ENGLEWOOD, Colo. -- Bradley Roby is tired of being asked about Aqib Talib.

But Roby might have to get used to it, at least for now. Because when the Denver Broncos traded Talib, who was named to four Pro Bowls in his four seasons with the Broncos, to the Los Angeles Rams in March, it was because the Broncos felt Roby was ready to be a starter. Now Roby has to hold up his end of the bargain.

Bradley Roby will have to hold off Tramaine Brock for the No. 2 cornerback job. Ron Chenoy/USA TODAY Sports

"Every year in the league you have to keep working hard,” Roby said. "Not one year do you think, ‘Oh I got it, I'm good now. Just do the same thing that you want to do.' If you do the same things every year then somebody's going to come up and pass you. That's just the nature of the league."

Part of that is understanding the difference between playing a lot and playing all the time.

"But it's different when you have to play every snap," fellow corner Chris Harris Jr. said. "It's being consistent, knowing the game plan and being able to execute that on every snap. In the past he's had those times when he kind of falls asleep, and now he has to be aware on all of those snaps -- and it's a long season, you have to train your body, your mind, to go from 600 snaps to 1,000 snaps."

Harris knows. Harris was third on Denver's defense with 869 plays last season and was first in 2016 with 1,094.

Roby has been the Broncos' third cornerback since being drafted in the first round in 2014, the same year Talib arrived as a free agent. Coach Vance Joseph has said Roby "has essentially been a starter," but with Talib gone, Roby will really be one.

So it's what will happen on those additional 300-400 snaps that could determine whether Talib's trade and Roby's promotion will work out as the Broncos -- and Roby -- hope.

"It's a mentality, you have to prepare for it, you have to train for it, you have to understand that," Harris said. "That's a whole other level, those 1,000 snaps, you have to be ready for that."

The secondary that started Super Bowl 50 for the Broncos had four players who had either already been to the Pro Bowl or were soon to be named to one. The makeover of the "No Fly Zone," as Harris had dubbed it, began last summer, when safety T.J. Ward was released.

That makeover went to the next level when Talib, a defensive captain last season, was traded.

The Broncos made the trade because they needed the salary-cap space to fix other things following a 5-11 season, and because they had positioned Roby for the next step when the Broncos picked up his fifth-year option in May 2017.

"I think moving on from Aqib wasn't about [Talib] not being able to play anymore, it was more about helping the Broncos improve in other places,” Joseph said. "In our hearts we feel like Roby is ready to go. ... It's tough when you're the third corner and you're the little brother. You don't take those steps to take over the job."

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And even as Joseph has said Tramaine Brock, who was signed in free agency, could compete to be the No. 2 corner, the expectation is Roby will power through the team's OTAs, minicamp and training camp with the aggressiveness to indicate the job is his.

Roby was one of three Broncos defensive backs -- along with safety Will Parks and cornerback Brendan Langley -- who went to Dallas before the Broncos' offseason program began to work with Harris and a trainer Harris has long used to prepare for each season.

Part of that offseason training, at least for Roby, has been fueling up on all the talk about how the team will regress with him there instead of Talib.

"I'm getting tired of hearing about it, honestly," Roby said. "It is what it is, and I have to wait until the season to show that there's no drop-off. ... 'No Fly Zone' has been a standard, and that's what it's going to continue to be."