Denver Broncos: Rising star, breakout player, rebound player, and more

Don’t Forget About: Shane Ray, OLB

I’m in the minority here, but I’m not giving up on Shane Ray.

The former first-round pick was on a very positive trajectory in 2016 as he took over the Broncos’ primary edge player role opposite Von Miller.

With just 58 percent of the defensive snaps, Ray ranked second on the team with eight sacks and showed as a young player how capable he is of applying pressure off the edge.

Year three was supposed to be Ray’s big breakthrough season, but a wrist injury hindered his development significantly, limiting him to just eight games in 2017.

The Broncos’ coaches think very highly of Ray, however. Upon his return to the lineup, he immediately was inserted into the starting lineup and played 72 percent of the snaps over that eight game stretch.

Despite not being fully healthy, Ray fought through and gave the Bronocs everything he had.

He finished with just one sack as a result and now many feel like he’s got no chance of returning to form.

Not so fast.

While Ray may not be long for the Broncos, he’s now being cleared medically to participate in training camp and if he’s at full strength, he will be a tough rusher for opposing teams to handle.