DENVER — As the Denver Broncos prepare for this year’s upcoming Free Agency frenzy, new Broncos General Manager George Paton has some important decisions to make as the organization moves forward into a new era.
For the newly appointed Broncos GM, player evaluation has always been a strength of Paton, but one of the challenges he’ll face early on is evaluating which expiring contracts will be important to pick up for 2021.
Enter Shelby Harris. Last off-season, Harris was expected to test out the free agency market and was set to become one of the most coveted players out there for teams in need of a key player on their defensive line. As we see each off-season, trades can manipulate and influence the market and several teams can address their needs through that pathway.
Former Houston Texans defensive lineman D.J. Reader was the first domino to fall for the position group in free agency after he signed with the Cincinnati Bengals. A day later, the San Francisco 49ers conducted a trade with the Indianapolis Colts, sending DeForest Buckner to Indy, and fulfilling their need of a pass rusher.
Unfortunately, those moves impacted the market that Shelby was expected to be in a position to change, resulting in a wait-and-see approach. The Broncos were on the phone trying to figure out what their next move was, thus trading a seventh-round pick to the Tennessee Titans for veteran defensive lineman Jurrell Casey.
The Broncos didn’t believe they’d be in a position to retain Shelby considering that he was in a position to possibly change the market and pending questions surrounding whether or not they’d work out a long-term contract with Justin Simmons, their rising star at safety.
Nearly two weeks had passed before the Broncos and Harris made contact with each other, and when they did, both sides agreed to terms on a one-year deal to bring Harris back for 2020, worth around $3.25M. I recently sat down with Shelby for an interview on the Locked On Broncos podcast as he reflected on his decision to come back to Denver last year, and ultimately the 2020 season.
“Coming back to Denver, I really enjoyed Vic’s [Fangio] defense. It puts defensive linemen in a position to make plays and be successful. After not getting a multi-year deal that we wanted last year, Denver was the place that I needed to be to play the best football, so that’s why I thought it was a no-brainer coming back to Denver.”
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For the Broncos, Harris’ value extended beyond the stat-sheet. Despite playing in only 11 games in 2020, Harris’s impact on the football field was evident on film. In Coach Fangio’s 3-4 defensive scheme, Harris demonstrated the ability to line up anywhere, whether that be a 1-technique, 3-technique, or even as a 5-tech at times. The result was the same as he consistently caused pressure on opposing quarterbacks, creating interior penetration against the run, and making plays when the team needed him the most.
In 2020, Harris led all defensive linemen in passes deflected at the line of scrimmage, knocking down seven passes attempted by quarterbacks. Not only did Harris’s impact help the defense, but he generated opportunities for other players as well.
In the Broncos 18-12 victory over the New England Patriots in Week 6, Harris tipped a Cam Newton pass into the air, leading to fellow defensive lineman DeShawn Williams making an athletic play, diving in the air to intercept it. That’s the Shelby Harris effect.
Shelby, unfortunately, missed four weeks due to testing positive for COVID-19 and being placed on the team’s Covid-reserve list. In Week 13, Harris made his return on Sunday Night Football against AFC West division rival, the Kansas City Chiefs.
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Earlier in the week, Broncos head coach Vic Fangio indicated that Shelby would likely be on a pitch count due to being away from football-related activities for over a month. It didn’t appear that Shelby would need a pitch count with the effort that he played within the Broncos 22-16 loss.
Chiefs wide receiver Tyreek Hill would take an end-around play down the left sideline for 30 yards, and it appeared as if he would have an easy touchdown after breaking several tackles. Harris executed a perfect pursuit drill, taking a backtrack angle at 135 degrees, chasing down the NFL’s fastest player, and saving a touchdown from happening.
Reflecting on the football side of last season, Shelby discussed how his off-season training helped prepare him for an impactful year. “I definitely feel like I came into the season in the best shape of my career, I was ready to go prove myself, and I feel like I went out there and did a good job of that from the beginning. I just think I had to go out there with a different mindset and just worry about playing ball and beating the man in front of you and letting everything else handle itself.”
Despite the Broncos finishing 5-11 last season, Harris demonstrated how important he is to the defense, and it was evident with the struggles the team faced against the run and creating pressure against quarterbacks when he wasn’t on the field. But what was even more important to Harris, was how the organization treated him.
It was Week 16 and the Broncos were on the road in Los Angeles to take on Justin Herbert and the Chargers. For Shelby, he and his wife Stephanie were expecting the birth of their son at any moment. Shelby reflected on what his mindset was that morning being in Los Angeles on the day his son would be born.
“It was a very cool and different experience. To go through waking up on game day with people knocking on your door telling me to answer my phone because my wife’s water broke. For me to just go out there and have all of that on your mind, and to play the game, and through the whole game, all I could think about was ‘I hope she’s not having the baby, yet’. You felt like you just had a little bit of energy going through your body at all times.”
Despite his wife’s water breaking, Shelby made the tough decision to stay and play the game. He’d finish the game with four tackles, one hit on the quarterback, and two passes deflected at the line of scrimmage.
The Broncos, unfortunately, came up short against the Chargers, losing 19-16, but for Harris, the real victory would come later. Harris rushed back to the locker room following the game to get dressed. The Broncos organization would charter a private plane for Shelby to take immediately following the game so that he could get back home in time to be there for the birth of his son.
“It was real cool for the Broncos to do what they did, because they honestly didn’t have to, but for them to do that for me in a time like that to make sure that I was home for the birth, it means something to me and my family forever.”
What’s next for Shelby? As it currently stands, Shelby is set to become an unrestricted free agent on March 17th, when the new league year goes into effect. After the Broncos released veteran defensive lineman Jurrell Casey on Thursday of last week, the need for depth at the defensive end has become bigger for Denver.
As it currently stands, Shelby is going through his offseason training program to help prepare himself for what’s to come in 2021. Whether or not that will be with Denver remains to be seen.
“As of right now, I honestly don’t know where i’ll be, right now nobody has any clue so it’s hard to speculate about right now.” Shelby has mentioned that he loves Denver and loves playing in Vic’s defense, but ultimately the decision will boil down to what the Broncos feel is best for the organization.
The Broncos, as it reads today, stand firm at $42.35M in estimated cap space according to Over The Cap. Financially, the Broncos may have enough wiggle room to extend Justin Simmons, Shelby Harris, and possibly restructure Von Miller’s contract.
As the young Broncos offense enters their second year together, it appears building up the defense will be one of the organization’s top priorities this off-season. Harris, Simmons, and Von would be significantly impactful in helping build a defense to compete with the Chiefs in the AFC West.