3. Bradley Roby
Chris Harris Jr. and Aqib Talib may be the faces of the “No Fly Zone,” but if it weren’t for Bradley Roby, there would be a whole lot more flying going on.
What makes the Broncos secondary so special isn’t that they have two great cornerbacks; it’s that they have three. In fact, based off of Pro Football Focus’ grading system, Roby (5.4) has outperformed Talib (4.1) this season.
Remember, Roby is a first round draft pick; if he was on just about any other team, he’d be a starting cornerback. That much is clear when he flashes this kind of talent and athleticism:
https://twitter.com/Edge11W/status/678698883439046656
And what makes Roby’s play so impressive is that he gets targeted a lot; quarterbacks would much rather go after the second-year player than the two Pro-Bowlers lined up next to him.
Just take Week 17’s game against the Chargers for example: Roby played over 30 less snaps than either Talib or Harris, and yet he was targeted more than both; he still came out of the game with the highest coverage grade, according to PFF.
If a quarterback is going to take advantage of the Broncos secondary, it’s going to have come through Bradley Roby.
