Broncos Rookie Safety Caden Sterns has Caught Vic Fangio's Attention

While training camp is just over a week old, a rookie defensive back not-named Patrick Surtain II has impressed the coaching staff.

While most of the rookie hype has gone to Patrick Surtain II, the Denver Broncos' fifth-round safety Caden Sterns has been showing out himself. Since training camp opened, Sterns has picked off multiple passes, garnered reps with the first unit, and picked up Vic Fangio's playbook rather quickly. 

It has been a nice showing for the fifth-round draft pick out of Texas as he makes a strong push for the roster.

After the practice on Friday, Coach Fangio was effusive in his praise for the rookie safety. 

“He’s doing well. He’s picked up the defense extremely well," Fangio said. "He’s been able to advance it a lot quicker than your average rookie can at his position. I’ve been very pleased with the way he’s progressed in this camp and learned everything."

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That's high praise for a young safety, especially Fangio's point about him picking up the defense extremely well. Fangio’s scheme can be rather hard to assimilate, especially for a rookie, because of all its components. It can take veterans a while to get it down, too, but Denver has two rookies thriving in it in Sterns and Surtain.

"One of the bigger, final tests for him—and we won’t know until we start playing games—is he has to be able to tackle," Fangio said. "If he does a good job of tackling and he’s a reliable tackler, then I think we have a good player.”

Fangio's last point about tackling is very accurate. One of the concerns about Sterns coming out of college was his inconsistencies as a tackler. In 2020, he missed eight tackles, which led to a 14% missed tackle percentage.

Tackling is one aspect of defense that is hard to judge outside of games, which is why, as Fangio said, only head-to-head contests can bear that out. But Broncos fans know that when it comes to defensive backs in Fangio's scheme, tackling is "non-negotiable."  

If Sterns can be consistent there, he should cement himself as the Broncos’ No. 3 safety because he already has a pretty sizeable lead for the job.

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