When Ronald Darby went down with a season-ending torn ACL earlier this year, there was some concern that Denver Broncos rookie cornerback Damarri Mathis would struggle to replace him.
Mathis was penalized four times for pass interference in his first game, but he’s played well since then, totaling 36 tackles and breaking up five passes.
“He started off and had a couple of penalties early, but he’s really settled down,” coach Nathaniel Hackett said Tuesday. “I think he’s done a really good job. He covered Davante [Adams] a couple of times on some routes. We saw him on the shake route on the backside that he broke up when it was going out of bounds. Those are the things.
“Any corner — they have to battle. They have to battle. They get matched, they get man coverage and all those things. The more that he gets confidence, the better he’s going to get. You definitely see that grow over time.”
Mathis has played well enough to potentially keep a starting role across from Pat Surtain going into the 2023 season. That’s an excellent bounceback for a cornerback who had a rough start to his starting career earlier this season.
Follow the Broncos Wire Podcast:
Apple Podcasts | Spotify | Google Podcasts