Broncos Coaches Give Progress Report on the Battle for No. 2 CB

Riley Moss and Damarri Mathis continue to duke it out for the privilege of starting opposite Patrick Surtain II.

Denver Broncos cornerback Riley Moss catches a pass during training camp practice. / Gabriel Christus/Denver Broncos

Finding another starting cornerback to complement superstar Patrick Surtain II hasn't been easy for the Denver Broncos, but that narrative might be about to change. Intense training camp competition has tested the mettle of second-year corner Riley Moss, and thankfully, he's pushing strongly for a starting job within the Broncos' rebuilt secondary unit.

Broncos head coach Sean Payton, who can be cagey with praise, gave Moss some props on Wednesday.

"I'd say the one thing that he does exceptionally well is he phases the receivers well," Payton said of Moss. "So it's hard—you don't see him out of position. He's longer than you think and so the ball is contested if it's caught. You've earned it. His length and transition—at Iowa, they played a lot of quarters and his eyes were inside a lot. There was a scheme, but you saw his hips and you saw his movement skills. To see him now in some of the other defenses maybe that you didn't have film on in college, I'd say his technique is good, he's long and I'd say he has really good instincts. If you over split—there's some instinctual things he does exceptionally well."

It's been a recurring theme all during OTAs and training camp that Moss' smooth hips, advanced technique, and lengthy reach are serving him well. Having lost the bulk of last season due to injury, the crucial reps he garnered late in the season were likely to position him nicely to make a run at a starting job in 2024.

Fellow corner Damarri Mathis is also striving for the starting job opposite Surtain, hoping to resuscitate his career trajectory. Last season, the 25-year-old Mathis wilted more than once under the pressure of playing opposite Surtain Island.

Therefore, rebuilding some lost confidence was of paramount importance for Mathis, but Broncos defensive coordinator Vance Joseph believes Mathis has been getting back in the groove this summer.

"He's been fine," Joseph said of Mathis on Thursday. "Last year, he had a slow start, but he came back and played well for us in a reserve role. He's been fine thus far. He's confident, he's working hard and he's engaged every single day. He's a special athlete. His improvement has been fun to watch, and it's every day. So he's in a good space right now moving forward."

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Stockpiling talented athletes at the boundary corner spot is no longer a luxury in the modern-day, pass-oriented NFL. The Broncos, leaving no stone unturned to find the hidden gems, have also unearthed nickel corner Ja'Quan McMillian, a player who went undrafted out of East Carolina in 2022.

It would appear McMillian is a lock for the critical assignment inside, but Joseph appears happy to let the positional battle rumble on between Moss and Mathis right up until the witching hour. The bottom line is that everyone is being asked to make strides forward in developing their game.

"That's week-to-week. That's game planning," Joseph said of the competition and expectations. "Right now, it's just training camp and getting better, and chasing improvement every day. Even with McMillian at nickel [cornerback]. He's playing very well also. That's a corner—that's a corner position. So we're just coaching these guys to improve every single day and to just grow as a player every day. That's what's important right now."

Time will tell how the Broncos' three-way youth movement at cornerback is helping improve standards. It's a strategy that Payton is using to deliver palpable improvements across his new-look roster.

Buying in fully and embracing the Broncos' ambitious youth movement is exciting for the players and the coaching staff. It's a new way of doing things that Joseph is hopeful can deliver positive results this season.

"I think when a team's young, they only know what the coach tells them, and they believe it and they buy it," Joseph said. "Coach Payton does a great job of explaining where we are daily, explaining football to our team daily and how to improve daily. It's a young, open-minded group that's talented enough to win. It's exciting to coach young players because they're so eager every day to improve. so they make you a better coach. you can't show up in the morning and not be ready to go because they're ready to go. Being young is not bad, it's a new start for the Broncos and we're excited about it."

We'll get to see how the battle for CB2 supremacy continues to take shape in Sunday night's home preseason debut when the Broncos host the Green Bay Packers.

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