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According to 9NEWS Denver’s Mike Klis, the Denver Broncos were among the teams to express interest in soon to be free agent defensive lineman D.J. Reader.
Broncos were among several teams who expressed interest in Texans DT D.J. Reader during Combine, per league sources. He is repped by the respected Joby Branion, who is also Von Miller’s agent. Branion has long relationship with Broncos brass. #9sports
— Mike Klis (@MikeKlis) March 1, 2020
Reader is formerly of the Houston Texans where he played his first and only four seasons in the NFL with. He is coming off a solid season where he totaled 52 tackles and 2.5 sacks while earning a very good 86.7 overall grade by Pro Football Focus.
He is a big man listed at 6-3 inches and coming in at 347lbs. He is only 25 years old and will turn 26 during the summer so he is still in the prime of his career.
Pro Football Focus ranked Reader as their 32nd best free agent this winter and here is what they had to say about the big defensive lineman.
Nose tackles upwards of 330 pounds aren’t as desirable as they used to be, so the good news is that D.J. Reader has been able to show that he is more than just a two-down run stuffer. Reader has played more snaps with each season of his NFL career and answered that increased workload with more pressures as a pass-rusher. This year he posted career-best marks in overall PFF grade (85.5), total pressures (36) and defensive stops (35), and he played over 600 snaps for the Texans. Reader will draw interest as a run stuffer, but he has proved that he can push the pocket and play on passing downs too, which is vital for his value.
With Derek Wolfe a free agent and Shelby Harris and Adam Gotsis likely not returning to the team in 2020, the Broncos have a big need at their defensive lineman. Reader is a versatile lineman who can play defensive end and nose tackle for them. This is the sort of player that Head Coach Vic Fangio would love to add to his defensive line if he could.
This potential signing wouldn’t end the need at defensive line, but it sure would greatly improve a unit that is going to much different than it was last year. I personally would love this move. Adding a big run stuffer who can push the pocket and eat up blockers in the prime of his career would be an excellent move for the Broncos.
Also, as Klis noted in his tweet, Reader is represented by the same agent who represents Von MIller. So they already have a relationship there and hopefully they can use this to get Reader in orange and blue in 2020.