Hands down, Karl Paymah is a far better player today than he was three years ago.

At least that's how the cornerback sees it as his effort begins to turn into results, as his patience begins to be rewarded.

"It just comes with experience," he said. "Playing more and more, I just have to be more comfortable out there, make some more plays. That's what they expect of me - I mean, this is my third year.

"I definitely expect to keep making plays, keep getting better. You can see the trend going up."

Somewhat lost in the muck of the Broncos' loss at Chicago on Sunday was Paymah's interception - his second of the season - and a timely pass breakup deep in the fourth quarter when he knocked away the ball on a tough-to-stop slant attempt from Rex Grossman to Bernard Berrian on a third-and- goal from the Broncos 3-yard line.

That's a long way from some workouts in his rookie season when current defensive coordinator Bob Slowik, who coaches the team's defensive backs, put Paymah in a pair of boxing gloves to begin the transition from college to pro football.

"Definitely, it was a process my first year because I was all over the place," Paymah said. "I was used to being real physical, totally locking guys up. But (in the NFL) you've got to use your feet because it's more an offense-oriented game and they don't let you use your hands.

"(Slowik) hasn't done it since, but he said he had some guys (that the boxing gloves) helped in the past. I think it was just more of a mental thing, you know you can't go out there and play like that. A little joke, but it's more of a mental thing, something I need to remember all the time."

Paymah was the third cornerback the Broncos took in the 2005 draft. Still feeling the significant sting of back-to-back playoff losses to the Colts, the Broncos drafted Darrent Williams, Paymah and Domonique Foxworth that year.

Williams became a starter in his rookie season; Foxworth started seven games in 2005 and made five more in 2006. Paymah largely was a special-teams player.

"So I'm real proud of him, because when 'D-Will,' 'Foxy' and Karl came in, he was kind of the forgotten one," safety John Lynch said. "The other two played right away. He didn't progress as quickly, but you could see the skills.

"He's worked hard, he's stayed with it. We're putting him in a situation where he thrives. He's up in people's faces, he's bumping, disrupting and done a real nice job."

At 6-foot, 200 pounds, Paymah was one of the biggest corners in the 2005 draft, and his 4.35-second timing for 40 yards at the scouting combine got scouts' attention. And the Broncos, including coach Mike Shanahan, liked Paymah's work in one-on-one drills at the East-West Shrine Game after his senior season at Washington State.

Most scouts believed Paymah had talent, having played in a secondary that included future pros Erik Coleman, Lamont Thompson, Jason David and Marcus Trufant. But many suspected he would have to improve his footwork to avoid using his hands too much in the NFL's strict no-contact world for defensive backs.

"Last few years, they've taken away all of that down the field - there's a reason it was called bump and run because you were bumping and running all the way down the field back in the day," Lynch said. "It's different now, and young players have to adapt. Nowadays, you just can't use your hands up in there."

Broncos receiver Javon Walker sees Paymah's progress.

"The more and more time he gets out there, the more and more experience he gets, the better he gets," Walker said. "And that's what it takes; you have to be out there in it, dealing with receivers to see how they react. I think it's helped him."

With Foxworth playing at safety in some of the defensive packages, the Broncos have used Paymah in their five-defensive back look. Paymah goes to the right cornerback spot when Dre Bly moves into the inside on the slot receiver.

And, much like Sunday, Paymah knows that means the action likely is headed his way.

"I feel like that, period," Paymah said. "I'm on the field with legends. I'm on the field with Champ Bailey on one side - Hall of Fame. You've got John Lynch in the secondary, you've got Dre Bly - I mean, odds are, they're going to come to me. I figure they're probably looking at me as the weak link. You don't really want to go to Champ, you don't really want to go to Dre, you're going to try to isolate the new guy.

"So, I've had an opportunity to make a couple plays, but I'm not like, 'Hey, I made a play.' It's what I expect at this point, I want a big list of those."

More work

After 11 games, Karl Paymah has been more involved in the Broncos defense than in his first two seasons combined.

Solo Total Passes Year tackles Assists tackles Int. defensed

2005 2 1 3 0 0

2006 14 0 14 0 2

2007 10 1 11 2 4