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Jahdae Barron #12 of the Denver Broncos warm up before facing the San Francisco 49ers.

The Denver Broncos said the quiet part out loud late in 2025 1st-round pick Jahdae Barron‘s rookie year.

When the season was on the line — when the pressure was really on — Barron mostly stood on the sideline and watched as a player who wasn’t even drafted, Ja’Quan McMillian, took his reps and looked like a star in the making.

Headed into Barron’s 2nd season, it’s safe to say the pressure is already on, with The Athletic’s Nick Baumgardner singling out the No. 20 overall pick as one of several 2025 1st-rounders with the “clock ticking” in 2026.

“(Barron) was more of a reserve/subpackage defender than a full-time starting outside corner,” Baumgardner wrote. “Some of that, at least early, was likely by design — Barron was sort of a slot/outside corner tweener when the Broncos used a first-round pick on him. The 5-foot-11, 200-pounder didn’t play much in Denver’s playoff win over the Buffalo Bills and saw just five snaps in an AFC Championship Game loss to the New England Patriots.”

Barron Won’t Crack Starting Lineup in Week 1

The irony of Barron struggling to see the field playing behind McMillian at slot cornerback is that the Broncos, for all intents and purposes, drafted him to replace outside cornerback Riley Moss across the field from former NFL Defensive Player of the Year Patrick Surtain II.

Barron has proven ill-equipped for either task.

Now, both Moss and McMillian seem lined up for big-money contracts in the near future, while the Broncos, who are Super Bowl contenders, can’t really take a chance on experimenting with Barron in the starting lineup with so much on the line.

ESPN’s Aaron Schatz singled Barron out as the team’s “Biggest Weakness” headed into last season’s playoffs, and specifically in regard to how Barron has struggled in his role as a nickelback covering slot wide receivers.

“Denver has one of the NFL’s best defenses this season, led by a vicious pass rush that leads the league in sacks (64),” Schatz wrote on December 31. “However, if opponents can get a pass off, they can take advantage of the Broncos’ slot cornerbacks, Ja’Quan McMillian and Jahdae Barron. Denver ranks only 27th in DVOA against passes to slot receivers, allowing 7.6 yards per attempt. The good news for the Broncos is that only two AFC playoff teams rank in the top 10 in the number of pass attempts to slot receivers this season: the Chargers and themselves.”

Broncos GM Defends Jahdae Barron Against Critics

Broncos general manager George Paton was quick to come to his rookie’s defense after a 10-7 loss to the Patriots in the AFC Championship Game, and Barron told reporters he needs to be “levelheaded” moving forward.

“You can see all the traits (with Barron),” Paton told ESPN’s Jeff Legwold. “He was good for us, but probably not so good for him — he was drafted into maybe the deepest cornerback room in the league and he made his mark. He’s just going to keep growing and keep getting better.”

If we are looking for root causes to Barron’s rookie struggles, it’s fair to start with his fully guaranteed 4-year, $18.2 million contract, which included a $9.8 million signing bonus. After the Broncos drafted Barron on April 24, he didn’t sign his contract until July 16 for some reason — the 31st out of 32nd picks to sign.