Before Starting College Career, Broncos' Devontae Jackson Had
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O’Halloran: Before starting college career, Broncos’ Devontae Jackson had another type of job By Ryan O’Halloran Denver Post June 24, 2019 Jackson’s first trip to Colorado was for rookie minicamp and during organized team activities. Unable to post test scores good enough to accept a Division I offer, Broncos rookie running back Devontae Jackson had a different type of freshman year in 2014. From 10 a.m.-1 a.m., he worked at a restaurant in Georgia. He wasn’t in school and wasn’t playing football, but refused to drown himself in self-pity. “It was tough,” Jackson said earlier this spring. “But every time I got off from work, I would go straight to the weight room and train. I just made sure I continued to work while I wasn’t able to be on the field. “The love of football was always there. I just wanted to get back on the field.” And Jackson did in 2015, starting a four-year career at Division II West Georgia that included rushing years of 1,057, 487, 1,175 and 1,320 yards and a contract with the Broncos. “My first couple offers were D-1, but I didn’t get my scores in time,” Jackson said. “West Georgia, through the process, made sure I was straight because they really wanted me. They stayed with me.” Listed at 5-foot-7 (tied with running back Khalfani Muhammad for shortest on the Broncos) and 170 pounds (lightest on the team), Jackson figures to get plenty of carries during the five-game preseason schedule. The week of the draft, Jackson said he talked to Arizona, Oakland, Buffalo, Washington and Carolina while staying in touch with Broncos special teams coordinator Tom McMahon, who first contacted him in February. “(McMahon) said I reminded him of Phillip Lindsay and I look up to Lindsay a lot,” Jackson said. “His story, first undrafted rookie in the Pro Bowl, inspired me.” Jackson’s first trip to Colorado was for rookie minicamp and during organized team activities. He was toward the back of the running back line and his team reps were limited even with Lindsay (wrist injury) sitting out. The key for Jackson will be in the return game. “I’m excited about that,” he said. “I’m definitely big on the return game. That was the main thing (McMahon) emphasized.” Miller on … Outside linebacker Von Miller hosted his two-day football camp Thursday-Friday at Englewood High School. Miller on a few Broncos- and Von-related topics: On why he enjoys the camp, which he estimated had 400-500 kids each day: “It’s the 1-on-1 interaction. It’s really the only place where you can get a chance to do that and I can do that with 500 kids in one day. Just that individual interaction — run the route, play defense — is dope.” On new right tackle Ja’Wuan James: “He’s the best right tackle I’ve had to go against (in practice) throughout my whole career here and I said that last year with Jared Veldheer and we got even better this year with Ja’Wuan James so I get to spar, get better and sharpen the sword every day with him and (left tackle) Garett Bolles. It’s going to be a great year for the offense and defense.” On which rookies stood out this spring: “(Tight end) Noah Fant has looked pretty good and (quarterback) Drew Lock has looked pretty good, too. You can see the talent from those guys. And they haven’t done anything yet. Just by watching (Fant) do little routes and Drew throwing the deep ball or scrambling around and throw little dink and dunk passes, you can see the talent and why they’ll be really good for us.” On accepting the Jefferson Award for outstanding public service in sports last week in Washington, D.C.: “It was a great award. I felt like it was just an indication of the type of work my (charitable) team is doing around me. I have a dream team.” Around the Broncos Second-round story. As of Friday, only four second-round picks remained unsigned and two were Broncos left guard Dalton Risner (No. 41 overall) and Lock (No. 42). Every second-round selection below them has signed. So that’s the deal? One NFL executive provided two potential hiccups: Signing bonus payment dates (wanting all of the money in 2019 as opposed to, for example, two payments a year apart) and “language about default is always an agent favorite,” which is contract provisions protecting a player from defaulting his deal if he were to get suspended for on-field playing rules (penalties, fights, etc.). MJD ranks Lindsay. Old friend Maurice Jones-Drew, now with the Rams radio network and NFL.com, ranked the league’s 32 