Denver safety Kareem Jackson is suspended for four games. And whether Jackson’s hit on Vikings quarterback Josh Dobbs in Week 11 was worthy of the punishment or not, no longer matters.
Nor does it hide the fact that his absence puts the Broncos in a difficult position in the middle of the playoff hunt.
Outside of Justin Simmons, the Broncos’ depth at safety is thin. P.J. Locke has been dealing with an ankle injury, Delarrin Turner-Yell has struggled whenever he’s been thrown into the secondary and rookie JL Skinner has yet to play a defensive snap.
Despite that reality, head coach Sean Payton insists the solution is in the building.
“We’ll rep a few different players there,” Payton said. “We’ll see where we’re at health-wise.”
Ideally, the Broncos would like to have Locke back on the field. Locke suffered an ankle injury against the Buffalo Bills, causing him to miss last Sunday’s win over the Minnesota Vikings. His status for Denver’s Week 12 matchup against Cleveland is uncertain. He missed practice on Wednesday but was seen doing agility drills on the side field.
If he can’t play, Denver will have three healthy safeties on the active roster: Simmons, Turner-Yell and Skinner.
Turner-Yell has appeared in all 10 games and made two starts when Simmons was injured. Those two starts: the Broncos’ 70-20 meltdown in Miami and Denver’s come-from-behind 31-28 win in Chicago that saw Justin Fields torch the Broncos secondary for 355 yards passing and four touchdowns.
While not all of the Broncos’ struggles in those two games can be pinned on Turner-Yell, the individual numbers are not kind. Turner-Yell has allowed 11 completions for 222 yards and two touchdowns on 12 targets so far this season. Opposing quarterbacks have a 158.3 passer rating when targeting him, the highest among any player in Denver’s secondary.
If those numbers give the Broncos coaching staff pause, the next man up is Skinner, a sixth-round selection out of Boise State.
Skinner made his rookie debut against the Vikings, playing six snaps on special teams, but he is still waiting for his first defensive snap.
The Broncos drafted Skinner because of his length and ball skills. He had four interceptions and eight passes defended in his final season at Boise. With Jackson sidelined, it might be time to see how he holds up against NFL offenses.
Payton admitted he’s hesitant to extend playing time to rookies, instead preferring to ease them in. First-year cornerback Riley Moss had played solely on special teams until last week when he was on the field for three defensive snaps, and third-round pick Drew Sanders has yet to see consistent snaps at linebacker.
Skinner has impressed the coaching staff over the past month on the scout team. Payton said he has played quicker and with better eyes.
“He has a good handle on what we’re doing,” Payton said. “In the last month, we feel like he’s picked things up.”
Simmons called Skinner a student of the game. He’s been impressed with Skinner’s attention to detail. Simmons said the NFL is a league where a player can be sidelined for three weeks and suddenly get thrown into the fire.
“We want to make sure you are prepped for that spot,” Simmons said. “(Skinner is) doing a great job and understands his (name) could be called.”
Situation matters as well. On Sunday, the Broncos will face Cleveland, a team that’s known for running the ball. Cleveland is third in the league in rushing attempts (343) and yards per game (142.7) and will also be starting rookie Dorian Thompson-Robinson at quarterback.
Denver could play more single-high safety looks with Simmons to get more defenders at the line of scrimmage, making its depth at safety moot.
“There are some weeks you’re going to be in a lot of nickel or penny,” Payton said. “There are some weeks where you’re going to be in a lot of base. A lot of it depends on what the game plan is going to feature, but it starts in the building.”
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