DENVER, CO - DECEMBER 22: David Blough #10 of the Detroit Lions is hit by Jeremiah Attaochu #97 of the Denver Broncos as he passes against the Denver Broncos in the fourth quarter of a game at Empower Field on December 22, 2019 in Denver, Colorado. (Photo by Dustin Bradford/Getty Images)

The Denver Broncos found a gem on the street free agent market in outside linebacker Jeremiah Attaochu, who may have played his way to a new contract.

It’s not often you find valuable assets on the free agent market in October, but the Denver Broncos struck gold this past year with the signing of pass rusher Jeremiah Attaochu.

Attaochu had spent the preseason with the Kansas City Chiefs where he put some solid tape out there, but not good enough apparently for a team like Kansas City, which needed depth defensively, to keep him on their initial 53-man roster.

In fact, Attaochu went a month without having a team at all, and whether it was the NFL that wasn’t all that interested or he was simply waiting for the right opportunity, the situation he found in Denver ended up being a really good one.

Attaochu was a second-round pick of the San Diego Chargers back in 2014 out of Georgia Tech. For a period there with the Chargers, Attaochu was a really productive player and looked well on his way to being a long-time starter for them before injuries struck.

Attaochu couldn’t consistently stay healthy, and he ended up getting let go by the Chargers and signing with the New York Jets, where he had some decent work on tape as well.

The Jets, a team in need of help off the edge, didn’t re-sign Attaochu, and he ended up in Kansas City trying to claw his way onto a roster.

When Bradley Chubb went down with a season-ending knee injury, it was obviously devastating for the Broncos. But you never know what those injuries will turn out to be in terms of opportunities for other players, and Attaochu really did a good job filling in.

Vic Fangio’s defense is a tough one to master, and the Broncos’ first-year head coach was even a bit brutally honest about his impressions of Attaochu not being so great at first.

“He’s gotten better. I personally wasn’t that fired up or impressed early, but he’s won me over. He’s just gotten better and better and better each and every week. He’s playing his butt off. I think he likes being here and I think he likes that he’s playing, and he’s won me over.” Broncos HC Vic Fangio (quotes via Broncos PR)

Attaochu played more snaps — 322 — than he had since 2015 when he was pretty much a full-time player for the San Diego Chargers.

Although Attaochu got off to a slow start production-wise as he acclimated himself to the new defense, he was a playmaker off the edge for the Broncos down the stretch, racking up 3.5 sacks in the team’s final four games and really causing havoc off the edge with a combination of speed and power.

Though he played 12 games for the Broncos, Attaochu became the starter opposite Von Miller for the final five games and really turned up his play from that point forward.

Now, the guy who was signed as a street free agent as a ‘break in case of emergency’ with Bradley Chubb going down has become a legitimate candidate to be re-signed by the Denver Broncos.

The question is whether or not Attaochu would want to be the number three rusher in Denver when he’s now proven — once more — that he can be a three-down player in this league. The Broncos should at least make him an offer.

You never know when injuries will happen, and having a player of Attaochu’s caliber behind guys like Von Miller and Bradley Chubb is a luxury the team can presently afford.

The Broncos should make it tough for Attaochu to leave. They perhaps can’t offer him a full-time role with Chubb coming back from injury, but they could offer him a fair contract and a prominent role as the top reserve off the edge. The Broncos can also pitch Attaochu’s obvious fit in Fangio’s defense down the stretch this season.

Attaochu is a well-rounded veteran player who made the most of his opportunity in Denver, and he’ll be rewarded for it one way or another.