Some tough roster cuts the Denver Broncos may have to make in 2020.
Even when the Denver Broncos don’t have great roster depth, there are players cut from the team seemingly every year who draw groans and complaints from the fan base.
With the way everyone is able to follow along with the team in this day and age, fans become attached to so many players and their development, whether they’re number one on the roster or all the way down at number 90 (or in the case of 2020, number 80).
For the first time since 2015 or 2016, the Denver Broncos have some enviable roster depth, maybe not at every single position but certainly at a number of positions.
How will John Elway, Matt Russell, and Vic Fangio stomach making cuts this year? It’s got to be one of their most dreaded deadlines of the football calendar, but with expanded practice squad numbers in 2020, they may able to keep more of the players that currently make up the 80-player squad than we think.
It’s not going to be easy to let guys go, especially when you look at the guys who have big potential but perhaps haven’t proven enough on the field yet to win a roster spot over someone else who is more proven. The Broncos already had to make a tough roster cut by letting go of former third-round pick Jeff Heuerman.
Not every player is as likely to be cut as others on the roster, so this list will include guys who are clearly on the roster bubble going into camp.
If you poll 10 Denver Broncos fans, you might get 10 different lists of players, but here are the top guys who, if I were playing the role of John Elway, would be really difficult to cut ahead of the 2020 season.
1. Juwann Winfree, WR
Even though he was only a sixth-round pick in the 2019 NFL Draft, it would be really tough to see the Denver Broncos part ways with and potentially lose wide receiver Juwann Winfree.
Now, if he does end up getting cut when final 53-man rosters have to be turned in to the NFL, there’s a decent chance he could make it back for one of those 16 practice squad spots and he may even be a player the Broncos choose to protect from other teams.
Winfree spent time in the collegiate ranks with Maryland, at the JUCO level, and then at Colorado before the Broncos ultimately traded up to get him in the 2019 draft.
He’s a smooth route runner with size, speed, inside-outside versatility, and big play ability. The big question? His ability to stay consistently healthy.
The traits are all there with Winfree, but he could get caught in the numbers game for the Broncos at receiver if he doesn’t ball out in camp.
He is going to have to prove to the coaching staff that he can be as valuable to the offense and special teams as a guy like Tim Patrick if he’s going to be on the final roster.
Even with the Broncos’ tremendous depth at receiver, it would still be tough to not be able to see Winfree’s development through.
2. Jake Butt, TE
For some people, this wouldn’t be so hard. Butt has only appeared in three regular season games for the Broncos and there are a significant number of fans who pretty regularly complain about the fact that Butt is taking up a roster spot when the Broncos haven’t really had to sacrifice anything by keeping him around.
I would say at this point, the Broncos agree with me that cutting Butt would be very difficult to do, considering the fact that with all of his knee injuries and three years with only three games played, they have yet to do that.
Butt is a guy who absolutely breathes the game of football, he’s a tremendous teammate, and a high-character player who is good for the locker room.
At some point, however, he’s going to have to stay on the field.
The Broncos have been patient with Butt’s health and there’s no doubt they want to see him succeed. If this is the year they have to send him to the waiver wire, it will be a tough day for John Elway and the front office.
3. Tyrie Cleveland, WR
This might just be me again, but cutting Tyrie Cleveland would really sting for me.
I think there’s a good chance that if Cleveland were to be waived, he would make it back to the practice squad, but the Broncos would be taking a big risk.
Although he was only a seventh-round pick in the 2020 NFL Draft, Cleveland is one of the best special teams players in this year’s rookie class.
He has an excellent combination of size, speed, explosiveness, and he runs pretty darn good routes too.
Cleveland obviously has to prove himself worthy of a top 53 roster spot and he’s one of the guys I think is right on the cusp in that 53-60 range, but you also have to project sometimes as a team builder as well.
I think Cleveland is in a roster battle with players like Tim Patrick and maybe DaeSean Hamilton, and I wrote earlier in the offseason about how I might go about determining those roster battles.
