Tag: Bradley Chubb

2 Broncos named to PFWA’s All-Rookie Team

Broncos guard Dalton Risner and tight end Noah Fant made PFWA’s 2019 All-Rookie Team.

Denver Broncos offensive lineman Dalton Risner and tight end Noah Fant both made the Pro Football Writers of America’s 2019 All-Rookie Team, it was announced Tuesday. Risner allowed 2.5 sacks in 16 starts this season. Risner was also named to Pro Football Focus’ All-Rookie Team.

Fant led all rookie tight ends in receptions (40), yards (562) and yards per catch (14) this season. Fant was selected by the Broncos in the first round of the 2019 NFL draft. Risner was selected by Denver in the second round.

No team in the league has more PFWA All-Rookie selections over the last two years than Denver (four). Last season, running back Phillip Lindsay and outside linebacker Bradley Chubb made PFWA’s All-Rookie Team. Lindsay was voted to the Pro Bowl and Chubb was a Pro Bowl alternate in 2018.

Broncos safety Justin Simmons did not make the PFWA’s All-NFL Team or All-AFC Team but he did take home second-team All-Pro honors from the Associated Press. Simmons is set to become a free agent in March and Denver is expected to make him a high priority this offseason.

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Bradley Chubb thinks Broncos could have one of NFL’s best LB corps in 2020

Broncos edge defender Bradley Chubb believes the team’s linebacker corps could rank among the NFL’s best in 2020.

Denver Broncos outside linebacker Bradley Chubb had a brilliant season in 2018, earning Pro Bowl alternate honors after totaling 12 sacks as a rookie. His 2019 season was cut short by a torn ACL. The 23-year-old edge defender plans to stay in Denver this offseason while he recovers.

“I’ve already started my rehab here, so I’m going to go ahead and stay here and continue to do it here with the altitude and all that too,” Chubb said on Dec. 30.

After Chubb fully recovers from the injury, he will return in 2020 to join a linebacker corps that has the potential to rank among the league’s best. The Broncos have a Super Bowl MVP in Von Miller, a rising talent in Alexander Johnson, sleepers in Justin Hollins and Malik Reed and — if re-signed — a potential gem in Jeremiah Attaochu.

“It could be for sure one of the best in the league,” Chubb said of the team’s group of linebackers. “You just look at the guys and look at the talent we have and see all those guys put in the work. Knowing what they did to get in this position, it’s cool to see. If we’re all able to stick together and do something big, I feel like it’s going to be special.”

Chubb totaled 21 tackles, one sack and one forced fumble in four games last year before suffering his season-ending injury. Playing in Vic Fangio’s 3-4 defense, Chubb will look to help Denver’s linebackers live up to their high expectations in 2020.

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Broncos should re-sign pass rusher Jeremiah Attaochu this offseason

The Denver Broncos need to find a way to re-sign pass rusher Jeremiah Attaochu after he stepped up during the 2019 season.

The Denver Broncos had a disappointing season — at least for those who may have thought the team was going to the playoffs and had a chance to win the Super Bowl — but there were still many small victories this season.

One of those was the signing of Jeremiah Attaochu.

Even the Broncos had to be surprised in what they found in Attaochu, who was only brought in after a season-ending injury to Bradley Chubb. With the season already in great peril at that time, the Broncos had to hit the free agent market and find some sort of pass rusher.

Attaochu, a former second-round pick of the Los Angeles Chargers, was sitting there and likely would have sat out the entire season and maybe sat out for good had Denver not signed him.

Attaochu was with the Kansas City Chiefs in the preseason but did not make the team’s final 53-man roster. There is a good chance that could have been the end of the road in his NFL career, but the Broncos came calling.

In 12 games with the team, he registered 3.5 sacks, five hits on the quarterback and a fumble recovery. He frequently got pressure and pushed the quarterback outside the pocket on his defensive snaps.

Attaochu did everything the Broncos could have asked for and hoped of him, but he is now set to be an unrestricted free agent after just signing on with the Broncos for this season.

Attaochu, who will turn 27 years old this month, could still have plenty of football left in him and with his play this season, it’s possible he caught the eye of other teams around the league.

It’s said that a team can’t have enough pass rushers and a good situational pass rusher can be a defensive coordinator’s best chess piece. Attaochu can be that.

When the Broncos lost Chubb, fans immediately lamented the fact that Shaquil Barrett was no longer with the team. Barrett was busy leading the entire NFL with 19.5 sacks for his new team, the Tampa Bay Buccaneers.

Hindsight is always 20/20 and there is no doubt the Broncos would have liked to have found a way to keep Barrett. However, the move to bring in Attaochu following the injury to Chubb was not only a big surprise, but it could also pay off in years to come.

Teammates have taken note of Attaochu’s talent and would undoubtedly like to see him back for the 2020 season.

