Broncos cornerback A.J. Bouye entered the NFL as an undrafted free agent out of UCF with the Texans in 2013. He has earned Pro Bowl and All-Pro nods since then and will serve as Denver’s No. 1 cornerback this season.
As an undrafted player himself, Bouye will appreciate working with rookie defensive backs Essang Bassey and Douglas Coleman III, who signed with the Broncos after going undrafted in April.
“Essang, he’s from Columbus [Ga.],” Bouye said during a Zoom conference call with reporters on May 14. “He’s actually in Georgia. I’m actually going to hit him up to see if he wants to come get some work in with me. I don’t really know much about him. Before the coaches gave me Douglas’ number, my dad actually called me and told me that he knows somebody who’s close to him and gave me his number to reach out to him and stay close to him.
“I’ve always had that mindset. That’s one thing I really like about OTAs and camp, usually the drafted guys, they’re still learning and trying to fit in with everything like that, but I always want to work with the undrafted guys extra because those guys are sponges. They always want to learn anything because they’re open to playing special teams, open to everything. I just feel like I can relate more to those guys because they’re always learning.”
When Bouye was a young defensive back, he learned under Kareem Jackson and Jonathan Joseph in Houston and he hasn’t forgotten their help. “I want to be able to do the same thing now,” Bouye said.
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