4. DeMarcus Walker, DL
It’s never easy to cut former high draft picks, but it’s especially tough to cut guys who were picked in the first or second round.
No matter how well a guy has played, if you invested a first- or second-round pick in them, you at least want to see if they can show anything in their first four years, but the Broncos have been more trigger happy in recent years with guys who aren’t performing up to par.
It all started with the team deciding to cut Carlos Henderson, who was the highest draft pick John Elway had cut before his rookie season expired before first-round bust Paxton Lynch didn’t make it to a third regular season with Denver.
Will DeMarcus Walker make it to his fourth year?
Opinions on Walker seem pretty split, but he put together a nice 2019 campaign as a reserve for Vic Fangio defensively with four sacks.
If Walker is not one of the defensive linemen the Broncos keep — they will likely keep at least six — it would be a really tough pill to swallow considering his draft status.
5. Justin Hollins, OLB
Heading into the 2019 season, it felt like Justin Hollins could really be the Broncos’ top linebacker off the sideline, whether they needed someone to rush the passer or match up with someone in coverage.
One year later, his roster spot seems at least somewhat up in the air.
The Broncos have a lot of bodies at both of the linebacker positions, and with Hollins’ athletic ability, speed, and strength, it would be great to see him win a roster spot in 2020.
If not?
It would be pretty disappointing.
Hollins was a fifth-round pick out of Oregon in the 2019 NFL Draft and former outside linebackers coach Brandon Staley — now the defensive coordinator of the Los Angeles Rams — envisioned Hollins as a true hybrid linebacker who could play off-ball linebacker as well as rush the passer.
It would be great to see the Broncos unleash Hollins off the edge and it would also be great if he showed progression as a matchup player against tight ends.
If Hollins doesn’t make the Broncos’ final roster, there’s very little chance Staley won’t convince the Rams front office to scoop him up.
6. Josey Jewell, LB
At this time a year ago, Josey Jewell was in line to start alongside Todd Davis for the Broncos at inside linebacker, and that’s what he did to open the season.
Jewell was once one of the premier linebackers in college football at the University of Iowa, where he was not only a playmaker in the run game but in coverage as well.
There were questions about whether Jewell’s athleticism would be an issue as he got to the NFL level, and through two seasons, they have proven to be, unfortunately.
Jewell has still made some nice plays for the Broncos, but he was replaced in the starting lineup by Alexander Johnson last year, and Johnson had a tremendous season for Denver and has become a key building block for the defense.
Is Jewell strong enough on special teams to hold off players like rookie Justin Strnad and Josh Watson, one of the 2019 UDFAs the team really likes?
All six of the linebackers on the Broncos’ roster right now have legitimate arguments for a roster spot in 2020, and if the Broncos go with higher upside options, Jewell could be a really tough cut for this team as a fourth-round pick in 2018.
7. Davontae Harris, CB
Although Davontae Harris is the one named here, there are any number of young cornerbacks it would be hard for me to cut if I were the Broncos.
Duke Dawson. Isaac Yiadom. De’Vante Bausby. Essang Bassey.
The Broncos only have so many roster spots available and the cornerback position has a lot of guys who have shown potential without great consistency, and Harris is one of them.
At one point in the 2019 season, Harris looked like he was going to settle into a starting position before he was replaced by the previously benched Yiadom.
Duke Dawson also looked really good in nickel duties, but what will his role be in 2020 with Bryce Callahan healthy and expected to play in the nickel?
Can Harris hold off Yiadom, who replaced him last year? What about third-round pick Michael Ojemudia?
Harris is a player who has outstanding athletic ability, speed, strength, and swagger at the position. His confidence has gotten him into some trouble at times, but he made some game-altering plays in 2019 in a good way and the potential is tough to ignore.
With so many young guys at the cornerback position, you have to wonder if the Broncos will mess around with some position switches for guys (Yiadom to safety, anyone?) in order to keep them all on the roster, because cutting one of these players with high upside would be really tough to swallow.