 2013
The cornerback position seems set. Champ Bailey and DRC starting outside and Chris Harris locking down the slot. Omar Bolden and Tony Carter will be reserves and play special teams. At the safety position i believe Rahim Moore has one spot locked down, and Quinton Carter will compete with Mike Adams for the other spot. Bruton will make the team as it's special teams ace. Ihenacho and Gideon are battling for roster/practice squad spots.
I'm excited to see what DRC can do for us. He's a very talented corner. Jack Del Rio and John Fox are very good defensive coaches, so i'm excited to see what he can do in a good defense next to Champ Bailey. Will all due respect to Champ Bailey i think Chris Harris is our best corner on the roster. In todays NFL, you need a very good Slot Corner, and Harris might be the best in the NFL. The man deserves a pay raise. Omar Bolden told John Elway he's looking to take someones job this upcoming season. I'm anxious to see if he can or not. Bolden would have gone much higher in the draft if it wasn't for injuries. Tony Carter came out of no where last season. He played very well at times, and other times didn't look so good. Lets see if Carter can continue to improve his game.
The safety position may be the weakest positon on this defense. Rahim Moore and Mike Adams did hold their own, but neither stood out(in a good way). I'm excited to see what Quinton Carter can do if he can stay healthy. As i said earlier he might be the best safety we have on the team. Mike Adams is our veteran presence at the safety position. He isn't flashy, but we could do much worse.
2013 Draft Need: Moderate to High.
I'm on the fence with this one. The Broncos have been connected to corners all offseason(even after signing DRC). DRC has a 1 year contract and we're entering what could possibly be Champ Baileys final season in a Broncos uniform. Now i do think the Broncos have bigger needs than corner, but i'm not ruling out the possibility the Broncos use a high pick on one. It's a very deep corner draft and the Broncos could get a very corner at 28 depending how the board falls. I do think the Broncos would be fine if they didn't draft one and went with what they currently have, but we'll see. Some names the Broncos could take in the first round are... Xavier Rhodes, Desmond Trufant, Jamar Taylor, D.J Hayden, and Johnthan Banks.
The same goes for the Safety position. It's a deep safety draft, but at the same time i think the Broncos could do fine with what they have. I don't think they draft a safety in the first round, but i could see one anytime after that. A few names who could be possibilites are... Eric Reid, Phillip Thomas, D.J. Swearinger, Bacarri Rambo, Matt Elam, Jonathan Cyprien, and Shamarko Thomas.
Go Broncos!