Broncos host tryouts for some really intriguing players

The Denver Broncos hosted tryouts for some really intriguing players on Tuesday for future/reserve contract considerations…

There’s never a sure thing in the NFL, especially when it comes to late season roster additions. As we progress closer and closer to the offseason (hopefully not yet until February) the Broncos will have the opportunity to expand their roster eventually to 90 players come March.

As they move toward that date, they are getting a look at some players they might want to bring in to spend the offseason with the team, players that have some experience, some upside, or perhaps a combination of the two. On Tuesday, they brought in a list of players that are more than just throwing crap at a wall and seeing what sticks — these are some somewhat higher profile ‘tryout’ players that have seen significant snaps in this league.

Starting with former 3rd overall pick Trent Richardson, the Broncos brought in a trio of running backs that includes former Dolphins back Daniel Thomas and former Chiefs back Cyrus Gray.

Thomas, a 2011 draft pick of Miami, was the 5th ranked back in his class by NFL Draft Scout. Clearly, as a prospect he was what you’d call a ‘miss’ but he certainly has talent. He was most recently with the Chicago Bears but his blend of size (6-0, 230) and speed is at least interesting.

Cyrus Gray is not quite as big of a back as is Thomas, but he checked in to the 2012 NFL Draft at roughly 5-11, 206 pounds running a 4.47. In his career (3 seasons) with the Chiefs, he had 24 carries for 99 yards and a touchdown. His lone touchdown came last season.

At receiver, the Broncos tried out Denarius Moore, a player I have a really hard time figuring out why he’s not on an NFL roster at least as a fourth or fifth guy. I just remember when the Raiders were seriously in the dumps, he was a guy that provided them with some exciting playmaking ability when healthy as both a receiver and returner.

In his first three seasons in the league, he scored a combined 18 touchdowns, 17 of which came as a receiver. Moore was recently with the Buffalo Bills for six games, but hasn’t recorded a catch since 2014 and doesn’t have a touchdown since 2013. To me, he might be the guy with the biggest upside of those who were tried out, but perhaps there’s something up with him that I obviously don’t know about, because he’s fighting for his career at this point.

Another receiver that tried out for Denver was Greg Little, who was targeted an obscene amount of times in his first three seasons in the league with Cleveland before he was eventually cut and wound up with the Bengals. Little has always been an incredibly talented specimen of an athlete but he can’t hang on to the ball.

Sounds a lot like the general whole of the receiver group we currently have at the moment.

At any rate, Little is a big name, former high draft pick who has intriguing talent given the right opportunity.

Two other receivers worked out — DeVier Posey and Jerrel Jernigan. Jernigan was a speed demon coming out of college but never found a groove with the Giants. Posey played for coach Gary Kubiak in Houston, and has some return ability. He was a player that tapered off his senior season at Ohio State statistically but has the athletic ability to warrant a second opportunity.

Quarterback Ryan Lindley, who started a handful of games for the Arizona Cardinals including a playoff game last season, also tried out for the Broncos. The rocket-armed Lindley couldn’t hit water from a boat but he sure can sling it.

For you NFL Draft nerds, the Broncos also worked out Emil Igwenagu. He was an interesting fullback prospect out of Temple back in 2012 and most recently was with the Detroit Lions, but was waived at final cutdowns.

The Broncos also brought in tight end Nick Kasa, who played college ball at Colorado. This is a player I would really like to see on the roster come this offseason, whether or not he winds up making the team. He is a strong athlete with great size who has upside in this offense, and would probably be pretty alright playing in the state of Colorado again.

There are a lot of names on this list that I like, and would be more than happy about the Broncos taking a chance on. Even a guy like Trent Richardson — you take the risk on players like that when the risk is at its lowest, and it couldn’t be lower right now. You just never know if a guy is going to wake up and realize his potential.

The Broncos have had some success with the future/reserve contracts in recent years. Jordan Norwood is a player who was signed to a reserve/future deal and has wound up playing a role in the offense this season after a devastating knee injury last year.

It’ll be interesting in the coming months to see how this all plays out.