Denver Broncos sign tryout players Jake Brendel, Trey Johnson
After three days of minicamp tryouts, the Denver Broncos signed offensive lineman Jake Brendel and defensive back Trey Johnson to the 90-man roster.
The Denver Broncos invited a handful of players at positions where players are currently injured or recovering from injuries to try out at their first on-field OTA of 2019 under new head coach Vic Fangio.
Two of those tryout players — offensive lineman Jake Brendel and cornerback Trey Johnson — signed to the 90-man roster after their tryouts. The Broncos announced the transactions, along with their decision to waive cornerback Craig Mager, who had not shown up to OTAs for ‘personal’ reasons.
Who are these new players and what do they bring to the table?
Jake Brendel, IOL
Brendel, most recently of the Miami Dolphins, is entering his fourth NFL season after initially entering the league as an undrafted free agent out of UCLA. He finished his career at UCLA having started more games — 52 — than any player in school history.
That’s a pretty incredible number.
He signed as a UDFA with the Dallas Cowboys initially but spent three years with the Miami Dolphins where he was coached up by Chris Kuper, a former Broncos player and the current assistant offensive line coach with Mike Munchak.
Kuper gets an assist on a couple of roster moves this offseason. Along with the connection to Brendel here, he helped coach Ja’Wuan James in Miami as well.
Trey Johnson, DB
The second-year player out of Villanova has elite speed. He ran a 4.38-second 40-yard dash at his pro day last year and has the look of a read-and-react zone cover corner.
That’s what the Pittsburgh Steelers signed him as an undrafted to become, but he suffered an injury and was stashed in IR all of his rookie season.
The Steelers finally let him go this offseason, and now he gets a chance to make it on a Broncos roster that has depth questions at the cornerback position.
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Anyone with 4.38 speed has a shot in the NFL, and Johnson was considered a player raw in his skillset with the talent and athleticism to eventually make it.
Perhaps he can get the right mix of coaching and fit in Denver.