The Stiddy Show marches on. On a rest day for Bo Nix and much of the Broncos’ first-string crew, backup quarterback Jarrett Stidham, and a few key depth pieces, led the Broncos to a 27-7 beatdown of the Cardinals at Empower Field on Saturday night. Here’s the night’s stock risers and fallers.
Stock up
The Broncos’ quarterback room: Let’s start with the obvious. Jarrett Stidham’s preseason stats, after another night spent butchering another second-team defense, are Madden Career Mode-worthy. After two preseason games: 30 of 38, 376 yards, four touchdowns, no picks. He has scampered around pockets and unleashed shots from the hip like a QB2 who just got handed a two-year deal. Stidham had total freedom Saturday with Nix resting, and he played like it.
Don’t forget, too, about Sam Ehlinger, who was a quiet 14 of 16 and has been great the past couple of weeks. It’s not the holy-cow camp Zach Wilson had last year, but it’s been enough to force Sean Payton and company to consider carrying three QBs again on the 53-man roster. Meanwhile, quarterbacks coach Davis Webb was handed the reins as a play-caller, and promptly executed a beautiful two-minute touchdown drive at the end of the first half. All-around top marks here.
Jordan Turner: Broncos Country, meet Turner. Turner, meet Broncos Country. The undrafted Michigan State rookie has had a sneaky-good camp amid a rash of inside linebacker injuries, and he led the Broncos in tackles (five) and sacks (1.5) Saturday. He burst for a sack on one play that didn’t even look like a designed blitz. There might not be space for Turner on the final roster, but the Broncos will want him on their practice squad.
Wide receiver blocking development: Troy Franklin caught two touchdowns, and yet his best play might’ve been when he chased down Arizona safety Dadrion Taylor-Demerson early and knocked him off course from tackling Evan Engram. Engram promptly sprang free for 58 yards. On that same play, rookie Pat Bryant pile-drove an Arizona defensive back 5 yards deep into the sideline to give Engram some more sideline room. Payton loves receivers who can block. That’s a film-room gold star Sunday.
Caden Prieskorn: Well, the stock dropped here after Prieskorn got stripped of a would-be touchdown on the goal line. It was a gut-wrenching fumble at the worst possible time. But it shouldn’t erase the goodwill from a highly active day: Prieskorn caught three passes for 52 yards and showed notable flexibility as a fullback on some snaps. That’s a major feather in his cap with current TE/FB hybrid Nate Adkins sidelined, and could make him a sneaky 53-man roster fit.
Stock down
Audric Estime: No getting around it: Estime was the worst back on Denver’s roster Saturday. Payton said he thought both Estime and Blake Watson “did a good job with their opportunities,” but Estime showed a noticeable lack of burst on a few plays and finished with 20 yards on nine carries. He did spin out of a couple of tackles and wasn’t put in any kind of position to succeed with the Broncos’ third-team offensive line unable to create many lanes. But he was also last in line for RB snaps, a possibly damning indictment of his status.
Caleb Lohner: The seventh-round rookie showed why he’s a project Saturday. Lohner has yet to do much this preseason despite some reps and has racked up three penalties. The Broncos knew this would be coming, as Lohner played his first year of organized football since the eighth grade at Utah last year. He just may not be ready to contribute substantially in 2025.
Pre-snap IQ: How about eight pre-snap penalties for the Broncos? Full preseason form. This should be slightly concerning, though, as Denver’s offensive linemen and receivers alike have been flagged by referees all camp for neutral-zone infractions.
“The one area that has to be cleaned up are the penalties,” Payton said postgame.
There is only one preseason game left to cure this epidemic.
Social media fact-checking: Alternatively, stock up for a Twitter account by the name of @EpicNormie_. Alternatively, stock down for humanity’s faith in accurate news.
In the third quarter of Broncos-Cardinals, game broadcaster 9News aired a quote graphic of disgruntled Cowboys star rusher Micah Parsons that quoted him saying Denver was his “dream destination” on his podcast. The problem? Parsons never actually said this. It was a fake post from @EpicNormie_.
“LMAO MY BAIT MADE IT TO TV,” the culprit himself wrote on Twitter.
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Originally Published: August 16, 2025 at 10:07 PM MDT