Denver, CO
Broncos nickel Ja’Quan McMillian set on expanding game after breakout 2023 campaign
Ja’Quan McMillian had to wait his turn in 2023.
First, the Broncos nickel job belonged to K’Waun Williams. A camp injury cost him what at first looked like weeks and turned into the entire season.
Then it belonged to Essang Bassey. But poor performance in the early weeks of the season opened the door again.
Then McMillian burst through like the Kool-Aid Man, pint-sized rather than the full pitcher, but with the kind of energy and impact that helped jolt Denver’s defense out of the doldrums and into a playmaking group.
Now this summer McMillian’s roster spot is secure, and he’s being counted on to produce as a linchpin in Vance Joseph’s defense.
He’s not planning on any sort of regression.
“Just taking the next step,” he told The Denver Post of his plans for Year 2 as a starter. “Just doing whatever they need me to do. Whatever that is, I’m willing to do it. Just improve from last year. Not make the same mistakes I made last year, try to take that next step mentally and try to anticipate more based off what the offense is giving me and use that information that it gives me. Play the same way I played. The mentality is still the same.
“Play hard, play physical and play smart football. That’s what I go by.”
McMillian got thrust into playing time Week 4 against Chicago and played well almost immediately. He racked up seven tackles for loss, a pair of sacks, two forced fumbles and two fumble recoveries and seemed to make a big play every week of Denver’s five-game, turnover-fueled winning streak in the middle of the season.
It happened fast and McMillian kept up fine, but he felt he had some retroactive work to do after the season ended, too.
“That’s what it’s for. The offseason, you go and you take your little break, but what I did early on was just watch a lot of film,” he said. “I watched a lot of games that I played in last year. Just tried to see a lot of different things that I can improve on. Just take that next step mentally. It is easier. You have more time to do that. So any time I got bored at the house I’d pull out the iPad and start watching film.”
He saw a lot of production from himself. Three tackles for loss against Kansas City in Week 6, then two more TFLs and a pick two weeks later against the Chiefs. A forced fumble in that Week 10 Monday night win at Buffalo. Two more turnovers forced against Minnesota. A forced fumble and a sack against Houston. Two more TFLs and a sack against the Chargers.
That’s all well and good, but he got as much out of watching seemingly much more monotonous practice tape.
“In practice, you use all your tools and you try different things and you just get to work on it,” he said. “Practice film is just as important to watch as the game film because it’s where you try stuff. You might try something in practice that you can’t try in a game because you can’t give something up or take that risk.
“I’ve watched a lot of both, and both have done me good.”
He’s impressed the coaching staff thoroughly along the way.
“He is extremely smart,” head coach Sean Payton said. “I kind of felt like he’s one of those players that kind of took a step into his own last year, created a lot of turnovers. He has really good football instincts, and I think that is a trait that’s very important because there are a lot of adjustments that take place for that player when the motion goes or leaves. His fits in the run game are different than maybe the corners or even the safeties sometimes.
“So you’re looking for someone who has high football IQ and good (change of direction), someone that can tackle. And of course, you’re going to play man-to-man, so how does he hold up when he’s covering up in the slot? All of those things.”
McMillian did them all well in 2023 and is planning on being better across the board in 2024.
“I went into the offseason doing the same thing, with the same mentality. I just want to take the next step mentally,” he said. “Going into the playbook deeper and knowing the ins and outs of the defense. Obviously, I knew a little bit last year but I just wanted to go deeper into the playbook. Just get faster, bigger, stronger.”
Most TFLs by Broncos DB (single season)
Ja’Quan McMillian made an instant impact when he was inserted into the lineup last season, including a knack for racking up tackles for loss. Here’s a look at how his season stacks up to other Broncos defensive backs. Mobile users, tap here to see the chart.
| Year | Player | TFLs | Games played | Games started |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2023 | Ja’Quan McMillian | 7 | 16 | 3 |
| 2014 | T.J. Ward | 6 | 15 | 15 |
| 2009 | Brian Dawkins | 6 | 16 | 16 |
| 2014 | Chris Harris | 5 | 16 | 16 |
| 2014 | Bradley Roby | 5 | 16 | 2 |
| 2013 | Chris Harris | 5 | 16 | 15 |
| 2011 | Brian Dawkins | 5 | 14 | 12 |
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April will be the premier month for jazz in Denver and Boulder, due to the arrival of the Denver Jazz Fest. Kicking off April 3 and running through April 6, some of the area’s best-sounding venues will open their doors to present internationally known artists and local jazz luminaries.
