These Fallers From Stock Report Underachieved Against Panthers

The Denver Broncos got another big win as they hung on to beat the Carolina Panthers 26-21 on Sunday, but not everyone played well. Sam Jane fingered three players as fallers in his weekly stock report in the Denver Post, and at least one is a familiar name. 

Jahdae Barron, CB 

Barron has had some rough moments this season, but against the Panthers he had a flat out bad game. Barron was called in early after cornerback Riley Moss went out with a concussion, and he gave up six catches on nine targets. 

Panthers quarterback Bryce Young relentlessly attacked Barron’s side of the field, per Jane, and the Broncos didn’t have any other options with Kris Abrams-Draine out with an ankle injury.

This was a make-or-break season for Barron coming in, and he’s mostly not getting it done. Occasionally he flashed the talent that made him a first-round pick coming out of Texas, but he’s been caught out of position multiple times. Add in some missed tackles and coverage instincts that aren’t great, and it wouldn’t be surprising to see him be part of deal at the trade deadline on Tuesday. 

Backup safeties

This doesn’t apply to Devon Key, who made the play of the game, but Jane noted that it was easy to feel the absence of Talanoa Hufanga and Brandon Jones. Young average 7.08 yards per pass attempt, per the writer, and he found much of his success targeting Barron and the safeties. 

JL Skinner and Taylor Rapp did make tackles as they combined for a total of eight, and Skinner added two pressures. But operating without three starters in the secondary put a lot of pressure on the backups, and there were times when they broke. Hufanga will be back after the bye, which will almost certainly make a big difference. 

Interior offensive line

It’s taken a while for the blame to focus on this group, but it’s happening now, and Ben Powers, Luke Wattenberg and Quinn Meinerz are the names in the spotlight. The Broncos averaged just three yards a carry against one of the worst run defenses in the NFL in Carolina, and while rookie running back Jonah Coleman got 57 yards rushing, 38 came after contact. That figure dropped to 2.0 yards on runs between Wattenberg and Powers, and it wouldn’t be a bit surprising to see a move made at the deadline on Tuesday.