“Jerry’s a beast,” defensive lineman Dre’Mont Jones said on Dec. 22. “I knew it from Day 1. I’ve always heard about his story — being at the Chargers and then injuries occurred. I’ve always known how talented Jerry was. To see him go out there and play and improve himself each week against every team is a credit to him and his work ethic.”

The Broncos have something in Attaochu as he could easily slide into the role that Barrett use to be in for the foreseeable future. The team needs to find a way to re-sign him this offseason.

Don’t sleep on this guy.

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Bradley Chubb hilariously ‘translates’ Courtland Sutton’s tweet after Pro Bowl snub

Broncos wide receiver Courtland Sutton was snubbed by Pro Bowl voters and linebacker Bradley Chubb is tweeting on his behalf.

Denver Broncos wide receiver Courtland Sutton has played with three different quarterbacks this season and has managed to rack up over 1,000 receiving yards despite often being the No. 1 focus of opposing defenses.

Despite his brilliant year, Sutton was not voted to the 2020 Pro Bowl. Fans, coaches and players each accounted for one-third of the vote and Sutton ended up as a second-alternate for the All-Star game.

Asked by media members about the snub on Wednesday, Sutton simply said, “It is what it is.” Two days later, the receiver took to Twitter to thank those that did vote for him.

“I haven’t had a chance to thank everyone that took the time to vote for me for Pro Bowl,” Sutton wrote on Friday. “Although we didn’t make it, there are always positives. I’m going to continue to grow and develop my game while also continuing to have fun with the process. #AllLove #ThankYou.”

Broncos outside linebacker Bradley Chubb, who was a Pro Bowl alternate last year, hilariously quote-tweeted Sutton’s message with a “translation.”

Here’s how Sutton stacks up against the WRs that did make the Pro Bowl.

Player Yards YPC 20+yd REC TDs
Courtland Sutton 1,019 16.2 18 6
Jarvis Landry 1,018 13.3 17 5
Keenan Allen 1,046 11.6 14 5
Tyreek Hill 727 14.8 10 7
DeAndre Hopkins 1,142 11.5 16 7

As a second-alternate, Sutton will need two players to drop out to reach the Pro Bowl. Or, one player could drop out and if the first-alternate is unable to play in the game, Sutton could also make it that way.

The 2020 Pro Bowl will be played on Sunday, Jan. 26 at 1:00 p.m. MT.

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Saints reunite DL coach Ryan Nielsen with one of his N.C. State proteges

The New Orleans Saints signed free agent DT T.Y. McGill, reuniting coach Ryan Nielsen with one of his former students at N.C. State.

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A huge part of the New Orleans Saints’ recent success was the wave of changes to the coaching staff back in February 2017, when Saints coach Sean Payton made the tough but necessary decision to part ways with longtime assistants like linebackers coach Joe Vitt and defensive line coach Bill Johnson. Other developments followed as Payton scoured his staff looking for areas that needed improvement, even though many of the coaches he had to fire had been with him since he first came to New Orleans.

In their place, he went looking for teachers. And he found a great one in defensive line coach Ryan Nielsen, who had held that post with the North Carolina State Wolfpack since 2014. He was twice nominated for the Broyles Award, which recognizes the nation’s top assistant coach; former Saints coach Joe Brady won it this year for his impact on the LSU Tigers offense.

Nielsen recruited and coached up a unit that included multiple future NFL players, including four who would be picked in the first four rounds of the 2018 NFL Draft: Bradley Chubb (Denver Broncos), B.J. Hill (New York Giants), Justin Jones (Los Angeles Chargers), and Kentavius Street (San Francisco 49ers).

What all of these players have in common — and what Nielsen has instilled in the Saints’ defensive line — is sound technique that’s been refined after years of training. He teaches his players to engage opponents by striking them in their chest pads, translating skills from the weight room (specifically the bench press) to the practice field. It’s done wonders for inexperienced athletes the Saints have brought in over the last few years, like David Onyemata and Marcus Davenport (each of whom only really picked up playing football on defense in college).

On Wednesday, the Saints reunited Nielsen with one of his former students by signing journeyman defensive tackle T.Y. McGill. McGill was a senior on the 2014 squad Nielsen joined, functioning as the leading voice in the room that younger teammates like Chubb and Hill looked up to. McGill flourished under Nielsen’s coaching, racking up a career-best eight tackles for loss and three sacks before signing with the Seattle Seahawks as an undrafted rookie. He’s since spent time with nearly a dozen teams while trying to find his way in the NFL.

Now they’ll get the chance to work together again, and Nielsen can put his one-time protege through a week of practice in New Orleans before Monday’s game with the Indianapolis Colts. McGill will probably be competing with second-year pro Taylor Stallworth (who is on the practice squad after playing 365 snaps last season) to dress for this week’s kickoff, so he’ll need to rely on every tool and lesson Nielsen once taught him to keep his NFL career going strong.

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