Broncos Draft S Delarrin Turner-Yell with No. 152 Overall Pick

Special teams depth.

Broncos GM George Paton re-signed veteran safety Kareem Jackson to a one-year, $5 million contract earlier this month. The hard-hitting defender from Alabama has entered his 13th NFL season, and the need to develop players behind ‘K-Jack’ has been there for Paton and the Broncos staff.

On Saturday, the Denver Broncos drafted their second Oklahoma defender in this draft by selecting safety Delarrin Turner-Yell with the No. 152 overall pick.

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At 5-foot-10, 197-pounds, Turner-Yell is a lightning-quick defensive back who ran a 4.47-second 40-yard dash and was an All-Big 12 Second Team selection and Academic All-Big 12 Second Team honoree. The Texas native played in 36 career games for the Sooners and enters the NFL after posting 190 tackles (136 solo), 10 tackles for losses, six passes defended, four interceptions, one forced fumble, and a half-sack.

He comes to Denver having been a three-year starter at Oklahoma that brings a ton of versatility to the defensive backs room. The human relations major has the prototypical size to be a competent safety in the NFL and does not compromise his tackling techniques or on-field processing.

In 2021, Turner-Yell played in nine games and logged 53 tackles (36 solo), 2.5 sacks, three INTs, and one pass defended. He projects to be a modern run defending safety that can take on blocks at the point of attack when asked to play in the box but can also recover with a smooth backpedal in zone coverage.

The former Sooner will unquestionably be thrown into the mix to compete for playing time on special teams coordinator Dwayne Stukes’ squad. You can expect to see some good hits and a ton of energy which will match the common theme that is new head coach Nathaniel Hackett’s mantra with this new-look Broncos team.

Turner-Yell is an instinctual defensive back that is best when operating in space and patrolling in shellcoverage.

The second Sooner picked behind teammate and EDGE defender Nik Bonitto with pick No. 64, Turner-Yell joins a proud safety room led behind Justin Simmons and Kareem Jackson.

By drafting Turner-Yell, Broncos Country can expect there to be heavy competition among second-year safeties Caden Sterns and Jamar Johnson for a potential roster spot in 2022.

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