Tuesday will be a tough day for a handful of players on the Denver Broncos roster with final cuts set to take place with a 2:00 p.m. MT deadline.
Denver Broncos final 53-man roster prediction
George Paton and Sean Payton have a tough job ahead of them as Tuesday’s roster cutdown deadline approaches. We took our shot at playing general manager and making up the roster ahead of time. How many players will the offense and defense have this season?
Broncos Offense: (25)
- Quarterback: Bo Nix, Jarrett Stidham (2)
- Running Back: J.K. Dobbins, RJ Harvey, Jaleel McLaughlin, Tyler Badie (4)
- Wide Receiver: Courtland Sutton, Marvin Mims, Pat Bryant, Troy Franklin, Trent Sherfield Sr., Joaquin Davis (6)
- Tight End/Fullback: Evan Engram, Adam Trautman, Lucas Krull, Nate Adkins (4)
- Center: Luke Wattenberg, Alex Forsyth (2)
- Guard: Ben Powers, Quinn Meinerz (2)
- Tackle: Garett Bolles, Mike McGlinchey, Matt Peart, Alex Palczewski, Frank Crum (5)
This week’s 53-man projection is a bit different than what I had last week. Instead of veteran Calvin Throckmorton as a guard depth option, he’ll likely get onto the practice squad as a vested veteran. This move allowed me to keep Frank Crum as tackle depth, given Matt Peart and Alex Palczewski’s guard/tackle versatility.
Altogether, the Broncos’ offensive line will have nine players here. With Payton’s recent declaration about Nate Adkins, he’s on the 53, with Adam Prentice going onto the practice squad as a vested veteran in my projection, where they can use Prentice on three call-ups to the gameday roster if necessary until Adkins returns.
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Lucas Krull did enough in my eyes this offseason to get that third spot at tight end behind Adam Trautman.
After the trade of Devaughn Vele last week, I have the Broncos sneaking undrafted wide receiver Joaquin Davis onto the 53-man roster, where he’d likely be a gameday inactive on Sundays unless there was an injury. Davis has had a strong training camp despite quiet preseason numbers, and his athletic traits combined with his strong hands might be something Payton and his staff feel other teams would try to steal him away off the waiver wire.
Broncos Defense (25)
- Cornerback: Patrick Surtain II, Riley Moss, Kris Abrams-Draine (3)
- Nickel/Slot: Ja’Quan McMillian, Jahdae Barron (2)
- Inside Linebacker: Alex Singleton, Dre Greenlaw, Justin Strnad, Levelle Bailey (4)
- Outside Linebacker: Jonathon Cooper, Nik Bonitto, Jonah Elliss, Dondrea Tillman, Que Robinson (5)
- Safety: Talanoa Hufanga, Brandon Jones, P.J. Locke, JL Skinner, Devon Key (5)
- Defensive End: Zach Allen, John Franklin-Myers, Jordan Jackson, Sai’vion Jones (4)
- Defensive Tackle: D.J. Jones, Malcolm Roach (2)
Nothing has changed from our prediction from last week’s defensive projection. From top to bottom at every position on the defensive side of the ball, the Broncos’ depth is strong.
New NFL bylaws allow teams to place two players on short-term IR at roster cuts, which is where I have linebacker Drew Sanders going. Offensively, depending on what we find out regarding running back Blake Watson (knee), who left Saturday’s game and did not return, perhaps he’s a second candidate for it if it’s not a serious knee injury.
Special Teams (3)
- Punter: Jeremy Crawshaw
- Kicker: Wil Lutz
- Long Snapper: Mitchell Fraboni
Lutz and Fraboni’s spots are unquestioned, but it will be interesting to monitor the Broncos’ approach with Crawshaw after a rough preseason showcase and whether or not they bring in a punter on a tryout to push the rookie a bit. It’s hard to imagine right now unless they add a punter to the practice squad next week.
Ideal practice squad candidates
Vested veterans I’d expect to land on the practice squad:
- Fullback Michael Burton or Adam Prentice
- Quarterback Sam Ehlinger
- Offensive guard Calvin Throckmorton
Other practice squad candidates:
- Wide receiver Courtney Jackson
- Wide receiver Jerjuan Newton
- Tight end Caleb Lohner
- Linebacker Jordan Turner
- Linebacker Karene Reid
- Nose tackle Jordan Miller
- Tight end Caden Prieskorn
- Running back Blake Watson
- Cornerback Jaden Robinson or Quinton Newsome
- Wide receiver Michael Bandy
- Wide receiver Kyrese Rowan
- Two spots are potentially open to 31 other teams’ players who could hit the waiver wire
Denver will have to get from 90 players to 53 on Tuesday by 2:00 p.m. MT.