Denver Broncos: 53-man roster prediction at 2021 OTAs

Edge (4, 34/53)

Von Miller, Bradley Chubb, Malik Reed, Derrek Tuszka

The intrigue off the edge for the Denver Broncos comes after the top three guys.

Von Miller is back in 2021 and will have the highest 2021 salary cap hit of any player on the team. The former Super Bowl 50 MVP is in the final year of the big-money contract he signed with the Denver Broncos and hopefully he will prove himself worthy of one more long-term contract to be a Bronco for life.

The Broncos picked up the fifth-year contract option on Bradley Chubb’s rookie deal, keeping him under contract through the end of the 2022 season. George Paton has called Chubb a core piece of the team moving forward.

Malik Reed has emerged as one of the team’s most consistent defenders and despite what can be expected to be a slightly reduced role in 2021 due to Miller and Chubb being healthy, Reed will still have plenty of playing time as the first guy in off the sideline.

The question after those guys is — who is the next man up?

Derrek Tuszka was a seventh-round pick in the 2020 Draft who certainly has somewhat of an early edge, but that spot could just as easily be taken by 2021 seventh-round pick Jonathon Cooper or 2021 undrafted free agent Andre Mintze.

The Broncos also signed a guy named Pita Taumoepenu who should not be counted out at this point.

Last year, we didn’t have preseason games to see the pass rushers go to work against offensive linemen in live game reps. That will change in 2021 with three preseason games on the slate and a chance for these young pass rushers to make their roster case.