ENGLEWOOD, Colo — When football is your way of life, it's always nice to have money in the bank before heading out for practice.
The Broncos announced the signings Friday of their four late-round draft picks – Kris Abrams-Draine and Audric Estime from the fifth round and Devaughn Vele and Nick Gargiulo from the seventh round – plus 13 of their 14 undrafted college free agents.
Those signings temporarily put the Broncos above their 90-man roster limit with two players to be moved off the roster by 2 p.m. Friday. Those two moves were the release of veteran receiver Phillip Dorsett and defensive tackle Rashard Lawrence.
Dorsett, a former first-round draft pick of the Indianapolis Colts, spent all of last season on the Broncos' practice squad. He was elevated for two games but did not record a catch. He has 151 career catches for 2,001 yards while playing for six teams in his 9-year career.
Dorsett went on social media to say, "I'll be back,'' so it may be a temporary move until after the Broncos' brass gets a look at their undrafted rookies that are participating in the rookie minicamp.
Lawrence played in 25 games for the Arizona Cardinals and defensive coordinator Vance Joseph from 2020-22.
Here's a look at the four drafted players who are now signed:
Rd (Pick) Player, Pos. ............ Signing bonus ... 4-year value
5 (145) Kris Abrams-Draine, CB ... $348,272 ... $4.37 million
Entering the fifth round, the Broncos had both Temple linebacker Jordan Magee and Abrams-Draine under consideration. Magee went No. 139 to Washington, making it easy for the Broncos to take Abrams-Draine.
Abrams-Draine is fiesty, tough and instinctive – ideal traits for a nickel corner. He's thin at 5-foot-11 3/8 and 179 pounds, so he'll need to hit the weight room his rookie season. A reserved type who loves football.
5 (147) Audric Estime, RB ............... $339,124 ... $4.36 million
The Broncos liked two powerful running backs for Day 3 – the 5-foot-11, 227-pound Estime from Notre Dame and Wisconsin's 235-pound Braelon Allen. Allen went late in the fourth round to the Jets, and there was no debate about then taking Estime.
Not only is Estime a punishing runner, but he's considered a great kid who loves football.
7 (235) Devaughn Vele, WR .......... $104,480 ... $4.12 million
Tall and long with great character and no medical issues. Not the fastest receiver, and he is among the oldest rookies at 26, but he was also productive at Utah.
7 (256) Nick Gargiulo, C-G .............. $80,736 ... $4.10 million
A large human being at 6-foot-5, 320 pounds. Needs work on technique. Another player who graded out with great character and is clean medically.
The 13 undrafted rookies with their signing bonuses and total guarantees are listed here:
Missing is Nebraska cornerback Quinton Newsome, who the team hopes to sign soon.
The rookie signings put the Broncos over their 90-man roster limit.
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