Denver Broncos: Five players who could surprise and make the roster

The Broncos have a number of really interesting options in the pass rush depth department, but with Shaquil Barrett missing a major portion of OTAs due to injury, it was an opportunity for guys like Ken Ekanem to shine.

We wrote about Ekanem earlier this offseason in our UDFA spotlight:

"Over the course of his college career, Ekanem had 131 total tackles and 34 tackles for loss. He doesn’t have ideal length (32-inch arms) but the transition to linebacker could help him moving forward. Despite his lack of ideal length, blockers can’t really ever entirely wash him out of a play. That’s why you see high TFL and sack numbers over a three year period. This is the type of player who gets to the quarterback with power and flat out effort. He’s not an agile edge bender like Von Miller and Shane Ray, but he finds a way to get back there and chase down quarterbacks."

The competition for Ekanem will be stiff, but the Broncos know how important their depth is coming off the edge. If they plan on keeping five edge rushers — and they very well could — Ekanem could challenge for that spot.

Along with fellow rookie DeMarcus Walker, Ekanem was one of the most productive edge players in the ACC over the past few seasons, and he’ll have a shot in camp and the preseason to prove that those numbers translate to the next level.