Broncos 'Very Pleased' With Second-Year CB Riley Moss

The Denver Broncos are constantly attacking under defensive coordinator Vance Joseph, revealing that having two productive cornerbacks is better than one. While the dominant Patrick Surtain II is invariably put on a pedestal, on the opposite side, the second-year Riley Moss is gaining some meaningful recognition himself.

Grabbing the attention of Broncos head coach Sean Payton should be Moss' first goal.

"I think Riley has accelerated [his confidence]," Payton said on Wednesday. "Certainly, Riley's aware of that, but I just finished telling [Owner & CEO] Greg [Penner] and [GM] George [Paton]. We were just sitting there talking and I said, 'Man, if you're watching the film of this guy play right now, he's playing at a high level.'"

Confidence is a two-way deal in professional sports, so as Moss develops his levels of self-assurance, Payton has also put his faith firmly behind the former Iowa standout.

"He's long, he's smart, and super competitive," Payton said of Moss. "One of the traits you have to have at that position is [at some point] you're going to fail, and you have to dare to fail and get right back. I'm really pleased with his progress."

It's easy to distill the success of the Broncos' secondary down to what Surtain allows them to do in terms of scheme. In many ways, that may be true, but Surtain likes the collaboration that Denver's emerging defense is doing right now.

With the presence of Moss and nickel corner Ja'Quan McMillian, it's more than just Surtain locking down the opposition's No.1 receiver.

"I'm just going based off these past four weeks. We've been very dominant," Surtain said on Wednesday. "Ja'Quan], 'J-Mac', he's been just lights out playing great football and making plays. [S] P.J. [Locke], Riley and [S] Brandon [Jones], everyone on the defensive side of the secondary. We've just been honing in on communication, being on the same page and understanding our keys. That's winning football at the end of the day. I could tell by these past few weeks that we've really honed in on the little things, and that's what has made us great."

It could be a case of the rich getting richer, especially as Moss and the entire unit tune into the finer details. Plus, cornerback Damarri Mathis is set to come back off injured reserve, which will only add to the depth of the unit moving forward.

While everyone is vibing off the progress the Broncos defense is making, if you were to take Surtain out of the lineup, things would likely stack up differently, particularly regarding the defensive scheme. That's a nuclear scenario that Payton doesn't want to consider for a fleeting moment.

Payton much prefers to talk about all the positives of having a cover corner like Surtain playing for the good guys.

"It's like the good news, bad news question all the time," Payton said. "'The good news is you just did a great job against such and such.' 'What's the bad news?' 'Well, this week it's this [guy].' There's stress with that."

That challenge has been given Surtain in a variety of ways by Payton. Prior to the game in Tampa, it was even done in jest. But when you boil the bones down, Surtain seems completely at ease with shadowing the game's best receivers all over the field.

"I've been doing it for the past few years, and just having that experience traveling against the best," Surtain said. "Year after year, I feel like with my experience, I have been getting better with knowing my opponent. It's just a credit to my game, and also to the staff for trusting me to put me in that situation. The staff made that call for me to follow the best each and every week. I just have to live up to that for sure."

In the final analysis, Moss is not only learning from a truly generational player in Surtain, the 24-year-old's rapid emergence is allowing the Broncos to get on the front foot and attack from the opening gun.