Pressure on Fangio to perform ratchets up amid PFF ranking
Apr 26, 2021, 1:32 PM
The pressure for Denver Broncos head coach Vic Fangio to turn around his team’s losing ways in 2021 may have just ratcheted up a little higher.
Taking stock ahead of this week’s NFL Draft, Pro Football Focus ranked the Broncos roster sixth among all 32 teams — a grade that could have been even higher had the analytics site “removed the quarterback from the equation.”
“The Broncos secondary might be the best in the NFL, with Kyle Fuller and Ronald Darby on the outside, Bryce Callahan in the slot and Justin Simmons and Kareem Jackson at the two safety spots,” writes PFF analyst Anthony Treash.
Broncos general manager George Paton touted the team’s offseason acquisitions of Fuller and Darby during a pre-draft press conference last week, especially since Denver doesn’t have to “force it” in the draft at the cornerback position.
“Now we don’t have to force it in the draft, and we don’t have to reach,” Paton said. “We don’t have to take a corner. We have Darby, we have Fuller and we have some young guys. That was really big for us.”
But with the pre-draft accolades comes more focus on Fangio, who has gone 5-11 and 7-9 in the previous two seasons at the Broncos helm.
“Paton has done more for Fangio in two months than (John) Elway did in two years,” DenverFan.com’s Cecil Lammey wrote last week.
The Broncos GM said in early March his relationship so far with Fangio has “gone great” and the two have worked well together thus far during Paton’s tenure.
“We’re like-minded. We both like to work and we like to talk football. He has a great sense of humor,” Paton said at the time. “It’s been really good, and it’s been better than I anticipated.”
Fangio also expressed at the time the feelings were mutual.
“I’ve been very impressed with how he goes about his business. (Paton’s) very knowledgeable around the league in every facet — with the agents, players, and contacts,” Fangio said at the time. “I think we have a great, great one here.”
