The Denver Broncos took a brutal hit to their secondary last weekend when the team had to rule out current Defensive Player of the Year, Pat Surtain II, for the second half of the team’s win against the Dallas Cowboys.
On Monday, reports suggested that Surtain would be out for around 4-6 weeks, although Ian Rapoport wrote on Wednesday that the team have decided to not put him on short-term injured reserve, meaning that the former Alabama man could miss just three games as he recovers from a pectoral strain.
Despite this, some have suggested that the team may, irregardless, look to move off certain members of their cornerback group. Indeed, starting members of their CB unit.
Broncos Projected To Potentially Part Ways With Corner
ESPN’s Jeff Legwold, writing on Wednesday – two days after the initial prognosis was made public, suggested that the Broncos could look to offload starting slot and 2022 undrafted free agent, Ja’Quan McMillian.
“Cornerback Ja’Quan McMillian. Coach Sean Payton said last week that he liked the roster just the way it is right now, and that was before reigning Defensive Player of the Year Pat Surtain II left Sunday’s win because of a shoulder injury.” Legwold wrote on Wednesday.
Legwold notes that prior to Surtain’s injury, Denver may have looked at McMillian as a moveable, fairly high-value piece, given that first round rookie, Jahdae Barron, may ultimately be his successor in the slot sooner rather than later, considering McMillian’s rookie contract expires in March.
However, Legwold does subsequently concede that after the injury to the All-Pro boundary cornerback, McMillian’s value to the organization will have certainly increased, reducing the probability of him being traded.
“With rookie Jahdae Barron getting work in the nickel and dime packages, some personnel executives in the league might have thought McMillian — one of the best nickel corners — was a hard-to-find player who the Broncos might think is a surplus. But that’s not the case at the moment, so it would take a lot for the Broncos to move him now.”
What Would The Broncos Need To Trade Ja’Quan McMillian?
It is not totally clear what Denver would need at this point to move off of their starting nickel.
Barron has routinely managed around 20% of defensive snaps per game this season so far, but interestingly he was not the next man up called to cover the boundary in lieu of Surtain. That duty was given to second year pro, Kris Abrams-Draine, who actually played very well in the second half of the Cowboys game last Sunday.
So it could be that Denver keeps Abrams-Draine on the perimeter, opposite Riley Moss, and could have Barron still take the slot corner spot moving forward, if McMillian was to be moved.
All in all, the price would not have to be excessive, but something in the region of a fifth round pick in 2026 should likely get the job done for a contending team looking to strengthen the nickel spot.
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