The NFL landscape is hard to decipher when it comes to roster building, and the Denver Broncos aren’t interested in sitting around trying to crack the code. There’s no magic formula for determining how a team will do unless they have questions answered, like the quarterback position, cornerback, and other key pieces of the roster.
As Denver embraces a youth movement, Broncos general manager George Paton and head coach Sean Payton have built a roster they believe can win now and going forward.
Denver Broncos roster is young but possesses talent
The Broncos will head into this season with rookie quarterback Bo Nix as their starting quarterback, which has the city of Denver excited. Behind him, Denver decided to keep Jarrett Stidham and Zach Wilson on the roster, carrying three total quarterbacks on the 53.
At various points of this season, there may be scenarios that present themselves that make all of us ask the question, ‘Why did they keep three?’ Especially when it comes to some of the other decisions the team made at other positions.
“Yeah, we think highly of the quarterback room,” Paton said. “I really liked the process. I thought the competition brought out the best in really all of the quarterbacks. All these guys support each other, they compete and they work well together. We looked at last year [and] I think almost half the league kept three quarterbacks. With the rule changes, we think that number will increase. We’re glad to have all three. In regard to Bo, he’s earned the opportunity to be the starter. We’ve talked about it multiple times. Just the poise, the maturity and efficiency that he’s operated on the offense has been impressive. We know like every rookie, he is going to have ups and downs, but we’ll support him through that. We’re confident in Bo and just look forward to his continued growth and development. With Zach, we knew Zach was really talented. We didn’t know the person. We love the day-to-day with Zach and we love the person. He’s smart and [has] all the intangibles. He obviously played well and he moved the team, and ‘Stiddy’ did as well. We like our group.”
Keeping three quarterbacks meant that other numbers at other positions took a hit, including wide receiver, but more depth was added on the offensive line and at running back.
Denver kept five wide receivers, including Courtland Sutton, Josh Reynolds, Marvin Mims, Devaughn Vele, and Troy Franklin. Two veterans, two rookies, and a second-year player at a position that’s crucial in helping Nix succeed this year. At running back, Denver surprisingly kept four players — Javonte Williams, Jaleel McLaughlin, Audric Estime, and undrafted free agent Blake Watson.
Building a young roster also means taking some gambles, and Denver’s decision to move on from veteran wide receiver Tim Patrick is one of them. He had developed chemistry with Nix and it was evident in their win against the Green Bay Packers, where Patrick could have been a security blanket for the rookie QB this year. At some point of the season, we may revisit and ask ourselves if Patrick would have helped this year.
This young roster puts Denver in an interesting position because they have solid veteran leadership, and the talent pool of the rookies and young players has been a promising thing to see play out over the course of the offseason. The Broncos could very well shock a lot of people this year.
“No, our expectations have not changed,” Paton said. “It’s day-to-day and we’re just trying to get better each and every day. We are really encouraged by what we saw during training camp and the preseason. [This team] is young and it is hungry, but we do have experience in a lot of areas if you look at [Mike] McGlinchey, [Garett] Bolles, [Alex] Singleton, D.J. Jones and Zach Allen. We’re trying to win. This 53-man roster gives us the best chance to win. The practice squad will be an extension of the 53-man roster. That’s what we are going through now and those guys will contribute to help us win. We are all about winning. It’s not like basketball where you have two or three years. We are trying to put the best roster together right now for Seattle.”
Time will certainly tell.