Mile High Report
Denver Bronco returning starter Ja’Quan McMillian will have to fight to remain a starter, but represents big opportunity for the defense in 2025.
After Denver was embarrassed thoroughly on Defense by Miami in week 3 of the 2023 season, they made some big personnel changes. The first of these was promoting Ja’Quan McMillian to their starting slot corner. McMillian responded to the opportunity by instantly upgrading the position, helping Denver’s defense throughout the season. All eyes were on him going into 2024, wondering what level of improvement we might see in his first full year as a starter.
While he had some gaffes, 2024 was a good year for McMillian. He continued to prove himself as a starter in the league. While he did not grow into an elite counterpart to Pat Surtain, he was a consistent contributor on an elite defense and not at all a liability of one the way that Levi Wallace was in his limited opportunities.
Going into his 25 year old season, and playing on a cheap ERFA tender, he looked to be a critical core component of Denver’s defense over the next few years. Then came draft day.
Denver had a top 10 ranking overall for Jahdae Barron, and when he was available at Denver’s slot, they happily pulled the trigger. Barron has played lots of wide and slot cornerback, along with a decent amount of snaps as a box safety, but the general assumption is that he would primarily be competing against McMillian.
Player Profile
Ja’Quan McMillian | Cornerback | Broncos | #29
Height: 5-10 inches
Weight: 183 pounds
Experience: 3rd year
Age: 25 years old
2024 stats: 81 Tackles, 75.3% of defensive snaps.
Ja’Quan McMillians outlook for 2025 with the Broncos
There are a lot of ways this season could go for McMillian. Its expected that he will lose his starting position to Brown, but there is no guarantee that occurs. McMillian is very talented, and its tough to come into the league and excel, especially right away. Barron could end up playing primarily outside. Some first round picks bust, and Barron could have those problems (I hope not). Injuries could reshuffle the depth chart in many different ways.
Even if those scenarios unfold, I expect him to provide depth, and possibly to see substantial playtime in dime packages. Denver has not used dime much with Joseph at coordinator, but the absurd level of talent and depth in the secondary combined with two interior linebackers returning from injury could lead to dime making more sense.
Final Thoughts
There is also the unexpected possible scenario where McMillian outplays Barron by so much, and Barron outplays Riley Moss enough that Barron gets moved outside full-time and McMillian remains a nickel starter, getting about three quarters of the defensive snaps. The bottom line with McMillian is he gives the Broncos options. Because of this, I would be stunned if McMillian’s roster spot was in danger. However, I would not be surprised to see other teams...