running backs last week. He had Lindsay at No. 23. Jones-Drew said in his recap that the Broncos should have Lindsay “leading the charge,” in the run game. Jones-Drew’s top five: Saquon Barkley (Giants), Alvin Kamara (New Orleans), Le’Veon Bell (Jets), Ezekiel Elliott (Dallas) and Christian McCaffrey (Carolina). Around the NFL Greedy’s confidence. Former LSU cornerback Greedy Williams was one of the best interviews at the Scouting Combine because he was honest. That has transferred to Cleveland, which took Williams in the second round. “I remember my first game, (I had) an interception and I said, ‘When I get to the NFL level, I want to be a Hall of Famer,’ ” he told reporters last week. “My job isn’t finished until I have a gold jacket.” Williams is expected to start for the Browns opposite 2018 first-round pick Denzel Ward. Roberts bounces around. If Michael Roberts’ family wanted to see his name on the NFL’s transaction wire, then last week has been a dream. June 13 — Traded to New England. June 14 (part 1) — Trade voided (Roberts failed his physical). June 14 (part 2) — Roberts waived by Lions. Monday — Green Bay claims Roberts on waivers. Wednesday — Packers waive Roberts (failed physical). A lot of paperwork for a player who appeared in only 23 games (13 catches) in two years for Detroit. Mason's Mailbag: Defining Noah Fant's expected production By Andrew Mason DenverBroncos.com June 24, 2019 I am excited to see this offense and what it can do with Noah Fant in the mix. But, my question is on the defensive side. What role, or how big of a role do you think Su'a Cravens will play this year? I am hoping he will be the guy that shores up the TE coverage problems we have been accustomed to. -- Denis Thornton First of all, he's working as a pure safety, not in a hybrid sub-package box-linebacker role. "This is the most safety since I've played since my time at Washington. I don't really even play inside. They have me at safety probably 95 percent of the time," Cravens said during OTAs. "I'm getting a lot of [back]pedal work, a lot of one-on-one work, a lot of work against the wide receivers -- stuff I wasn't getting last year." Head Coach Vic Fangio echoed that Cravens' focus must be at safety. "He’s got to be a safety first and foremost," Fangio said during OTAs. "Anything besides safety is just a couple crumbs here and there. He’s got to win a job on this team as a safety." Realistically, Cravens is in a fight for a roster spot. With Kareem Jackson, Justin Simmons and Will Parks leading the depth chart right now, Cravens is in a scrum with four other players who were on the roster last year: Jamal Carter (who was on injured reserve in 2018 because of a torn hamstring), Trey Marshall, Dymonte Thomas and Shamarko Thomas. Barring injuries, there is not room for all of them on the 53-man roster. So what's the expectation for rookie TE Noah Fant? 60 catches, 700 yards and 8 TDs sounds good to me. Also, will we see him heavily involved in blocking or will that be a duty assigned to the other tight ends? -- Ben M. No tight end on the roster will play without having some blocking responsibilities, and while Fant should be used as the "move" tight end who operates in open space more often than others in the position group, you will see Fant block. As for the statistical expectations, I think you should temper them a bit. Since 2000, first-round tight ends have averaged 38.1 receptions, 429.2 yards and 3.0 touchdowns per 16 games. Just three of them -- Tampa Bay's O.J. Howard (2017), Evan Engram of the New York Giants (2017) and Pittsburgh's Heath Miller (2005) scored six touchdowns, let alone eight. Engram and Jeremy Shockey, a first-round pick of the New York Giants in 2002, are the only first-round rookies to hit 60 receptions and 700 yards as rookies. So if Fant has 40 receptions for 450 yards and four touchdowns, he's above average for first-rounders and is doing well. Don't forget that you will also have Jeff Heuerman, Troy Fumagalli and Jake Butt in the mix. If Fumagalli continues to take strides like he did during OTAs and Butt shows that his knee can hold up, they could see more snaps and further cut into Fant's potential production as a rookie. With some of the pieces in place on offense for Denver, where would be the next best place to focus on position-wise? -- Scott Thielemier Defensive line, because the projected starting trio of Derek Wolfe, Adam Gotsis and Shelby Harris are all scheduled to become unrestricted free agents next March if the Broncos do not sign them to extensions.