'There's purpose in adversity': Davontae Harris making the most of starting opportunity in Denver

[Miles]

ENGLEWOOD, Colo. — On Davontae Harris’ first day as a Bronco, he looked up from his locker to see an unexpected visitor.


Harris had arrived in Denver just hours earlier, after he was waived by the Bengals during roster cutdowns. The Broncos claimed the second-year player, and he headed to Denver to bolster the team’s secondary.


When he arrived, his expectations weren’t all that high. He thought he would largely contribute on special teams, and he told Assistant Special Teams Coach Chris Gould he wanted to be a Pro Bowler for the unit.


Harris did, however, expect the opportunity in Denver to be better than the one in Cincinnati, where he recorded just a single tackle in three appearances in 2018.


“There’s purpose in adversity,” Harris said Monday. “I didn’t know where I was going to go, I didn’t know what the outcome was going to be, but I knew for sure it was going to be better than where I was.”


Harris started to get that indication on that very first day when Von Miller headed over to his locker to introduce himself.


“I’m going to be honest, when it happened, afterwards, I called my dad and was like, ‘Hey, I don’t know if this is normal or not, but Von walked up to me to say what’s up, so I think it’s going to be a good situation,’” Harris said. “So that made me be positive and understanding that this is a different situation than I came from.”


Harris estimates he’s been to Miller’s house nearly 10 times since joining the team, and he’s joined his defensive backs group at a haunted house and a number of other activities.


“Cincinnati, it was good, but as far as the player-to-player relationship and the camaraderie, it wasn’t as close-knit as it is here,” Harris said. “I think that’s made a hell of a difference in me really adjusting to being part of a team.”


It may be a slight understatement to say Harris has adjusted nicely to Denver.


After playing exclusively on special teams for the first four games of the season, Harris started to see defensive snaps against the Chargers in Week 5 and took over a starting role against the Titans after De’Vante Bausby suffered a season-ending injury.