Mile High Report
Broncos head coach Sean Payton told reporters that his vision for corner Jahdae Barron is to play inside and outside at corner.
When the Broncos surprisingly selected Texas cornerback Jahdae Barron in the first round of April’s 2025 NFL Draft, the question was, where would he fit in the Broncos' secondary? Many assumed he would slide into the slot position due to his size, but Broncos Head Coach Sean Payton believes Barron can be more than a slot corner.
Payton met with the media after Thursday’s practice and was asked about how Barron has picked up playing inside and outside corner. He told reporters that Barron did it at Texas and that he is “extremely smart”. He continued by saying that his instincts are “real, real high” and that you can give him more than some of the other younger guys at the position.
“He’s extremely smart, and he played both at Texas. His instincts are real, real high. You can give him more than maybe some other younger player at the same position. Some guys you might say, ‘Let’s just leave him at left corner or right corner.’ I think he’s one of those players that can handle volume.”
Barron did play both inside and outside at Texas effectively, and his intelligence and instincts were something scouts, analysts, and teams raved about during the pre-draft process. So, it is not a huge surprise that Barron is already flourishing with the Broncos in this area and is quickly picking up the defense despite only being with the team for a short time now.
Payton was then asked if Barron could play some safety as well due to his natural versatility, but he quickly shot that down and clarified that the vision for him is to be an inside/outside corner for them moving forward.
“I don’t have the same vision that I did for Malcolm Jenkins (Former Saints DB). Malcolm came in in . He played nickel and then went to safety. No, I’m not saying he couldn’t in a pinch, but the vision for him is corner: inside and outside.”
According to Pro Football Focus, Barron played a total of 1,133 snaps at outside corner and 917 at slot corner during his time at Texas. So, he has plenty of experience at doing both and will be doing the same with the Broncos moving forward.
It is going to be interesting to see how the Broncos align their cornerbacks. Pat Surtain II will be doing his thing, but it appears we could see both Jahdae Barron and Riley Moss play inside and outside, depending on the matchups and play design. They also have Ja’Quan McMillian and Kris Abrams-Draine, who could factor in some too, so it’ll be interesting to see how it all works out.
At the end of the day, it is exciting to see Payton raving about Barron already. If he becomes another stud in the Broncos' secondary, we could be in for a very exciting...
