ENGLEWOOD, Colo. — Jahdae Barron took a while to get going at Texas.
In his first two seasons, he started two games, amassing 21 total tackles. There were flashes, but the experiences were mostly about learning.
Then came his junior campaign of 2022 — when the Longhorns moved him inside to the “Star” position. As he told Inside Texas in the following offseason, “When my coach moved me at the position he told me at the end of the day it created value for myself,” because it would allow him to work in the box while still making plays in the slot.
To say it created value was an understatement. It was Barron’s launching pad. By the time Barron left Texas, he’d become a four-position standout.
“So, corner, star, dime and safety. And it was fun. It wasn’t a big task,” he said just after the Broncos drafted him.
“It was a mental and a physical thing. Coach (Mickey) Joseph and Coach (Blake) Gideon, they taught me something — that nickel and dime, it was more a physical thing. And then understand when I was at corner and safety was more mental.
“Just understanding that you have to do things right over and over and over again and you don’t know when they’re going to come at you. So, it was just kind of changing on that aspect. But they prepared me well, just with my practice reps just kind of going rapid-fire on me, just throwing me out there in the fire.”
Because of the speed of practice repetitions, game tempo didn’t faze Barron. It moved fast — but he processed faster.
“So, when the game came, it was like series-to-series, but it allowed me to play fast,” he said. “It allowed me to understand each position and not only understand each position, but understand and truly know what that position needs from point A to B.
“Just understand where it stretches this person out. If I was that corner and the star was in man, I could show off and just take away the slot fade for the star.
“So, little things like that and just understanding where I had to be. If I was the post player, where can I disguise to get down? If I was a dime player, just understanding where the [middle linebacker] needed help. So, all those things, all those variations, I was just kind of playing in my head and again, I was just playing chess and I was able to play fast.”
VERSATILITY CREATES MASSIVE IMMEDIATE POSSIBILITIES FOR BARRON
And in rookie minicamp earlier this month, he was as advertised.
“I would say [he is] exactly what we saw on tape: smart, savvy,” Broncos coach Sean Payton said.
“If you’re watching closely, some people transition and stop very quickly. He has really quick twitch. I’d say he’s sticky in coverage. I think he’s one of those players that already at a young age understands splits.
“I worry sometimes with the corners that — if you’re defending every route, you’re defending no route. He’s really savvy as to a tight split, he eliminates 80 percent of what could be run. You feel a veteran player.”
And someone who appears ready to do something right away. It’s just a matter of defining that — even though that definition may not be anything quite like we’ve seen from a recent Broncos player, simply because of the breadth of Barron’s skill set and ability.
