The biggest challenge Ejiro Evero will face is bringing that Broncos’ number higher with an almost identical roster and similar coverage principles as the team had last season.
We all know how good the Los Angeles Rams were last season. As key as the Matt Stafford-Cooper Kupp connection was in fueling their Super Bowl run last season, their efforts on defense ultimately led them to their win over the Cincinnati Bengals and hoisting the Lombardi trophy. New Broncos’ Defensive Coordinator, Ejiro Evero, was the Rams’ secondary coach/defensive passing game coordinator last season, and he’s hoping to bring the defensive success the Rams had with him to Denver.
PFF released a chart identifying the teams with the most “perfectly-covered dropbacks” last season. The Rams, under Evero, had the highest percentage of perfectly-covered dropbacks last season by a pretty solid margin.
same graph but for defenses. This data is a lot more tight since differences in opposing QB ability/style/whatever dampens when you play multiple ones in a year: pic.twitter.com/xTqiy9ajMM
— Eric Eager (@PFF_Eric) July 5, 2022
A “perfectly-covered dropback” is defined as “a perfectly covered play is one in which each coverage player receives either a positive or neutral PFF coverage grade.”
While the Denver Broncos don’t have a Jalen Ramsey or an Aaron Donald up front to help the coverage out, they do have plenty of defensive talent of their own. Patrick Surtain II was lights out and dare I say elite last season as a rookie, and they boast arguably the best safety in the game in Justin Simmons (the less that is said about the Rams’ safety play last year, the better). Add in K’Waun Williams, Ronald Darby, Kareem Jackson, Caden Sterns, and Delarrin Turner-Yell into the mix, and the outlook looks pretty bright.
The biggest challenge Ejiro Evero will face is bringing that Broncos’ number higher with an almost identical roster and similar coverage principles as the team had last season. Helping teach these players better, connecting and motivating them, and putting them in better situations with a (hopefully) better front seven this year should help immensely.
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