ENGLEWOOD, Colo. — They have come together for four months, 90 players give or take, sweating and panting, running and catching, passing and blocking, often to exhaustion.
There was the weightlifting and conditioning program, OTAs, minicamps, training camp and preseason. They all hung out in the same hotel for a spell, but soon this large family of Broncos will be downsized.
The initial roster cutdown to 53 players is Aug. 27, a mere 11 days away.
So relative to the calendar, as head coach Sean Payton might say, it’s not too early to project the Broncos’ season-opening roster. In another sense, though, there’s a long way to go as there is still a joint practice Friday with the Green Bay Packers at Broncos Park, and two of the three 2024 preseason games left to be played.
I took a stab at projecting the Broncos’ 53-man roster for 9NEWS. As it stands now, I have 34 players who are locks to make the roster and 13 more who are likely to make it. So 47 of the 53 spots are pretty well set.
Naturally, the biggest question is at the quarterback position – not whether Bo Nix will be the starter, but whether the team will keep two quarterbacks (Jarrett or Zach?) on the 53-man roster, or all three.
Here's the way the roster stands now, at least how I see it:
Offense (24)
Quarterbacks (2)
Lock (Not Drew): Bo Nix
Pick ‘em: Jarrett Stidham or Zach Wilson
Comment: Ideally, the Broncos keep all three quarterbacks — the steady Stidham has been an ideal backup and he would allow Wilson to continue his quarterback rehab for another month or so. But as I went through this 53-man roster exercise, I couldn’t find a way to keep three.
Wilson may not be as consistent as Stidham but his arm talent and athleticism add up to greater potential.
Finances favor Wilson. Stidham is to make $6 million with only $1 million guaranteed (easily offset if he lands with another team). Wilson is making $2.73 million with all $2.73 million guaranteed.
Having said that, Stidham has been the No. 2 QB, if not right there with Nix for No. 1. Tough, tough call.
Running backs (3)
Locks: Jaleel McLaughlin, Audric Estime
Likely: Javonte Williams
Bubble: Samaje Perine
Longshot: Tyler Badie, Blake Watson
Comment: There are two combinations for Payton to choose from. One, Javonte is the lead back with Jaleel getting a handful more carries per game this year and the rookie Estime handling short-yardage situations. Or two, Jaleel and Estime split the workload with Samaje handling third down and 2-minute situations. Maybe the Broncos can somehow keep four running backs. Otherwise, it’s a tough, tough call.
Fullback (1)
Likely: Michael Burton
Bubble: Nate Adkins
Comment: The veteran Burton is an incredible lead blocker in the running game. But Sean Payton also loves Adkins’ all-around game. Adkins is a tight end, first, but he may be the fourth tight end with the roster only having room for three. Adkins has taken some fullback snaps in practice.
Receivers (6)
Locks: Courtland Sutton, Josh Reynolds, Marvin Mims Jr., Troy Franklin, Devaughn Vele
Bubble: Tim Patrick, Lil’Jordan Humphrey, Brandon Johnson, Jalen Virgil, David Sills V
Longshots: Phillip Dorsett, Michael Bandy
Comment: The deepest offensive position on the team. Vele has had an outstanding camp. Patrick is the leader of the rest. He will be a great feel-good comeback story if he makes it. It will be a tough call between Patrick and Humphrey, who are both on the books for the minimum $1.125 million non-guaranteed base salary.
Johnson and Sills are overqualified as third-team receivers. If the Broncos want to mix in more speed with their receiver group and add a kickoff return threat, Virgil would be the guy.
Tight ends (3)
Locks: Adam Trautman, Greg Dulcich, Lucas Krull
Bubble: Nate Adkins, Hunter Kampmoyer
Longshot: Thomas Yassmin
Comment: There’s a possibility the Broncos could keep Adkins as a fourth tight end. Trautman is the starter as the team’s best two-way tight end (blocking and receiving). If Dulcich and Krull can stay healthy, the Broncos may have an explosive receiving combination that will surprise the league.
