4. The 2018 class: Foundation of the roster
With the roster finalized for now, I found it interesting how many members of the 2018 rookie class have become the new foundation of the franchise in Denver. In order of draft status:
OLB Bradley Chubb
WR Courtland Sutton
CB Duke Dawson
RB Royce Freeman
CB Isaac Yiadom
LB Josey Jewell
WR DaeSean Hamilton
CB Davontae Harris
TE Troy Fumagalli
LB Keishawn Bierria
RB Phillip Lindsay
S Trey Marshall
OL Austin Schlottmann
LB AJ Johnson
P Colby Wadman
Those 15 players make up 28.3 percent of the roster, which is a great sign for the team moving forward if they can all continue to play significant roles.
This kind of talented, potential-filled class was desperately needed by the Broncos after they pretty much whiffed on the entire 2017 NFL Draft beyond the first two rounds, and the jury’s still out on those two picks.
The only guys on this list of 15 players who may be at risk of not being gameday active are Austin Schlottmann and maybe one of the defensive backs, but otherwise, these guys will all play roles on the team in 2019 and beyond.
This class has the potential to be the core the Broncos build around for the foreseeable future.