Former Cowboy defensive end Eddie Yarbrough signed a rookie free agent deal with the Denver Broncos this past weekend. (Photo via Jerrad Anderson, Townsquare Media)
Former Wyoming Cowboy defensive end and defensive captain Eddie Yarbrough signed a free agent contract with the Denver Broncos this weekend. Yarbrough, a three year starter for the Pokes, was not selected in this past weekend’s NFL draft, however, he was free to choose his team after the fact. Yarbrough had interest from several teams but ultimately signed with the Broncos.
Yarbrough is from Aurora, CO and grew up with the Broncos in his back yard. He played for Grandview High School. Between growing up with the Broncos and being from Colorado signing with Denver seemed like a natural fit for Yarbrough.
Eddie Yarbrough concluded his Wyoming Cowboy career was one of the most productive players on the defensive side of the ball in Pokes history. Yarbrough was the third Cowboy to earn All-Mountain West first or second team status in three seasons playing. He was named to the first team twice, second team once. He joined John Fletcher and Adam Goldberg as the only players to accomplish this feat. His junior and senior seasons he was named to the Rotary Lombardi watch list, as well as the Ted Hendricks watch list.
This past season Yarbrough set the record for most career tackles for loss, taking the record from John Fletcher. He had 39 TFLs during his Cowboy career. He finished his Cowboy playing career with 21.5 sacks, which is good enough for ninth all-time. During his senior season he was statistically the most productive defensive line player in the league, averaging 5.2 tackles per game. He was second as a junior with 5.2 tackles per game as well. He was the league leader in tackles per game as a sophomore averaging 7.4. He finished his career with 256 tackles.
During the 2015 season he led the team in sacks with 7, and TFLs at 10.5.
Yarbrough will be joining the Broncos who are coming off of a Super Bowl 50 win vs the Carolina Panthers. He will look to join a defensive rotation that includes DeMarcus Ware and Derek Wolfe, as well as another rookie, Adam Gotsis, a defensive lineman who was drafted from Georgia Tech. The Broncos are coming off of a season where they were the top ranked defense in the National Football League and will be looking to continue that trend.
The Broncos are no strangers to Mountain West players on their team, as they currently feature players from San Diego State, Colorado State, Nevada, and Boise State.
The Denver Broncos will hold rookie mini-camp in the coming week or two in Dove Valley.