Offensive linemen (9)
Locks: Garett Bolles, Ben Powers, Quinn Meinerz, Mike McGlinchey, Alex Palczewski
Likely: Luke Wattenberg, Alex Forsyth, Matt Peart, Calvin Throckmorton
Bubble: Will Sherman, Demontrey Jacobs, Sam Mustipher
Longshots: Oliver Jervis, Frank Crum, Nick Gargiulo
Comment: Depth is a concern after the team’s versatile backup, Quinn Bailey, was lost for the season with a dislocated ankle injury. This is one area where the Broncos may be looking at tape of blockers elsewhere following the first set of cuts.
Defense (25)
Defensive line (6)
Locks: Zach Allen, John Franklin-Myers, Malcolm Roach
Likely: D.J. Jones, Eyioma Uwazurike
Bubble: Angelo Blackson, Jordan Jackson, Matt Henningsen, Elijah Garcia
Longshot: Jordan Miller.
Comment: Arguably the team’s strongest position, it has both very good starters and impressive depth. Jones has had an outstanding training camp and he’d be a lock if some of his $10 million payout were guaranteed. The prediction here is the Broncos didn’t bring Uwazurike back from his gambling suspension only to lose him to waivers. The veteran Blackson and Jackson, who played at the Air Force Academy, have been playing ahead of Henningsen, who was a consistent rotational player the past two years.
Inside linebackers (4)
Locks: Alex Singleton, Cody Barton, Justin Strnad
Bubble: Jonas Griffith. Levelle Bailey, Andre Smith
Longshot: Alec Mock
Comment: Barton has been taking the first-team snaps alongside Singleton. Almost all of Barton’s $2.5 million contract is guaranteed. Strnad is a special teams standout who has $750,00 of his $1.3 million contract guaranteed. Griffith had been competing with Barton for a starting spot but now he must watch out for Bailey, an undrafted rookie who has been making plays in camp.
Outside linebackers (5)
Locks: Jonathon Cooper, Baron Browning, Nik Bonitto, Jonah Elliss
Pick ‘em: Durrell Nchami or Dondrea Tillman
Longshots: Thomas Incoom
Comment: Last year at this time, this position was led by veterans Randy Gregory and Frank Clark. Sounded good on paper, but both were dispatched in short order when there wasn’t much production on the field. Cooper is the most consistent of this group with Browning and Bonitto having greater potential. Elliss is a third-round rookie who has shown early promise. The fifth outside linebacker position (if five make the roster instead of four) will come down to Nchami or Tillman.
Cornerbacks (6)
Locks: Pat Surtain II, Ja’Quan McMillian, Riley Moss
Likely: Damarri Mathis, Levi Wallace, Kris Abrams-Draine
Longshots: Kaleb Hayes, Quinton Newsome, Reese Taylor, Art Green
Comment: Moss and Mathis competed all camp for the starting job opposite the star Surtain. Moss seemingly held the edge at this writing. McMillian surprisingly won the nickel job last year and quickly emerged as a takeaway machine. Wallace is veteran insurance who may wind up playing plenty, as Fabian Moreau did last year. Abrams-Draine is a fifth-round rookie.
Safeties (4)
Locks: Brandon Jones, P.J. Locke, JL Skinner
Likely: Devon Key
Bubble: Keidron Smith
Longshots: Tanner McCalister, Omar Brown
Comment: The concern here is Jones, who received a three-year, $20 million contract essentially as Justin Simmons’ replacement, but has been plagued by a hamstring issue since OTAs. In Jones’ absence during camp, Key and Skinner have competed to become the next man up.
Special teams (4)
Kicker
Wil Lutz
Punter
Likely: Riley Dixon
Bubble: Trenton Gill
Long snapper
Mitchell Fraboni
Gunner
Tremon Smith
Comment: Lutz has performed well in camp and again in the first preseason game at Indianapolis. Dixon appears to be leading the punter competition. Smith was a key player for coaches Mike Westhoff and Ben Kotwica on the Broncos’ much improved special teams units last year.
