ENGLEWOOD, Colorado – The Denver Broncos will open the regular season Sept. 12 at the New York Giants at MetLife Stadium. The Broncos finished last season 5-11, last place in the AFC West and it was their fifth consecutive playoff mission.
Teddy Bridgewater won the team’s quarterback competition against Drew Lock and there is potential for a great pop in big receiver with many upgrades in defense of freshman general manager George Paton.
As defender Von Miller said, “We have a great team and it’s hard not to get excited about these guys.”
The roster will be reduced to 53 players before 4 p.m. (ET) on Tuesday, August 31st. Here is a projection:
QUARTERBACK (2): Drew Lock, Teddy Bridgewater
Lock and Bridgewater spent months on comparative purchases for the starting job: a competition coach, Vic Fangio, arrived until the final week of the preseason in August before appointing Bridgewater as a starter. Brett Rypien showed enough to be No. 3 development on the roster, but the Broncos need that spot elsewhere. The Vikings, when Paton was GM’s assistant, held only two quarterbacks at 53 until ’19 and ’20.
RUNNING BACK (4): Javonte Williams, Mike Boone, Melvin Gordon III, Royce Freeman
Boone suffered a thigh injury during joint practice with the Vikings, and a groin injury has limited Gordon to some in camp. These injuries are likely to affect decisions here. Willingness to keep just three is a risk the Broncos can’t take. Damarea Crockett should get a training spot.
LARGE RECEIVER (6): Courtland Sutton, Jerry Jeudy, KJ Hamler, Tim Patrick, Diontae Spencer, Tyrie Cleveland
Trinity Benson made a major push to shoot in one of those places and was still able to force the Broncos to keep an extra player here. Or adjustments could be made if teams kept calling about the depth of the Broncos here, especially Patrick. Spencer remains the most reliable player, especially in points, and Cleveland played a lot of special teams in the Broncos ’first two preseason games and provides depth to the scoreboard.
FINAL CLOSED (4): Noah Fant, Albert Okwuegbunam, Andrew Beck, Eric Saubert
Okwuegbunam looks ready to return as he returns from last season’s torn ACL and the Broncos may have only three left here. During the preseason, special teams coordinator Tom McMahon gave Beck and Saubert more catches on these units in the first two preseason games than any other offensive player on the roster. Saubert also demonstrated the reliability of the route of the route in attack.
OFFENSIVE LINE (9): Garett Bolles, Dalton Risner, Lloyd Cushenberry III, Graham Glasgow, Bobby Massie, Netane Muti, Cameron Fleming, Quinn Meinerz, Calvin Anderson
The Vikings kept nine offensive line teams last season and in 2019, when Paton was the team’s deputy general manager, so it’s likely to be the neighborhood. But to keep four last runs as well as four tight ends, the place on the list has to come from somewhere, so the total could be eight, at least initially. Also, if the Broncos don’t believe Meinerz can play center in a game yet, if need be, Austin Schlottmann, who plays both on guard and center, could be the choice instead of Fleming.
DEFENSIVE LINE (6): Shelby Harris, Dre’Mont Jones, Mike Purcell, McTelvin Agim, Shamar Stephen, DeShawn Williams
The Broncos still believe Jones is ready for a breakout season after falling out last season, including 3.5 sacks, four quarterback hits and 11 tackles in the last four games. Williams deserves to finally earn the top spot in Week 1 of his career (he came to the league as a rookie in Cincinnati in 2016) and Stephen was a quality file in free agency.
LINEBACKER (9): Von Miller, Bradley Chubb, Alexander Johnson, Josey Jewell, Malik Reed, Justin Strnad, Derrek Tuszka, Baron Browning, Jonathon Cooper
This is another place where the Broncos could keep one player less to allow for wider receivers, but it would probably cost them a player they really like. Browning missed much of the camp and low-season program with a low leg injury, but showed enough athleticism to stay and Cooper already looks like another high-effort find, from the just as Reed and Shaq Barrett were up against the Broncos.
CANTONER (6): Ronald Darby, Bryce Callahan, Kyle Fuller, Pat Surtain II, Michael Ojemudia, Kary Vincent Jr.
Ojemudia’s hamstring injury (she suffered it in the second preseason game in Seattle) could mean she reached the initial 53, but after a day she moves on to the short-term injury reserve if the Broncos believe she is will miss the first month of the season. So another cornerer like Saivion Smith or Parnell Motley could be changed if Ojemudia needs some time to recover.
SECURITY (4): Justin Simmons, Kareem Jackson, Caden Sterns, Trey Marshall
Since Surtain can already do so many things in special packages, the Broncos could only have four left. Marshall suffered an ankle injury in the pre-season opening, but is a regular special team and even if he needs more time to heal, he should make the initial 53 to make the short-term IR an option.
SPECIALISTS (3): Brandon McManus, Sam Martin, Jacob Bobenmoyer
When the Broncos resigned from point guard Max Duffy during the minicamp, they made it clear that they would continue to caress this group.