The Denver Broncos selected athletic linebacker Baron Browning with the 106th pick in the 2021 NFL draft. While his rookie campaign started off a bit on the wrong foot, he has started to make some splash plays for the Broncos as of late.
Browning came into the season with high expectations at a position of need for the team. He was expected to have a role early in the year, but an offseason injury led to the Broncos slow-playing him a bit. After only appearing in one game in the first seven weeks (mostly due to injuries), he finally took over as the starter in Week 8 against the Washington Football Team.
While there have been some rookie moments in his play, Browning has shown flashes of his elite athleticism and ability early on. So far, in seven games played, Browning has totaled 25 tackles, six run stops, and two pass breakups (according to Pro Football Focus).
In today's deep dive, I look at the overall play of Browning thus far this season and talk about why I am excited about his future with the team.
Pass Coverage
The area in which Browning has shown the most potential is in pass defense. His blend of length and speed for a linebacker is a major asset in coverage, and it allows him to lock down players that most guys at his position simply can't keep up with.
PFF has charted Browning as allowing 22 receptions on 30 targets for 215 yards this year as the primary defender in coverage. While those numbers don't flash as anything positive, his performance has been better than what they would suggest at first glance.
This play against the Los Angeles Chargers shows off all the ability that Browning possesses. He flows with the play-action and does a good job of staying clean at the mesh point. He begins to drive down on the running back in the flat as quarterback Justin Herbert loads up to throw behind him.
Being the athlete that he is, Browning is able to stop on a dime and elevate into the passing lane to get the pass breakup.
I have also been impressed with Browning's ability in man coverage. He has drawn a few tough assignments this year, from covering Tony Pollard and Dalton Schultz against Dallas, J.D. McKissic against Washington, and Austin Ekeler against Los Angeles.
While he has had his fair share of times where he was beaten, Browning has always done a good job of matching these players in man coverage. On this play, he sits on the underneath throw to Schultz and gets another pass breakup in coverage.
The struggles in coverage have almost entirely been on the mental side of things. Browning has been a tad late at diagnosing certain route combinations, and it has led to some issues in zone coverage.
This play against the Chargers is a good example of what I am talking about. Browning gets into his zone drop and keeps his head on a swivel for possible mesh and in-breaking routes behind him. He is late to work back to the middle on the Texas route out of the backfield by Ekeler.
While Ekeler wasn't fully his responsibility on the play, Browning could have been in a better position to make the tackle if he'd read the route a bit sooner.
Overall, though, this is a strength in Browning's game so far. There is always a mental learning curve for young linebackers at the next level and he has shown some really strong flashes. With more playing time and film study, I believe that he can become a top coverage backer in the league one day.
Run Defense
Now, this is an area that I am a tad bit more concerned about. Browning has the makeup to be a really good run defender, as he has great size and speed to fill gaps and make plays.
This is just another area, though, where he is slowly coming around on the mental side of it. When he is kept clean and his reads are simple, he flies around and makes plays. But when an offense throws misdirection or gets a blocker on him, he gets a bit passive in the run game.
This big run by Detroit last week is a good example. Browning initially gets into good position to make a play but comes in way too slow and passive when he engages the blocker. He has to muddy that hole for the running back on this play. Instead, it's a clean run up the middle that Detroit nearly scores on.
The ability is there, but the process is just a little slow at the moment. This is another area that we will just have to see what happens with time. With more exposure and film work, it could lead to him playing the run much faster and aggressively.
“It’s a slow process," head coach Vic Fangio said of Browning's progress. "Again, we’re trying to make up for all the time he missed in the offseason and in training camp. A lot of the little things that you think are etched in stone right now aren’t always etched in stone with a guy that’s had this limited exposure. We’re trying to close those gaps as quick as we can. The extra meetings [are] part of it.”
When Browning is kept clean, he makes some good plays against the run. He just needs to develop into a more well-rounded player in this regard.
Bottom Line
Overall, I've been fairly impressed with Browning's play thus far in 2021. He is still a bit behind in terms of the mental aspect of the game, but that is an issue that could easily iron out with more experience.
The flashes have been very intriguing. He has shown the ability to be a good coverage linebacker in a league that is extremely pass-heavy. I'm also a bit intrigued by his ability as a pass rusher if the Broncos ever want to unleash him in that area as well.
Browning has had a promising start to his NFL career and I'm excited to see his progression over the next few weeks/months/seasons.
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