Cooper shows that Paton nailed the Broncos’ 2021 draft
Nov 4, 2024, 11:58 PM | Updated: Nov 5, 2024, 9:38 am
Perhaps the less said about the Denver Broncos’ 41-10 thrashing at the talons of the Baltimore Ravens, the better.
But the weekend wasn’t all bad, not considering that they assured the services of edge rusher Jonathon Cooper for another four years at a reasonable rate — $15 million of average annual value on a contract with $33 million in guarantees.
Pat Surtain II and Quinn Meinerz got more from their restructures, of course. But for Cooper, a seventh-round pick who entered Denver while trying to put a heart condition behind him, the story isn’t the money, but how he climbed the ladder from special-teams standout during his first camp to key defensive contributor.
“And, he really is truly, like, the ultimate team player, willing to do whatever helps,” defensive end Zach Allen said. “You see him on special teams, too, so, it’s awesome to see guys like that get rewarded.
“And I think, it sends a really good message around the locker room, showing guys, you do it the right way, you’ll get rewarded. And we have a really good culture here,
so we have a lot of guys like that.”
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The data also reveals somethin deeper regarding George Paton’s first draft:
3
The number of picks from Paton’s first draft class who have signed extensions of at least three seasons. The significance here is that this was generally something that eluded the Broncos during the middle and latter stages of John Elway’s stewardship as general manager, as the tally of long-term re-signed players from 2021 alone matches the total from the final eight drafts on Elway’s watch.
The only 2013-20 draft picks re-signed by the Broncos to contracts of three or more years were safety Justin Simmons (2016 draft), left tackle Garett Bolles (2017) and wide receiver Courtland Sutton (2018).
It’s probably too much to expect a similar return from 2022 or 2023 — the two years in which the Broncos napalmed their draft capital in the Russell Wilson trade. But with players from those draft classes such as Nik Bonitto and Riley Moss blossoming into key contributors, the Broncos’ draft-and-develop emphasis ought to bear more long-range fruit in the near future.
5
Number of times that the Broncos went for it on fourth down on Sunday. Per Pro Football Reference, the Broncos are the 161st team since 1990 to go for it at least five times in a single game — but their 20-percent success rate (1-for-5) is tied for sixth-worst among those 161 teams.
Sean Payton felt he had to be aggressive to have a chance Sunday.
“There’s some games where you’re going to play more aggressively because you feel like that’s what’s necessary to win,” Payton said. “[Sunday], obviously, there was a handful of fourth downs that we wanted to be somewhat aggressive.
948
Number of regular-season games that passed between instances in which the Broncos defense allowed an opposing quarterback to post a perfect 158.3 passer rating with a minimum of 10 attempts.
Lamar Jackson became the first opposing QB to hit that mark at Denver’s expense in 948 games, since Len Dawson of Kansas City picked apart the Broncos defense in a 59-7 beatdown to open the 1963 season.
The Broncos did allow two perfect passer ratings in the postseason, both in the wild-card round in domes: to then-Colts quarterback Peyton Manning on Jan. 4, 2004 (a 41-10 Broncos loss) and to Seattle’s Dave Krieg on Christmas Eve 1983 (a 31-7 Denver defeat).
