It’s decision time for the Denver Broncos, who began the process of whittling their roster to 90 players with a handful of moves Sunday. More moves are set to come Monday and Tuesday.
A final guess as to how it will shake out.
BRONCOS OFFENSE (25)
QUARTERBACKS (3): Bo Nix, Jarrett Stidham, Sam Ehlinger
The Broncos could try and slip Ehlinger through to the practice squad — and because he’s a vested veteran, all it would take is a good sales pitch. But there are teams that could use an upgrade at their understudy position, and based on Ehlinger’s form in recent weeks, he might be able to provide that.
RUNNING BACKS (4): J.K Dobbins, RJ Harvey, Jaleel McLaughlin, Tyler Badie
Badie has appeared to be the option as the No. 3 running back for some time; the question was whether the Broncos rolled the dice and exposed him to waivers. Blake Watson’s knee injury could push him to injured reserve in some capacity. Adam Prentice can be released and receive elevations from the practice squad while Michael Burton heals.
WIDE RECEIVERS (5): Courtland Sutton, Marvin Mims Jr., Troy Franklin, Trent Sherfield, Pat Bryant
Courtney Jackson is in play if the Broncos want to keep a sixth wideout on the 53-player roster.
TIGHT ENDS (4): Evan Engram, Adam Trautman, Nate Adkins, Lucas Krull
Krull had a strong camp and is the only viable “joker” tight-end option on the roster. The question here is whether Caleb Lohner did enough to justify a spot on the 53-player roster or not. As Sean Payton mentioned last week, Adkins will not go on injured reserve.
OFFENSIVE LINE (9): LT Garett Bolles, LG Ben Powers, C Luke Wattenberg, RG Quinn Meinerz, RT Mike McGlinchey, OT Matt Peart, OT Alex Palczewski, C Alex Forsyth, OT Frank Crum
Crum’s athleticism and upside keeps him around for another year. Peart worked at left guard on Saturday in New Orleans; Payton noted that some reserve linemen feel more comfortable focusing on one side — left or right — than one position (swing tackle or swing guard).
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BRONCOS DEFENSE (25)
DEFENSIVE LINE (6): Zach Allen, D.J. Jones, John Franklin-Myers, Malcolm Roach, Sai’Vion Jones, Jordan Jackson
Jackson and Enyi Uwazurike have been in a battle for a spot with Jones safely on the roster as a third-round draft pick enjoying a promising rookie camp. Jackson has one more year of team control than Uwazurike if factoring in a restricted-free-agent year, and was solid as a rotational player last year ahead of Uwazurike.
EDGE RUSHER (5): Nik Bonitto, Jonathon Cooper, Jonah Elliss, Dondrea Tillman, Que Robinson
Each one of these brings something to the table, and the question could be whether Robinson is active on game days or not.
INSIDE LINEBACKERS (4): Dre Greenlaw, Alex Singleton, Justin Strnad, Levelle Bailey
With Drew Sanders expected to go on injured reserve, the Broncos have a dynamic potential reserve in the wings, although injuries have prevented his career from launching.
CORNERBACKS (5): Pat Surtain II, Riley Moss, Ja’Quan McMillian, Jahdae Barron, Kris Abrams-Draine
Perhaps the deepest group on the team; all of these players should be active on game days.
SAFETIES (5): Talanoa Hufanga, Brandon Jones, P.J. Locke, Sam Franklin, JL Skinner
The question here is whether P.J. Locke is a veteran who is cut due to injury in the vein of Tim Patrick last year, but with Hufanga recently removed from a torn ACL, having veteran depth could be the prudent play.
BRONCOS SPECIALISTS (3)
P Jeremy Crawshaw, FS Mitchell Fraboni, K Wil Lutz
This one is pretty clear-cut, even though Crawshaw’s practice proficency has yet to translate to games.