Damarri Mathis is no stranger to slow starts.
As a rookie, he drew four defensive pass interference penalties in his first career start Week 6 at the Los Angeles Chargers.
Now a second-year player, Mathis has struggled out of the gates as the Broncos' starting cornerback opposite Pat Surtain II.
Playing across from Surtain, who most quarterbacks tend to avoid from the start, is not easy duty by any stretch.
But Mathis has been picked on. Las Vegas did it with Jakobi Meyers while Surtain put down a quietly ridiculous performance against All-Pro Davante Adams. Then Washington worked to get Terry McLaurin matched up with Mathis, too.
Sunday against Miami, well, pretty much everybody struggled.
Mathis, the former Pitt standout, is most comfortable in man coverage and still learning the nuances of NFL defensive systems. He's shown he can be a physical tackler, but has missed his share — it's been a common theme for Denver's defense in general — so far through three games.
Mathis told The Post this week he doesn't think teams are targeting him extra this year. He just hasn't played well enough to force opposing quarterbacks to go elsewhere with the ball.
"I think it's similar (to last year)," he said. "I just felt like I didn't really start how I wanted to. I feel like I'm starting to put better tape out there, but I'm still not where I want to be.
"I'm just trying to get better each week."
With secondary coach Christian Parker one of just two holdovers from Nathaniel Hackett's staff last year, Mathis clearly had the trust of coaches despite entering just his second season. He spent all offseason as a starter, jumped right back into his spot after missing time in camp and hardly ever took a rep with the No. 2 unit through the offseason program.
He said a tough start to the year doesn't diminish his confidence in himself.
"Nah, I feel like I'm in a good position," he said. "Just keep playing confident. Play with swag and play to the abilities that I have. Do that, trust my coaching and I'm going to be good."
If Parker and defensive coordinator Vance Joseph get to a point where they consider Mathis a liability, they could decide to look at rookie Riley Moss. The Broncos traded a 2024 third-round pick to move up in the draft to select Moss, an All-Big Ten performer in college at Iowa, in the third round.
"He's really moving now at 100%," Payton said this week of Moss, who missed more than a month of preseason work to have core muscle surgery after developing a sports hernia. "Coming off an injury, there's a transition. Fortunately for us, we had enough of an early evaluation where we felt pretty good about what we saw. He's smart. He does a lot of things well. We'll begin looking at, 'Hey, what are roles for him?' We know he's going to be a factor (on special teams), but what are the other roles? I always say this: what do these guys do well? Let's try to have them do those things."
Hindsight is 20/20
Broncos receiver Brandon Johnson didn't appear to do much wrong on an offensive pass interference penalty in the end zone on what would have been a touchdown pass to Courtland Sutton against Miami. Johnson, offensive coordinator Joe Lombardi said, may have leaned slightly too much into contact with a defensive back as he tried to create a natural pick to free Sutton. Johnson, though, carried his route through the contact and didn't put his hands on the defender or block him.
"Brandon did exactly what I coached him to do," Payton said. "I have to look at (coaching) that a little differently. It can just vary how (an official) sees it. He's running a route. He's not blocking. It just is what it is. It would've been much harder had it been a close game. Then I have to look at, 'Hey, do I show an avoidance?' It was the look we wanted."
A number to know
38.4. Percentage chance, according to Sumer Sports data, that either Chicago (22.5%) or Denver (15.9%) ends up with the No. 1 overall pick in the 2024 draft. The Broncos now check in with the second-highest odds per the analytics group. The result of Sunday's matchup will swing those numbers further.
Bonus number
4.9. The number of wins the same analytics model now projects the Broncos to find this year.
From the locker room
*Veteran practice squad-er Ben Niemann played linebacker with Josey Jewell at Iowa. If he's needed either in Jewell's spot or as a special teams fill-in with Drew Sanders starting for Jewell Sunday, he'll be ready. "I was in this system with Vance last year in Arizona, so a little bit of the terminology has changed, but the bread and butter, meat and potatoes is still the same stuff. For the most part I feel pretty good about it. From the special teams perspective, just go play fast."
* Niemann, who has played in 79 career games and started nine last year with the Cardinals, appreciates that special teams coordinator Ben Kotwica doesn't "overcomplicate the scheme. We've got a good unit."
* Former Broncos fullback Andrew Beck returned a kickoff 85 yards for a touchdown in Week 3. Don't think Denver's current fullback, Mike Burton, missed it, either. It's the kind of play that makes fullbacks everywhere proud. When apprised Beck had hit 20 miles per hour on the GPS, Burton said he wasn't surprised, quickly referencing Beck's 40-yard dash time from his University of Texas pro day. Fullbacks unite.
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