Denver Broncos select Oklahoma safety Delarrin Turner-Yell in 2022 NFL Draft

The Denver Broncos liked what they saw out of Oklahoma safety Delarrin Turner-Yell in his college career. As a starter for the Sooners each of the past three seasons, Turner-Yell showed his value both defending the pass and as a tackler.

That’s why Denver decided to select him 152nd overall in the 2022 NFL Draft on Saturday.

A second team All-Big 12 selection this past season, Turner-Yell started 10 games, recording a career-high three interceptions to go along with 52 tackles. His best game of the season came against Iowa State, when he recorded a career-high 11 tackles (nine solo) to go along with an interception. The Sooners finished their season with an 11-2 record, taking out Oregon in the Alamo Bowl to close the season. Although many players opted out, Turner-Yell chose to play in the bowl game, recording five tackles.

A former three-star recruit in the class of 2018, Turner-Yell came to Oklahoma as the No. 94 safety and No. 1,009 overall player according to On3 Consensus, a complete and equally weighted industry-generated average. Aside from Oklahoma, just three other Power 5 program offered him a scholarship — Baylor, Iowa and Nebraska.

The safety missed the first six games of the season due to injury as a true freshman, but returned to play in seven of the final eight. After that he was a regular starter for the next three years, ending his college career with 191 total tackles (10 for loss), four interceptions and six passes defended.

At the NFL Combine in March, Turner-Yell posted a 40-yard dash time of 4.47 seconds. That is certainly something for fans of Broncos to get excited about heading into his rookie season.

NFL.com scouting report on Oklahoma safety Delarrin Turner-Yell

According to his NFL.com scouting report, Turner-Yell has both the athleticism and instincts to become a solid player at the next level. There are some concerns about his ability to stay healthy, as well as his open field tackling, as draft analyst Lance Zierlein noted in his assessment.

“Turner-Yell’s fluidity in space is the first thing that jumps off the tape whether he’s in coverage or in pursuit as a run defender,” Zierlein wrote. “Anticipation and decisiveness help speed up his pace of play, but his playmaking demeanor also hurts his coverage discipline at times. He’s versatile to play in a variety of coverages, but asking him to play man coverage against pass-catching tight ends might be biting off more than he can chew. He has the traits and demeanor to become a capable run defender but needs better pursuit angles to hold up against a faster level of competition. There are tools to work with, but Turner-Yell needs to play with better consistency to reach his potential.”