Clayton: PFF’s latest ratings suggest the Broncos have a lot of talent

This is the time of year that everybody fires off lists and ratings of players and teams.

Pro Football Focus rates everything. The site is currently starting its list of top 50 players.

Recently, PFF rated the Broncos pass-catching corps as the sixth-best group in the league after rating it 30th at the end of the season. That was because of the youth at wide receiver and the absence of Courtland Sutton due to an ACL tear.

Looking through some of last year’s ratings, there were some interesting things on defense. Most people currently agree that the Broncos have one of the best and deepest secondaries in the NFL. Last year, PFF ranked Kareem Jackson at the sixth-best safety and Justin Simmons as the eighth. They rated Bryce Callahan as the third-best cornerback, particularly knowing how good he is in the slot. New Broncos cornerback Ronald Darby ranked 28th.

Defensive tackle Shelby Harris ranked eighth of 126 interior defensive linemen. Bradley Chubb was 30th as an edge rusher. Alexander Johnson was 22nd at linebacker. New Broncos cornerback Kyle Fuller didn’t get some love. He was 52nd out of 121 corners.

Last year was a disappointment for the Broncos defense. It gave up 27.9 points per game and ranked 21st in yards allowed. With the work that general manager George Paton has down with his mission to fix the defense, Vic Fangio should have a pretty good year.