For a rookie defensive back coming into the National Football League, there may be no better landing spot than the Denver Broncos. Led by Aqib Talib and Chris Harris, the ‘No Fly Zone’ has become the league’s best defensive backfield, creating plenty of learning opportunities for younger guys on the team.
Though that bevy of talent limits playing time for incoming rookies, it also allows them to compete against and learn from the best players at their position. Broncos third-round pick Brendan Langley understands the opportunity he has been given to compete with some of the top talent in the NFL.
The rookie speedster from Lamar joined Les Shapiro of Afternoon Drive on Mile High Sports AM 1340 | FM 104.7 to discuss how the veterans in the defensive backfield have motivated him.
“It motivates me every day [to step up my game], because I want to play,” Langley said. “I gotta’ try to beat those guys out. That’s going to be a very, very, very hard task. But we’re working every day. Really, I’m just trying to find my spot on the team, you know, where I can help the most and be dominant at that position.”
During that learning process, Langley has become familiar with his All-Pro teammates. But since joining the team and seeing them live and in person, Langley says that they are even better than what he was expecting.
“They’re exactly what I thought they were going to be,” Langley said of members of the Broncos’ defense. “Hard workers. Take pride in perfecting their techniques and all that. They actually might be a step above what I thought.”
Langley boasts an impressive set of tangibles that are rare for defensive backs in the NFL. He’s bigger than T.J. Ward and faster than Harris. Still, the wide receiver turned cornerback is raw at the position and realizes that his playing time may be dependent on his ability to learn new positions.
“I don’t know [if there will be playing time for me in the defensive backfield],” Langley said. “Like I said, I’m just trying to find my place on the team – whether that be an outside corner, whether they want to move me to safety, whether they want to move me to nickel, dime. Wherever is going to be my best fit to help this team win, I’m just going to take that role on and, like I said, try to be as dominant as I can at that position.”
Listen to the full interview with Langley, including his confidence in winning a foot race, in the podcast below.
Sorry – this audio content is no longer available.
Catch Afternoon Drive with Goodman and Shapiro every weekday from 4p-6p on Mile High Sports AM 1340 | FM 104.7 or stream live any time for the best local coverage of Colorado sports from Denver’s biggest sports talk lineup.