The Denver Broncos have one of the youngest rosters in the NFL. Which young players should fans be keeping an eye on at training camp?
Aaron Rodgers or no Aaron Rodgers, the 2021 season is going to be a fun one for the Denver Broncos, at least in terms of the exciting young players on the roster. Over the last four offseasons, the team’s front office and scouting department have done a much better job of loading up the roster with high-character, hard-working players from the college ranks, and national pundits are starting to take notice.
CBS Sports recently ranked the Denver Broncos’ roster 13th in the NFL. If roster rankings were playoff seeds, the Denver Broncos would be in as one of the top 14 teams in the league.
Pro Football Focus ranked the Denver Broncos’ roster as the 10th-best in the NFL.
That ranking went from 25th in 2018 to 22nd in 2019, then all the way up to 14th in 2020, and now 10th in 2021.
It’s time to start winning some games.
Denver Broncos roster: Young players to watch closely at camp
There are young players this Denver Broncos team will be counting on, of course, to turn that potentially top 10 roster into a legitimate playoff team. It’s not going to be easy over the course of a 17-game season, but the Denver Broncos do have some nice depth on both sides of the ball, not necessarily at every position but certainly in some areas.
With 2021 training camp just a shade over three weeks away, which young players should you be keeping a close eye on?
There are plenty.
1. Drew Lock, QB (age: 24)
All eyes at Denver Broncos training camp will be fixed on the quarterback competition, and no single player on the team is under more pressure than quarterback Drew Lock.
According to a report from ESPN’s Jeremy Fowler, the Broncos see a “different guy” in Lock this year based on his work ethic. That’s great news even considering that the league had a seriously restricted offseason in 2020 and Lock actually got in trouble with the league last year while coming in to work on his day off.
If all that needed to change were Lock’s work habits — whatever those were before — then perhaps the Denver Broncos are in for a real treat in 2021.
It was tough sledding in 2020 for the second-year QB, whose strong finish to the 2019 season was enough to prevent the Broncos from pursuing any of a number of veteran free agents, including Tom Brady.
Not that the Broncos would have certainly been able to sign Brady, but who knows?
The Broncos not only passed on the available QBs in 2020, but they largely passed on the available QBs in 2021. Teddy Bridgewater was brought in to compete with Lock and Bridgewater is really the quintessential game manager at the QB position.
That can be a good and bad thing for an NFL team, but at the very least, if the Broncos are losing games because of Drew Lock, they can turn to Teddy Two-Gloves and he would hopefully be able to keep the offense on track.
At training camp in 2021, every single throw Drew Lock makes is going to be scrutinized, fair or not. Media people will be keeping tabs on every incompletion, every interception, every touchdown — you get the idea.
It’s going to be critical to keep a level head and try to see the forest through the trees with Drew Lock.
If the Denver Broncos don’t acquire Aaron Rodgers in a trade, the best-case scenario for the future of the team is that Lock would prevail in the competition with Bridgewater and become the team’s permanent fixture at the position.
2. Javonte Williams, RB (age: 21)
The Denver Broncos pretty aggressively pursued Javonte Williams in the 2021 NFL Draft. They thought about trading into the first round after selecting Patrick Surtain II in order to get Miami pass rusher Jaelan Phillips, who was ultimately picked by the Dolphins.
That didn’t come to fruition, so George Paton struck a deal on day two with the Atlanta Falcons to move up a handful of spots and steal Williams away from the Miami Dolphins.
Eye for an eye, I guess?
Williams was the Broncos’ RB1 after his final season at North Carolina, and for good reason. This guy is an explosive, tough, physical, three-down running back.
You don’t have to look much further than the incredible behind-the-scenes looks at the Denver Broncos’ draft room to see that this is a guy who was highly prioritized and highly coveted by the front office and scouting department.
It’s not always easy to gauge how running backs are doing at training camp. It’s not 100 percent full contact, so backs are not exactly facing live bullets out there.
With that being said, what you will want to be watching for regarding Javonte Williams is how frequently he’s involved with the number one offense.
The Broncos still have Melvin Gordon for this season, at the very least, and Williams is going to get a lot of work as a rookie.
We may get a glimpse at just how much work that will be with his reps in training camp.
3. Jerry Jeudy, WR (age: 22)
Jerry Jeudy struggled pretty badly with drops in his rookie season. After his first game against the Tennessee Titans, Jeudy noted that what he would remember most about his first-ever NFL game was just the drops.
It wasn’t the Monday Night Football spotlight, running out of the tunnel, or anything else.
It was the drops.
No one has been harder on Jeudy for the drops issue as a rookie than Jeudy himself. Already considered one of the league’s best route runners as a 22-year old sophomore, Jeudy has no trouble whatsoever getting open.
It doesn’t matter where he’s lined up — out wide or in the slot — Jeudy can really make even some of the best defensive backs in the league look silly.
That will be put to the test in training camp against one of the league’s best secondary units. If Jerry Jeudy can get open against the Denver Broncos’ secondary, which has four CB1 types right now, then we’ll all be able to see what treat we are in for in the 2021 season.
