Denver Broncos PodcastsDenver Broncos 2019 DraftSSB PodcastGIF Horse - Why Justin Hollins was my favorite Broncos draft pickNew Courtland Sutton Jersey ,14commentsHe has a sky-high ceiling and found a perfect place to reach it. MDTShare this storyShare this on FacebookShare this on TwitterShareAll sharing optionsShareAll sharing options for:GIF Horse - Why Justin Hollins was my favorite Broncos draft pickTwitterFacebookRedditPocketFlipboardEmailUpside is a buzz word this time of year. Optimism is in the air, intoxicating all but the crankiest old farts in the football world. The draft wasn’t even a month ago and every single team added exciting new talent. Yes, even the New York Giants.This time of year is also when the hype trains start to collect all of their steam. Remember how Josey Jewell was supposed to be the steal of the 2018 draft? Iowa fans do. Everyone’s guilty of it to some extent, heck I wrote this about Royce Freeman 374 days ago. It’s part of fandom to see the best possible outcome for your favorite team’s players, but it’s also good to keep some degree of perspective. Every UDFA is probably not going to turn into Phillip Lindsay or Chris Harris, and no Jake Butt was not an All Pro when healthy last year. Keep all of this in mind as you start to see the buzz building around Justin Hollins. Every report I’ve seen from the Broncos has continued to stir my optimism about the fifth-rounder. He just so happened to be my very favorite pick of Denver’s 2019 draft, and it isn’t surprising that the coaches have loved his game every bit as much as I do. All reports out of Dove Valley so far have pointed to him learning to play both the inside and outside linebacker positions in Vic Fangio’s defense. So what can he bring to the table?Dynamic edge rusherHollins was among the best pass rushers in the Pac-12 in 2018. Hollins finished his Oregon career with 14 sacks, 36 tackles for a loss, and 7 forced fumbles. Last year he was the only player in the FBS with 5+ sacks, 5+ forced fumbles, and an interception. Those numbers don’t even account for the number of times he pressured the passer but didn’t take him down. Let there be no doubt, when he was asked to rush the quarterback he was a constant nuisance. One of the things that initially jumps off the tape when you watch Hollins is how quick he is. When he rushes he’s an immediate threat to opposing pass blocker’s vertical depth around the outside and forcing the quarterback to step up. When Oregon pushed the pocket to take advantage of this, great things happened. Hollins is also fast enough to make plays chasing the run down from the backside. While he has a lot of room to grow as far as building up a pass rush repertoire, he did flash some encouraging savvy in the Stanford game. In the play above you’ll notice he rushed the inside gap of the Cardinal tackle. Later in the game, he utilized a subtle hesitation to sell a the inside that had to be respected, which gave him the step he needed to run the arc to Stanford’s K.J. Costello for the strip sack fumble. Hollins is an explosive pass rusher. Even more exciting is that in Denver he’ll be learning from one of the very best linebacker coaches in the league in Vic Fangio and working behind one of the best speed rushers in recent NFL history. While Joe Flacco’s comments about mentorship have gotten all of the national media attention this week, I actually am interested to see what Von Miller can teach the rookie. I’d like to see him develop a long arm move Comfortable in spaceIt may not look like much, but half the battle is being in the right place to dissuade the throw. It doesn’t take long to realize Hollins wasn’t just rushing off the edge every single down for Oregon. In fact, the Duck’s coaching staff moved Hollins off the ball his junior season. One reason they did this is because he moves comfortably in space. Defending the pass isn’t as flashy as sacks or forcing fumbles, but more than 60 percent of the time Royce Freeman Jersey , Fangio’s off ball linebackers dropped into coverage in 2018.Hollins doesn’t look like a fish out of water dropping into zone coverage. Between Hollins experience, length and athleticism, I fully expect him to be an asset in this area as he gains more NFL coaching. There’s a reason The Draft Wire’s Doug Farrar compared him to a young Julian Peterson.12 draft prospects who need to stand out at the scouting combine | Touchdown Wire | Page 2Where does he need to improve?There is little doubt that Hollins still needs to grow to reach his potential in the Broncos defense. As I previously mentioned, his pass rush moves are still a bit rudimentary; he could stand to get better with his hands, specifically. It would help him to add more muscle to his long frame as he does have some issues with power. In this way he’s similar to Von was when he came out of Texas A&M. He’s a raw speed rusher who has the potential to grow into a far more complete edge rusher. If Hollins is to carve out a significant role as an off ball backer in the Fangio scheme he’ll need to continue to prove he’s capable against play action and the more advanced routes that are run in the National Football League. There has been some concern over his ability to bend due to his 6’5” frame, but this doesn’t sound like a major concern to Coach Donatell.One big knock on Hollins is that he didn’t “finish” but he sure came up big here. Final ThoughtsJulian Peterson is a very lofty comparison for the fifth-round pick who will all but certainly play behind Von Miller and Bradley Chubb during his Broncos career. After all, the five-time Pro Bowler finished his 11-year career with 802 tackles, 51.5 sacks, 21 forced fumbles, 8 interceptions, and 64 passes defensed. With that said, Hollins showed so many flashes on tape that I jumped with excitement when Elway made the call. Hearing all the buzz about him now is very encouraging, and he’s in the perfect situation to reach his considerable ceiling. If he can continue to learn both linebacker roles, it wouldn’t surprise me if he turns into one of the bigger Day 3 surprises from the 2019 Draft. John Elway thinks Kyler Murray is a great talent, but wonders if he can be successful in a particular offense (his) because of his height.And honestly, with the way Elway has evaluated quarterbacks lately, that might be the best news Murray hears in Indianapolis this week.Elway’s specific concern was about the 5-10-ish Murray’s ability to play under center.“I will say this, having played the position: when you’re shorter and you’re in shotgun, it doesn’t have nearly the effect because you see much better out of shotgun,” the Broncos executive told reporters at the Scouting Combine. “So Brandon McManus Jersey , if you’re in shotgun and starting in shotgun and that’s the only place you’ve ever been, you can see the field much better from shotgun. So, really, the height from shotgun doesn’t matter nearly as much if it does if you’re coming out from underneath center all the time because by the time you get back there the pocket a lot of times is caving on you. That’s where height does matter a little bit more.“I think (height) has an impact on it because, like I said, coming out from underneath the center, it’s tougher to see coming out. And shotgun puts you back there, you can see a lot more, those guys are popping up and they’re a lot farther away from you, so they don’t block your view nearly as much as being in shotgun.”So unless that’s just an elaborate ruse on the part of Elway that seems like he’s not that interested in him.Murray should take that news with glee. Since signing the husk of Peyton Manning in 2012, the Hall of Fame quarterback has effectively gotten every quarterback decision he’s made wrong. He drafted Brock Osweiler, Trevor Siemian, and Paxton Lynch, and frankly the acceptable play they got out of Siemian was almost value except him starting was completely accidental.It’s worth noting that when he set fire to a second-rounder on Osweiler, fellow elfin quarterback Russell Wilson was on the board and whatever happened to that guy. Then he took the impressively tall Lynch instead of the less-than-gigantic Dak Prescott.Then he went out and gave Case Keenum a bunch of money to be Case Keenum, only to trade for Joe Flacco over the top of him a year later.So yeah, Murray’s probably fine with the idea that Elway’s unsure he’s a fit.
