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‘We can do great things.’ New Bronco Ronald Darby has high expectations revamped secondary.

When cornerback Ronald Darby signed with the Broncos this offseason, he knew the challenge he was accepting, playing in the AFC West.

Patrick Mahomes, Justin Herbert, Derek Carr — three talented quarterbacks in three high-powered offenses.

“We play in a very high passing league — Chiefs, Chargers, Raiders,” Darby said. “You can never have enough good DBs … ready to play.”

Darby is right, which is why the Broncos overhauled their secondary this offseason by bringing in corners like himself and Kyle Fuller, re-signing safeties Justin Simmons and Kareem Jackson, and picking arguably the best corner in the draft, Patrick Surtain II.

It’s unclear who will start where. The broncos already have defensive backs Bryce Callahan, Essang Bassey and Michael Ojemudia who each made multiple starts last year. Simmons and Jackson have locked down the two safety positions.

If training so far is an indicator, Darby has been starting at the right corner, Callahan has mostly been playing nickelback, and Surtain and Ojemudia have been playing wherever they’re most needed, while Bassey continues to rehab from his ACL tear last season. Fuller has yet to attend organized team activities this offseason, but is the presumed starter at left corner.

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Coach Vic Fangio has been clear that the Broncos will often play with five or six defensive backs on the field, meaning most of those players will at some point see the field.

“(Fangio’s) got a really good defensive scheme. It’s corner-friendly,” said Darby, who started 16 games at right corner for Washington last season. “We run a lot of man and we mix it in with zone. We have a lot of calls that help us get out of certain situations. It’s a really detailed scheme, but once you figure everything out, it’ll help you 100 percent.”

The abundance of talent at cornerback is a good problem to have for the Broncos, after losing five defensive backs to injury a season ago.

“The more DBs that we have, the better we’ll be,” outside linebacker Von Miller said. “Definitely stacked in this room. It’s definitely a huge difference from what we had last year, scrapping for DBs. Now we’ve just got a whole room flooded full of top DBs.

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“I’ve played with great DBs before — Chris Harris Jr., Aqib Talib, Darian Stewart, T.J. Ward — and this feels like the resurrection of the ‘No-Fly Zone,’ the ‘No-Fly Zone 2.0.’”

Those are some high expectations. The famed No Fly Zone remains one of the best secondaries in the history of the NFL. But the 2021 Broncos could make a case for the best secondary in the league next season, if Darby, Fuller and Surtain turn out to be the players most believe they can be.

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“We can do great things. We just have to keep getting to know each other and going out there,” Darby said. “Communication is key along with knowing our job and knowing where to line up and knowing each other’s tendencies. Once we get all that down, the sky is the limit for this group.”

Washington Football Team cornerback Ronald Darby (23) in action during an NFL football game against the Carolina Panthers, Sunday, Dec. 27, 2020 in Landover, Md. (AP Photo/Daniel Kucin Jr.)
Washington Football Team cornerback Ronald Darby (23) in action during an NFL football game against the Carolina Panthers, Sunday, Dec. 27, 2020 in Landover, Md. (AP Photo/Daniel Kucin Jr.)


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