The five best backups on the Denver Broncos’ roster

There are a lot of important factors that go into a championship season — coaching, top-tier quarterback play (well … most times), playmakers, stars, luck — but the most underrated of them all is depth.

Every year we spend training camp debating who should be No. 1 on the depth chart, and every year that list of names is shredded to pieces — much like those players’ knees, shoulders and hamstrings — by the time we reach December. In this day and age, if you come out of a game without a starter questionable for the next week, you might want to go buy a lotto ticket.

So while we’ll be focused on who will be trotting out onto field to face off against the Carolina Panthers on September 8, and rightfully so, I want to look at the guys who could end up playing an even larger role in Weeks 15, 16 and 17.

Here are the five best backups on the Denver Broncos’ roster:

5. Paxton Lynch

This is a tough one. If things go right, we’d hope Paxton Lynch is at the top of this list. But, then again, if things go right, he’ll probably earn himself off this list.

For now, there’s not much to say about Lynch. His talent is undeniable, but it’s all a matter of how quickly he can develop his game to the NFL level. Can he read defenses? Can he play from under center? Can he lead an NFL offense? OTAs aren’t going to answer those questions.

Until we get to see Lynch play in some preseason games, even full-team drills at training camp, he’s essentially a mystery. He could surprise everyone and earn the starting job day one or he could flounder to the point that he’s passed up by both Mark Sanchez and Trevor Siemian.

With this list, though, I’m banking on his upside.

4. Phil Taylor

Phil Taylor has essentially spent the last year and a half out of football, following multiple knee surgeries in 2014. With his recovery taking longer than expected, the Browns cut Taylor before the start of the 2015 season, and he has been waiting for his return to the field since.

Taylor, though, is a talented player, and if healthy, there’s no doubt that he would have lived up to his 21st overall selection in the 2011 draft. But it’s that “if healthy” portion that is still worrisome.

The truth is that there’s no real telling how healthy Taylor is. Both surgeries were characterized as minor scopes, but based on his recovery time, that seems to be a little bit of a mischaracterization. If he can come back to the field at even 85 percent of what he was during his first three seasons, he could be one of the better backup defensive tackles in the NFL. In fact, he could probably even compete with Sylvester Williams for the starting job.

If he isn’t healthy, though, there’s a good chance he doesn’t make it out of training camp.

3. Ty Sambrailo

Is Ty Sambrailo good? Honestly, I don’t really know. This is a guy who who played in a grand total of three games and didn’t look especially dominant in any of them. But then again, what rookie looks dominant in his first three games at left tackle?

Maybe, had he stayed healthy, Sambrailo would have continued to develop and grow as the season went on, and we’d be talking about him as the next cornerstone of this franchise’s offensive line. Instead, the Broncos have signed Russell Okung and Donald Stephenson and Sambrailo looks to have been bumped off the line he was projected to anchor.

Now, there’s a chance he could end up moving inside and starting at guard, but in terms of the tackle position, he is the backup. Even at guard, if Okung or Stephenson went down, it’d be Sambrailo sliding out to replace him.

And compared to what Denver had going for them last season — *cough Schofield cough* — I’d say that’s a fairly solid place to be.

2. Shane Ray

I reserved this spot for either Shane Ray or Shaquil Barrett, and in the end I went with Ray. Why? Because, while I believe Barrett had the better 2015 season, Ray has much, much higher upside.

It’s not easy for pass rushers to come in day one and be effective, even when they’re getting first team reps and first team snaps. It’s even harder when they’re playing behind two of the greatest to ever do it.

Shane Ray was only used on a limited basis all season, and yet he still found ways to deliver in big moments. He finished with four sacks last season, but I have no doubt that he would have had double that number on a team in which he could have started on.

Remember, this was a top-10 talent in a draft class loaded with pass rushers, and the Broncos ended up finding him late in the first round. Give him another year and offseason of experience under his belt, and he’s going to play an even larger role this season.

1. Bradley Roby

It’s a no brainer. Honestly, I’m not sure there are 15 cornerbacks in this league that I’d take over Bradley Roby, and I’m not sure the Broncos would swap him for anyone.

And yes, while Roby is essentially a starter in today’s pass-first NFL, he is, technically, a backup — unless Aqib Talib ends up facing a suspension, that is. So I’m sticking with that.

But for the role he plays, there’s no one better, and he gives Talib and Chris Harris the ability to do what they do best at all times.

There will come a day when Roby turns into a true No. 1 cornerback, but for now, he’s the best backup in the NFL.