Mile High Sports

Broncos on the bubble after Preseason Week 2

Casey Light

Roster spots are usually hard to come by on a team coming off a Super Bowl win. The 2016 Denver Broncos only have a handful of slots on the final 53 up for grabs after two weeks of preseason football. They may have no idea who is going to start at quarterback, but through two exhibition games it’s becoming clear at several positions who will still be on the roster come Sept. 8.

In a 31-24 loss to the San Francisco 49ers on Saturday night in Denver, the Broncos saw good things from Zaire Anderson, Britton Colquitt and Jordan Taylor. It was a rough night for Kalif Raymond and Bralon Addison, among others.

Here’s a quick look at several (but not all) guys on the bubble, how they performed on Saturday vs. San Fran, and what folks were saying about them on Twitter as a result.

Bralon Addison

The undrafted rookie receiver/returner from Oregon needs to make a big preseason play in order to make the roster. He tried on Saturday, but came up empty. He was two for four in hauling in targets from Paxton Lynch with a long of nine yards. He dropped one catchable pass and was the intended receiver on the game-ending interception. On punt return duty he was clearly trying to be a spark. He made a questionable return attempt and ended up muffing the punt.

Zaire Anderson

Anderson spent all of last season on Denver’s practice squad. He’s listed No. 2 on the depth chart behind Todd Davis at ILB and he all but locked up that spot with his performance Saturday. He registered two tackles and two forced fumbles.

Kapri Bibbs

Bibbs is hoping to make a permanent move from the practice squad to the active roster. (He was back-and-forth last year – his second year in the league). He was listed fourth on the depth chart with no one ahead of him at No. 3, but after last night it looked like he and Ronnie Hillman are neck-and-neck for that third spot.

Britton Colquitt

The eighth-year punter is the longest-tenured Bronco and the fifth-highest-paid punter in the league. Denver drafted rookie Riley Dixon in the seventh round hoping he’d beat out Colquitt, who seemed inconsistent at times last season, although not in the playoffs. Two of his three kicks on Saturday were impressive; the third left something to be desired.

https://twitter.com/RonnieKRadio/status/767176945087815681

Riley Dixon

The aforementioned Dixon went the opposite direction as Colquitt, struggling in his first two attempts but getting redemption in his third. His first two kicks went for less than 40 yards, but a 51-yard boomer on his last try helped level out his average. Only one punt was downed inside the 20 though. Dixon was also the holder for all four kick attempts. Last week Brandon McManus struggled; this week he was successful on one field goal and three PATs.

Ronnie Hillman

Hillman signed a one-year, $2 million contract this offseason, but the fifth-year running back is by no means a lock to make this roster. He’s listed on the depth chart in a tie with rookie Devontae Booker at No. 2, but played with the threes Saturday and didn’t do too much to separate himself from Bibbs.

Henry Krieger-Coble

The undrafted rookie is buried deep behind two other tight ends, but a strong week of practice led to increased chances in the game. He had three receptions for 30 yards, turning at least one head in the process. John Phillips, who had two catches, and Garrett Graham, who didn’t play in the game, might be at risk of being leap-frogged.

Cody Latimer

Latimer had a strong showing against the Bears in Preseason Week 1, but took a bit of a step back against the 49ers. He caught just two of his targets and dropped back-to-back passes from Trevor Siemian. He took a questionable pass interference penalty in the end zone, but had a nice 24-yard catch and run from Mark Sanchez – Denver’s longest (non-penalty assisted) play of the day. With Bennie Fowler out with injury, Latimer has a new cushion, but he didn’t wow in this one like he did last week.

Kalif Raymond

Much like Addison, Raymond needed to make big plays to make the roster. The pint-sized speedster from Holy Cross had every opportunity, being allowed to take kicks and punts for returns that ordinarily would / should have been downed. His two punt returns netted -2 yards and his 24-yard average kick returns are deceptive because they mostly came from deep in his own end zone. On offense he had one catch for zero yards

Jordan Taylor

Taylor had three catches for 36 yards on the night, the highest total among true wide receivers. (Tight end Virgil Green led all receivers with 57 yards.) Taylor showed off the athleticism that’s made him very popular at training camp, seemingly all but locking up the sixth and final wide receiver spot.

Dekoda Watson

Watson is currently behind Von Miller and Shaq Barrett on the depth chart and probably won’t be jumping either of them any time soon, but with DeMarcus Ware’s health still a big question mark, there’s a good chance they’ll stack depth at OLB. Watson had a forced fumble Saturday night and heard his name called several times on special teams.

Exit mobile version