Denver Broncos cornerback Ja'Quan McMillian is competing with Riley Moss for an extension, and both are making plays.
The Denver Broncos are having a feisty battle among competing cornerbacks, and there’s plenty at stake, including a potentially lucrative extension. One of the players involved is a playoff hero who saved the Broncos season with a big interception of quarterback Josh Allen and receiver Brandin Cooks in Denver’s 33-30 win over the Buffalo Bills in the divisional round of the playoffs.
That player was cornerback Ja’Quan McMillian, who remembered it at camp this week as he continues to fight for playing time and an exentions.
“I had to pull something out of my … yeah, you know,” McMillian said in a piece written by Nick Kosmider of The Athletic. “As I’m falling to the ground, I knew I had to either make sure he dropped the ball or I came up with an interception. That’s what I did.”
It’s a familiar formula for McMillian, as his coach at East Carolina, Mike Houston, noted as he commented on what he remembers. .
“He always finds a way,” said Houston. “There’s been times where you say, ‘Ehh, I don’t know if (he’ll get to the ball),’ and then, ‘Yep, he made the play.’ So when he makes that play (against Buffalo), it doesn’t shock you. It’s who he is.”
McMillian is playing for $5.76 free agent tender offer that he signed back in March, and he and cornerback Riley Moss are fighting for an extension. Defensive tackle Zach Allen noted his importance as the Broncos got the defensive gang back together in training camp.
“He makes the whole thing go,” defensive end Zach Allen said earlier this week. “The fact that he’s able to cover, blitz, the whole nine. J-Mac’s incredible. We were literally just talking about it in the locker room that we’re lucky to have him.”
McMillian’s first interception in the NFL came back in 2023 off quarterback Patrick Hamhomes as the Broncos finally beat the Kansas City Chiefs. He also sacked Mahomes last year to clinch a game that helped give Denver the AFC West title, and he picked off a deflected pass and ran it back 45 yards for a touchdown in the final game of the year against the Los Angeles Chargers to give the Broncos a win in that one.
“When I see someone who’s really good at taking the ball away, I see football IQ and someone who is playing with good leverage,” Payton said. “It’s easy to say, ‘Take it away,’ but sometimes, if you’re not in position, you’re just trying to catch up and make a tackle. I think he’s a great study.”
Fellow cornerback Riley Moss trained with McMillian in the offseason, and now he’s making plays as well as the Broncos sort things out in training camp.
“He’s always getting better at something,” Moss said. “When we got out to the field, it’s business first and that’s what I respect about him. That was the mentality he had during my first year here (in 2023). He had to scratch and claw to get where he’s at right now.”
Safety Brandon Jones summed it up more simply, however, as he knocked all the important details into a cocked hat.
“The dude,” Jones sid, “just makes plays.”
