Texas Football: Broncos upgrade their secondary with S Caden Sterns

Four former Texas football players have now been taken off of the board in the 2021 NFL Draft on the afternoon of May 1. And there could be more on the way soon. But two players fell off of the board among Texas Exes in round five on day three, with the Atlanta Falcons taking defensive end Ta’Quon Graham 148th overall and now the Denver Broncos taking safety Caden Sterns 152nd overall.

The anticipated four or five players, at minimum, among former Longhorns in this draft class to fall off the board in the first five or six rounds wound up transpiring by the late afternoon of May 1. The first off of the board on May 1 was Graham, who will now be playing for the Falcons in the NFC South.

And then, it was Sterns getting picked up by the Broncos.

One more Texas Ex fell off the board before the conclusion of round six of the 2021 draft, with the Indianapolis Colts giving a backup to former North Dakota State Bison quarterback Carson Wentz. Former Texas star senior quarterback Sam Ehlinger landed with the Colts.

However, Sterns to the Broncos was one of the better fits amid former Longhorns getting picked on day three thus far of the 2021 draft. The Broncos are trying to rejuvenate themselves on the defensive side of the ball this offseason, and Sterns could wind up being an underrated addition for them.

Former Texas football S Caden Sterns an intriguing fit with the Broncos

While a fifth-round pick likely won’t be someone that is going to compete for a starting spot right away, the storyline of Sterns could be similar to that of Baltimore Ravens safety DeShon Elliott. The former All-American Elliott wasn’t picked up by the Ravens until the later rounds of the draft, but he already holds a starting spot in their secondary.

The talent is unquestioned for both Elliott and Sterns, but the implementation and schematics of the skill set of those two are where the question marks begin. Sterns did have a few issues in his last two years with Texas.

Missed tackles and occasional blown pass coverage assignments on deep balls were problematic for Sterns and likely stuck out to NFL scouts. There was a point in time when Sterns was considered to be a solidified first-round level talent. But an up-and-down junior campaign last fall did cost him draft stock a bit in the end.

During his three years playing for Texas, Sterns registered 173 combined tackles, 8.5 tackles for loss, two sacks, five interceptions, and eight pass breakups. A freshman campaign where Sterns shined as a Freshman All-American selection didn’t really translate in pass coverage in his last two years on the Forty Acres.

This is still a very potent pick for the Broncos in this year’s draft. Sterns could compete for reps in a backup role with the Broncos right away. Some names to watch in the Mile High City that Sterns could compete with include fellow former Longhorns defensive back P.J. Locke III and Trey Marshall.

There are now a good number of Texas Exes on the Broncos roster. Locke, offensive tackle Calvin Anderson, and tight end Andrew Beck are three of the more recent additions to the team among former Longhorns in the Mile High City.