Von Miller lets one of the Broncos strategies for 2021 slip
Aug 27, 2021, 4:37 PM
On Wednesday, all of the talk surrounding the Broncos was about the team’s decision to start Teddy Bridgewater at quarterback. That’s what garnered all of the headlines, airtime, column inches and blog posts.
As a result, everything else that occurred that day pretty much slid under the radar. Such was the case with a nugget of information dropped by Von Miller.
After practice that day, the linebacker was at the podium to answer questions from the media. While most had to do with the Bridgewater decision, there was a general question about the makeup of the roster. As usual, Miller was effusive with praise for his teammates.
“In one year, (general manager) George Paton, he’s done an incredible job,” the Super Bowl 50 MVP said. “All the guys that are out here, you can just tell he has his own touch with all these guys. All these guys have a purpose. All these guys are good. All these guys can play.”
Miller didn’t stop there.
“We’ve got dogs at every single position,” the pass rusher added. “We’ve either got a Pro Bowl player, All-Pro player or just a straight-up dog in all the positions. The guys that don’t get to play, they’ll be on special teams, and we know how important special teams is for us. We’ve done a great job fielding this team and I’m excited to see what we can do.”
As he continued, the linebacker rattled off praise for a few players specifically. In the process, he revealed how the Broncos plan to put their first-round pick to use in certain games.
“We’ve got Pat Surtain. I love that guy, by the way,” Miller said. “He’s going to be on (Chiefs tight end Travis) Kelce and (Raiders tight end Darren) Waller and all those guys.”
For years, Denver has struggled to cover tight ends. And given that they play in a division that features two of the league’s best at the position, meaning they play four games per year where that matchup problem is a major issue, finding a solution was paramount.
The Broncos didn’t address things by adding a marquee middle linebacker. At present, Josey Jewell and Alexander Johnson remain the starters at that position.
Instead, they drafted a 6-foot-2, 203-pound cornerback. And according to their best defensive player, they plan to put Surtain’s size and skills to use against two of the troublemakers on their schedule.
It’s an interesting strategy. In essence, the Broncos will be using Surtain as a coverage linebacker, presumably in obvious passing downs.
At training camp and in the preseason, Surtain has shined. Now, the Broncos are ready to give him an all-important assignment.
