Broncos draft Boise State JL Skinner in sixth round of 2023 NFL Draft
The Broncos came into the draft with little capital, but have made the most of what they do have, and continue to do so with their recent pick.They came into this draft with just five picks and have made a ton of moves whether it be to move up or down throughout the last two […]
The Broncos came into the draft with little capital, but have made the most of what they do have, and continue to do so with their recent pick.
They came into this draft with just five picks and have made a ton of moves whether it be to move up or down throughout the last two days. On day three, they addressed their need of a safety and drafted one.
With pick 183 in the sixth round, the Denver Broncos selected Boise State safety JL Skinner.
The Denver Broncos currently have three safeties on their roster, but only one is a true starter and has started for some time, which is All-Pro Justin Simmons. Caden Sterns and P.J. Locke have been special teams specialist in the past and may not be quite ready to be a full-time starter. Skinner as the pick to make just to be sure, and to build depth at the position.
It also helps that Kareem Jackson is in free agency and still hasn't decided on whether or not he will be back in Denver.
Skinner finished with 56 solo tackles in 12 games in 2022, and had a Pro Football Focus grade of 74.7. The Broncos obviously see something they like in him, and it could be the fact that he has lined up in so many different spots. He played 115 snaps in the slot, 128 snaps deep, and 347 snaps in the box. If he can develop, this guy can be special. But, there are a lot of things he needs to fix.
The Athletic's Dane Brugler broke down his biggest weakness:
High cut with rail-thin legs and average muscle definition … sticks to blockers and needs to do a better job letting his length work for him … has some lazy tackling habits, either throwing his shoulder instead of wrapping or not driving through target … passion is easy to see but tends to be overzealous as a striker, leading to multiple targeting calls (says he models game after former Seahawks star Kam Chancellor) … eyes tend to be all over the place … route anticipation is underdeveloped … more likely to react with or after the play instead of before … can be caught flat-footed when asked to match up with slot receivers … some NFL scouts see alignment versatility, though others question his natural position in certain schemes … suffered a torn left pec (February 2023) while training for the bench press and underwent surgery (March 2023), which sidelined him for the remainder of the draft process.
But don't let that scare you. He can be special and will likely get the chance to show that in Vance Joseph's defense.
