The Denver Broncos had one of the best defenses in the NFL in 2024, headlined by Defensive Player of the Year Pat Surtain II. The pass rush was elite as the orange and blue became just the 15th team in league history to record at least 63 sacks in a season, the run defense allowed the third-fewest yards per game as they allowed opponents to score a mere 18.2 points per game.
While the front seven got all sorts of attention last season for their efforts in the trenches, the secondary still did quite a good job until a few shaky outings in December. The safety depth wasn’t there and Riley Moss was battling injuries through the back half of the year, causing the Broncos’ pass defense to slip all the way down to 19th in the league by the end of the season.
Heading into 2025 with a (hopefully) healthy Moss, a better Brandon Jones who is coming off a career year, Surtain and new addition Talanoa Hufanga, Denver has the talent to be one of the best teams at stopping the pass. Don’t forget about rookie Jahdae Barron, who the Broncos selected 20th out of Texas in the draft, or Ja’Quan McMillian, who has been a force at the nickel the last two years.
In Pro Football Focus’ top secondary rankings heading into the season, the Broncos group found themselves at No. 3 on the list, only behind the Ravens and the Chiefs, two of the three giants in the AFC that Denver is hoping to go toe-to-toe with in the near future.
“A unit that could contend for the league’s top spot by year’s end,” the rankings said.
The biggest question mark in that unit heading into that year is the safety spot opposite of Jones. The Broncos hope that Hufanga is the guy to take the reins on that spot, but the fact that he hasn’t played more than 10 games in either of the last two seasons is an obvious concern. If he can get back to being the All-Pro he was in 2022 when he played in all 17 games and recorded 97 tackles and four interceptions for the 49ers, the answer should be solved fairly quickly.
If not, the depth will have to be looked at with P.J. Locke, who is trying to comeback after undergoing a spinal fusion, or JL Skinner, who saw limited action in 2024. The Broncos would likely not want to dig that deep into the bag, but those guys are there if needed.
Moss is likely the next-biggest question on that unit for the Broncos. He saw a lot of action on defense because opposing teams were hesitant to attack Surtain, and while Moss showed some good flashes, he also had some blunders from time to time. His pass defense grade was a lowly 58.0 in 2024, which ranked 136th out of 222 eligible corners. He was better in the pass rush and run defense side of things, but that’s not what Denver needs him to be good at. He had one interception and eight pass deflections to go along with 86 total tackles.
That first career INT feeling 🤩 @R_moss5
📺: #LVvsDEN on FOX
📱: https://t.co/waVpO909ge pic.twitter.com/xP7lZAN0Zs
— NFL (@NFL) October 6, 2024
For the other half of the secondary, Surtain and Jones shouldn’t be question marks. Surtain obviously established himself as the best cornerback in the league a season ago when he took home the DPOY after putting up four interceptions and 11 pass deflections, while Jones had the best season of his career with 115 tackles and three interceptions. Surtain’s PFF grade was an 85.6 and Jones’ was an 86.7.
Even though Jones had a phenomenal year in 2024, it still wasn’t enough for him to crack the top 10 safeties list, as voted on by NFL executives, scouts and coaches.
In the nickel, the Broncos have two decent options in Barron and McMillian. McMillian isn’t the best nickel in the league but he’s a solid guy to have out there, as his coverage grade was in the top half of all corners in 2024. For Barron, his 90.7 grade at Texas last year was the third-best mark in the entire country as he was the top dog on a Texas team that made it all the way to the semifinals. He will likely need some time to get acclimated to the speed of the NFL, but once he’s settled, he has all the tools to be elite in the nickel.
Jahdae Barron and Pat Surtain…who is getting past them? pic.twitter.com/F5RmWw0oW6
— B/R Gridiron (@brgridiron) April 25, 2025
If the Broncos wants to make a deeper push in the postseason this year, this unit has to play up to its full potential, and it has to be better against the best pass attacks of the league than it was last year. They’ve gotten the recognition on paper, but none of that matters unless it translates to the field.