In January the Denver Broncos signed 11 players to future contracts. We will analyze which player we believe can contribute right away on the field.
The Denver Broncos signed 11 players to future contracts in January. When the new league year began on March 9th, those players were added to the roster.
A combination of these players are rookies or have at least one season of experience underneath them. One player has five years of experience in the league.
Here is a list of the players who the Denver Broncos signed to future contracts.
Zac Brooks: RB out of Clemson
Dillon Day: Center out of Mississippi State
Iosia Iosia: DT out of West Texas A&M
Justin Murray: T out of Cincinnati
Jeff Overbaugh: LS out of San Diego State
Bernard Pierce: RB out of Temple (Ravens, Jaguars)
Travis Raciti: DL out of San Jose State
Austin Traylor: TE out of Wisconsin
Hunter Sharp: WR out of Utah State
Kevin Snyder: LB out of Rutgers
Steven Scheu: TE out of Vanderbilt
When I look at these players and analyze area of need or improvement on the Broncos roster, LB, OL, LS, DL stand out.
The Broncos are currently fine, in my opinion, at the Tight End position. With Virgil Green, AJ Derby, Jeff Heuerman maintaining depth, I don’t see Denver utilizing Traylor or Scheu.
I do believe Denver may possibly try to use Derby OR Heuerman in a Draft Day trade of some sorts. I feel if Denver was trying to obtain a TE, drafting OJ Howard would be the move they make at the 20th pick.
With the Broncos bolstering their DL in Free Agency, Iosia and Raciti are camp bodies who could make the practice squad.
Hunter Sharp, in my opinion, will be a camp body and in the first wave of cuts. It would be difficult to make the roster with the number of receivers the Broncos currently have.
The most up in the air prospect in my eyes is Bernard Pierce.
Pierce is a fifth year veteran who saw action with Baltimore and last year with Jacksonville. Pierce has battled injuries and as my buddy Sayre said “needs a career resurrection”.
With Denver having CJ Anderson and Devontae Booker as one and two, the concern for Denver is CJ’s durability, however Pierce hasn’t been able to impress in this area either.
Denver drafting a tailback with the 20th pick or the 3rd pick of the 2nd makes sense. This would also mean Zac Brooks would be a training camp casualty.
Who Stands Out?
Justin Murray, Kevin Snyder, and Jeff Overbaugh stand out to me as guys who can make an instant impact.
Murray at 6’5 305 lbs could fill the Broncos need at tackle. His size alone allows him to be an anchor on the outside, however his size could be a problem versus quick pass rushers like Joey Bosa, Khalil Mack, and Justin Houston.
Kevin Snyder at 6’2 245lbs reminds me a lot of the Miami Dolphins’ Kiko Alonso. Snyder possesses great eyes, footwork and ability to track the football.
He also is very solid in pass coverage and was great at Rutgers covering drag and inside routes in space.
Jeff Overbaugh is the remaining player out of the 11 that I believe can make an impact right away.
Casey Kreiter was injured last season for Denver which was a tremendous blow. Denver signed Thomas Gafford to replace him shortly after the injury for the remainder of the season.
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Enter Jeff Overbaugh. At 6-2 240lbs, he was perfect 134 PAT attempts, 55 FG attempts, and 164 attempts on punt. Overbaugh tried out for the Broncos last season, but Denver decided to go with Casey Kreiter after Aaron Brewer’s release.
Overbaugh is a prospect who makes minimal mistakes at long snapper, which is a position that has gained value and respect for over the last three years.
Which of these prospects do Broncos Country believe could make an impact? Let us know!