Broncos Newest Defensive Tackle Could Provide Serious Help With Denver’s Pass Rush
The Denver Broncos didn’t excite their fan base much during the draft, especially given that the first pick they made was a defensive tackle in the third round. But Tyler Onyedim is a better player than most people think, and he showed out when he moved from Iowa State to Texas A&M via the transfer portal, according to a piece written by Parker Gabriel of the Denver Post.
The Aggies coaching staff knew Onyedim had some potential given that he was moving from Iowa State’s 3-3-5 defense to A&M’s even front, but his performance in spring football changed their thinking completely.
“We kind of were like, ‘Oh damn. We got one,’” said A&M defensive coordinator Lyle Hemphill.
Now Onyedim is out to impress a new coaching staff, and the fact that he was asked to control multiple gaps in college was a big part of the reason Denver fell in love with his tape.
“You’ve got to be a big boy in there to do some of that stuff,” Hemphill acknowledged, noting that ISU helped Onyedim grow into a high-quality player. “That, when it’s all said and done, is probably the harder skill to develop.”
The skill that came with that was the ability to rush the passer, which was unexpected. The Aggies isolated on clips of tape that showed the defensive tackle had the ability to do that, which is exactly what coach Sean Payton does when he assesses players.
“There were times at Iowa State where you knew he was in pass-rush mode or just kind of go mode because of down and distance,” Hemphill said. “We cut those clips out and watched those clips on the side and we were like, ‘Oh, wait, this kid can be something more than this defense allows him to be.’ …
“When you watched him in that light, he became a different player.”
No one knows if he can do that in Denver, but Onyedim will have some excellent role models as a pass rusher. Zach Allen is one of the best interior pass rushers in the game, so there’s a lot Onyedim can pick up from Allen.
“The 3-3 scheme at Iowa State is a little different,” Broncos assistant general manager Reed Burckhardt said after Denver selected Onyedim. “And then he gets in a different scheme that fits ours a little bit more and — there’s always going to be differences, but we felt more comfortable seeing the evidence that he was playing in a scheme similar to ours. He had a really good year. His skillset is as a three-down player.”
GM George Paton agreed. “The tape was good at Iowa State,” Paton said, “But we really liked it at A&M.”
Onyedim is also coming to Denver with the right attitude fit in. He knows he’s not going to displace the likes of Allen, D.J. Jones and Malcolm Roach anytime soon, and he understands the Bronco way.
“Don’t be an arrogant person,” Onyedim said after being selected. “Just learn. Sit back and learn from the best. That’s my mindset, just learn from the best and cramming everything so I can be the best player I know I can be.”
