ENGLEWOOD, Colo. -- The Denver Broncos didn't trade cornerback Chris Harris Jr. -- a four-time Pro Bowl selection and the last remaining member of the No Fly Zone secondary -- straight-up for A.J. Bouye this offseason.

In fact, they sent a fourth-round pick in April's draft to the Jacksonville Jaguars to acquire Bouye, but for many it is indeed Bouye for Harris this season. Whether that is fair or not, Bouye needs to adequately replace Harris if the Broncos are going to succeed on defense. And with a fifth different offensive coordinator in the past five years, the Broncos may rely heavily on the defensive side of the ball for wins.

"I don't look at it as pressure," Bouye said. " ... I'm close with [Harris'] family. They're great people. Honestly, when I was studying Chris a lot, especially early in the league ... I don't really listen to the outside noise and comparisons because at the end of the day, it's a new year. It's a new football year. I have to focus on what I have to do to be the best. I can't focus on trying to live up to someone else who's not even here anymore."

The Broncos took on the last two years of the five-year contract Bouye had signed with the Jaguars in 2017, so it's essentially a two-year, $26 million deal for Denver. Harris signed a two-year, $17 million deal with the Los Angeles Chargers and many with the Broncos have said Harris turned down a two-year $25 million deal (with the 2020 season guaranteed) last season just before the trade deadline.

So, Harris' departure and Bouye's arrival wasn't really about money. The Broncos went big in free agency in the secondary in March 2019, when they signed Kareem Jackson to a three-year, $33 million deal and originally signed Bryce Callahan to a three-year, $21 million deal -- a deal that has since been tweaked after Callahan missed the 2019 season with a foot injury.

Harris had to play more on the outside last season when Callahan got injured and that, combined with an inability to find common ground with the Broncos on a contract, soured the relationship. By the end of the season Harris was essentially thanking fans for his time in Denver and talking about the importance of how he would fit a new defensive scheme weeks before his departure was official.

All of it makes Bouye one of the most important acquisitions on defense, in addition to defensive tackle Jurrell Casey. And it puts Bouye on a hot seat of sorts.

"It helps to have a fresh start," Bouye said. "I can't control what happened in Jacksonville. It was good times. I just felt like I wasn't at my best or put in position to be. That's one thing I respected coming here. Talking to coach Vic, [defensive coordinator] coach Ed Donatell, they wanted to know me as a person and not only as player -- what I liked to do and not just lining up and doing what the scheme allows in a certain defense. They let me come play because they know I have instincts for the game."

Bouye is a player whom Broncos coach Vic Fangio had hoped the Chicago Bears could acquire in 2017 when Fangio was the Bears' defensive coordinator and Bouye was poised for free agency. Bouye signed with the Jaguars, but Fangio got the player he wanted this time around.

Bouye has been difficult for the Broncos' offense to handle during training camp and has shown signs of his 2017 Pro Bowl form. That season he had a career-best six interceptions and the Jaguars advanced to the AFC Championship Game.

"He's got good instincts," Fangio said after a recent practice when Bouye had an interception and knocked several other passes away. "When you couple instincts with experience, you have a chance to be around the ball more often."

"A.J.'s a proven vet, a guy who's been around the block, played really good ball," said wide receiver Courtland Sutton. "He's done the same thing in camp."

The proof will always be in what happens in the weeks and months to come. Harris was consistently a 1,000-snap player in the Broncos' defense -- one of only two last season along with safety Justin Simmons -- and Bouye has started more than 14 games in just one of his previous seven seasons.

But so far Bouye has been what the Broncos hoped. He's routinely helped younger players on the practice field and been consistent in his assignments during practice, even after an offseason when there were no organized team activities or minicamp.

"I think the biggest part -- especially for me coming to a new team -- you know the playbook and you see it on film, but you don't have those walk-throughs, those extra reps in OTAs, especially with the guys that you're going to playing with," Bouye said. "Those have been tough. It feels like we're on the clock, and I think the coaches do a great job every day of emphasizing the countdown to Monday night [season opener]."