Rookie S Caden Sterns Poised for Big Role in Broncos Defense

The Denver Broncos drafted Caden Sterns in the fifth round out of Texas, and being a Day 3 pick, expectations weren't extremely high. That said, the rookie safety has impressed the coaching staff with his performance and how quickly he picked up the playbook. 

In addition, through all of the training camp practices, Sterns has yet to have a terrible one. He carried over his impressive practices into a very impressive game. 

Head coach Vic Fangio highlighted what Sterns needed to show in a game was competent tackling, which he consistently struggled to do in college. The rookie showed that by leading the team with six total tackles, all of which were solo tackles.

While the biggest highlight of his night vs. the Minnesota Vikings came when he broke up a would-be touchdown pass in the back of the end zone, Sterns did a lot more. Outside of that play, it was a mostly quiet game in coverage, which is typically a good thing for defensive backs. However, what stood out the most in his game was his overall run defense.

Coming downhill and filling the right lane was, at times, problematic for Sterns in college. However, in his first NFL action, he was outstanding in that area and was a force when met in the hole. It was a game where he stood out in the two areas that were his biggest concerns.

Sterns came out of the game dealing with a minor injury, but it only held him out of one practice. As the Broncos get ready to take on the Seattle Seahawks on Saturday in preseason Game 1, he is a player to keep an eye out for. 

Denver needs someone to grab hold of the No. 3 safety spot, and Sterns is part of that fight with P.J. Locke, who has also been quite impressive.