Performers include saxophonist Joe Lovano’s Paramount Quartet, guitarist Bill Frisell, multi-Grammy winner and Denverite Dianne Reeves, who is unquestionably one of the most accomplished living singers, pianist Omar Sosa, saxophonist Charles McPherson teaming up with trumpeter Terell Stafford, vocalist Ganavya, Boulder-based piano legend Art Lande, emerging and incendiary saxophonist Isaiah Collier, the funk-drenched Ghost Note, The Headhunters and more.
There will be 30 shows total.
It’s encouraging to see the involvement of so many venues in Denver and Boulder, from Nocturne to the Newman Center, presenting such heartfelt music. This will be the first Denver Jazz Fest, and hopefully an annual Colorado tradition will be established. It’s time for the world to be reminded of our extraordinary musical history. Everything you need to know is at denverjazz.org.
Record Store Day
“You can never have enough records” is a statement I embrace. Luckily, Record Store Day is Saturday, April 12. That means your favorite local retailer will amass a stash of limited-edition vinyl for you to grasp excitedly. The archival jazz crop this time around is excellent: there are recently-unearthed live dates from trumpeter Freddie Hubbard (“On Fire – Live From The Blue Morocco”,) bassist Charles Mingus (“In Argentina – The Buenos Aires Concerts”,) and trumpet king Kenny Dorham (“Blue Bossa In The Bronx”) which is of particular interest, because there really isn’t a lot of Kenny Dorham music around in physical form.
There’s also an exhilarating four-hour vinyl box from big bandleader and keyboardist Sun Ra, “Nuits de la Fondation Maeght,” which includes a generous amount of previously unreleased sounds of joy from the summer of 1970. It’s as noisy as it is delightful. Locations and the definitive list are at recordstoreday.com. I hope you get what you want.
Guitarist Dave Devine will perform music associated with guitar hero Grant Green at Nocturne March 30, along with a six-course dinner…The Metropolitan Jazz Orchestra presents a tribute to Quincy Jones at Dazzle March 31…The Julia Keefe Indigenous Big Band will perform at DU’s Newman Center April 8…The Mike Marlier Quartet honors Chick Corea at Nocturne on April 9…the gifted saxophonist Miguel Zenon brings his quartet to Dazzle April 14…saxophonist-vocalist Brianna Harris performs “The Modern Songbook” at Nocturne Saturdays in April…NEA Jazz Master-saxophonist Gary Bartz, who has worked with legends from Art Blakey to Miles Davis, will take to the Dazzle stage May 1-2. Bartz is living history, and he doesn’t appear in Colorado very often…Victor Wooten and the Wooten Brothers appear at the Boulder Theater May 3…
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Even with all of the records that Nikola Jokic already holds in the NBA, he somehow still finds a way to mesmerize fans every game.
As the Denver Nuggets faced off against the Utah Jazz on Friday night, Jokic did the unbelievable and hit a near full-court buzzer-beater in a moment that left fans shocked.
Most importantly for Jokic and the Nuggets, they came out with a win against the Utah Jazz.
NIKOLA JOKIC IS INSANE. 🤯🤯🤯
— Hoop Central (@TheHoopCentral) March 29, 2025
After the game, Nuggets head coach Michael Malone gave his thoughts on Jokic’s impressive accomplishment.
“I don’t know if this still holds true and maybe you guys would know but, somebody told me if Nikola Jokic didn’t shoot those desperation heaves, he would be leading the league in three-point shooting,” Malone said. “If you took all of those out, and what you love about him is he does not care. He shoots the ball because he believes that they are all going in.”
“And when I asked him about it after the game when it left your hands did you think it was going to go in? And he told me actually it did, the way it came out and we all know that we have got spoiled watching him with the touch that he has,” Malone said. “His shot-making ability that he has is just incredible. That put us up by ten at the half. But Nikola can find ways to impress which is very hard to do when a player with as many accomplishments that he has.”
To a degree, NBA fans truly have become spoiled watching Nikola Jokic play basketball. Game after game, he’s found a new Wilt Chamberlain-esque record ot break and continues to hit half-court shots with ease.
Nikola Jokic is in a rarefied type of air, one where he could easily be winning NBA MVPs every year, but he doesn’t, solely due to voter fatigue.
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