Denver Broncos cornerback Drayton Florence is bringing his Make-It-Happen Football Camp to Booster Stadium on Saturday. Florence is a 10-year NFL veteran and graduate of Vanguard High School.
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Published: Friday, June 1, 2012 at 6:30 a.m.
Last Modified: Friday, June 1, 2012 at 12:21 a.m.
Drayton Florence is in pretty good company this week at his first minicamp with the Denver Broncos.
If the Vanguard High School graduate and 10-year NFL cornerback looks to his side in the Broncos secondary, he'll find future Hall-of-Famer Champ Bailey. If he looks across the line, he'll find another future Hall of Famer in quarterback Peyton Manning.
"I've been playing against those guys my whole career," said Florence, who signed with the Broncos as a free agent last month. "Now to be on the same side with them, to see how they prepare and how they work, you just want to take a little bit of what they do and put it in your own toolbox, then continue to move forward."
Florence, 31, moved forward quickly after being released unexpectedly by the Buffalo Bills on May 4. The veteran cover corner had several suitors lined up for his services before picking his new home just six days later.
"I felt Denver would be the best fit for me after bringing in Peyton Manning in the offseason and as well as the defense played last year," Florence said. "I didn't think this team was that far away, so it was an easy decision for me."
Florence is part of a crowded secondary vying for roster spots in Denver, but he's expected to be a key contributor along with incumbents Bailey and Chris Harris, fellow free-agent signee Tracy Porter, and fourth-round draft pick Omar Bolden. Florence, a durable veteran who has played in 135 out of a possible 144 games in his career and collected 441 tackles, 17 interceptions and two touchdowns, is confident he'll earn a spot both on the team and on the playing field.
"I don't feel any uncertainty ever about making a team," he said. "Competition is the name of this game. Some people run from it, some people run to it. I'm one of those guys who steps right in line and goes out and competes with whoever is out there."
In Denver, Florence joins a defense coming off of a breakout season in 2011. The Broncos stumbled to a 1-4 start before turning over the offense to quarterback Tim Tebow. With Tebow â€" a media magnet and extreme fan favorite â€" grabbing all the headlines while the defense quietly evolved into one of the NFL's best units, the Broncos rattled off a streak of six wins in their next seven games and made an entirely unexpected run to the divisional playoffs.
Count Florence among those who believe it was the Broncos defense, not Tebow, that was the true star of the team's 2011 run to the playoffs.
"Everybody wants to take Tim Tebow and make him the best quarterback of all time. No knock on him, but this defensive football team last year played outstanding," Florence said. "They were winning games by three points, throwing two passes and still winning football games. Obviously, if you understand football, you know why they were winning."
With Tebow traded to the New York Jets and Manning now under center, Denver will enter the 2012 season with much higher expectations. That's just fine with Florence. After nearly a decade of NFL service time and more than $20 million in salary and bonuses, Florence has only one more goal. e_SClB"I haven't won a Super Bowl yet," he said. "That's really why I'm still playing."
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Andy Marks can be reached at andy.marks@starbannerr.com.
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