Jeudy, despite catching just 46 percent of his targets last season, wound up with 52 receptions for 856 yards and three touchdowns. His big-play ability is undeniable, but Jeudy is so underrated after the catch as well.
If the Denver Broncos can find a way to get that catch percentage up to 60-65 percent, look out.
4. KJ Hamler, WR (age: 22)
Concern is probably not the right word when it comes to second-year receiver KJ Hamler.
With that being said, the Denver Broncos played it safe with Hamler in the offseason program in regards to hamstring issues that have plagued Hamler since the 2019 season at Penn State.
Maybe concern is the right word.
At Denver Broncos training camp in 2021, we’re going to need to see consistent availability from the team’s second-round pick in the 2020 NFL Draft.
Hamler has elite speed, and that speed undoubtedly translates to the field. To Hamler’s credit, despite those hamstring issues he played in 13 out of 16 games as a rookie, and showed some toughness taking big hits, too.
Hamler’s hamstring problems need to, for the most part, disappear in 2021. You would hate to see those continue to linger throughout his career and for Hamler to become like Will Fuller, an outstanding player who is good for only about 10 or 11 games every year.
Training camp will also be key for discovering what the Denver Broncos envision Hamler’s role in the offense being.
The Broncos will undoubtedly be using a lot of 11 personnel with three receivers on the field at a time, so just like some running back duos are considered “1A” and “1B”, Hamler is sort of going to function as an honorary starter.
At least, that is how I see it.
He will be out on the field as much as his health allows. The Broncos should not feel bad about playing it safe with Hamler, but he’s got to do his part to stay on the field, too.
6. Albert Okwuegbunam, TE (age: 23)
After the loss of Courtland Sutton to injury in the 2020 season, it was a breath of fresh air when Albert Okwuegbunam was inserted into the lineup.
The Broncos brought the 2020 fourth-round pick along pretty slowly and gave the initial TE2 reps to Nick Vannett.
It didn’t take long for them to see how effective Okwuegbunam could be and he had firmly entrenched himself in the weekly game plan before going down with a torn ACL.
At training camp, we should expect fairly limited work from Okwuegbunam in the early stages, and perhaps some increased reps as the weeks roll along.
He is still making his way back to full health after the torn ACL but it was great to see him out on the field getting what work he could in for OTAs.
Okwuegbunam is a big, fast weapon in the passing game with a massive catch radius and outstanding overall athleticism. He’s a weapon in the red zone and just as it was disappointing to not get the chance to see Courtland Sutton with the other weapons on offense last year, it was equally disappointing to miss out on the duo of Noah Fant and Okwuegbunam for more than just four games.
It will be fun to see how the Denver Broncos use these guys in practices at training camp and how often they are together with the top offense.
6. The interior offensive linemen
We’re cheating here and making this about multiple guys.
Although the offensive line is not always the most interesting position group to watch, the competition for snaps on the interior offensive line will be a lot of fun.
Dalton Risner (26), Lloyd Cushenberry III (23), Netane Muti (22), and Quinn Meinerz (22) are competing for three spots on that interior offensive line, and veteran Graham Glasgow is currently in place at the right guard position.
Risner has a stronghold on the left guard position and the center spot will be Cushenberry’s to lose, but Muti and Meinerz are unicorn types of athletes on the interior offensive line and the hope is that they make it difficult for the Denver Broncos to keep them off the field.
Because Muti and Meinerz are both just 22 years of age, the option is definitely going to be there for the Denver Broncos to take things slow.
Even if we see all of the incumbents keep their jobs on the interior line, both Meinerz and Muti are as fun as it gets to watch on the offensive line. They are quick, powerful, and nasty finishers.
7. McTelvin Agim, DL (age: 23)
Shelby Harris and Dre’Mont Jones are studs on the Denver Broncos defensive line.
Mike Purcell and Shamar Stephen are going to provide the team with a couple of strong veterans to keep in the rotation throughout the season.
McTelvin Agim needs to break out this year in a big way, even if he’s only playing about 50 percent of the defensive snaps.
Vic Fangio noted at OTAs that the team is looking for someone to really step up on the defensive line and force their way into the rotation.
DeShawn Williams did a good job of that last year after working to make the team since January, 2018.
Agim is a former defensive end who put on weight at Arkansas and wound up really playing a versatile role on the Razorbacks’ defensive line. He was not quite redshirted in his rookie season in the NFL with the Broncos, playing just 141 snaps.
The Broncos drafted Agim to be a pocket collapsing presence on the defensive line, and he will be expected to take a big step forward in 2021.
We’ll get to see how much Agim’s game has improved at training camp, where you will often see pass rushers emerge.
8. Derrek Tuszka, EDGE (age: 25)
The Denver Broncos have a solidified top three off the edge for the 2021 season with Von Miller coming back from injury, Bradley Chubb, and Malik Reed.
Behind those three guys, they need someone to step up.
That someone could very well be second-year player Derrek Tuszka, a former FCS All-American at the powerhouse North Dakota State program.
Athletically, Tuszka has the tools to be a big-time pass rusher in the NFL. He has the speed, quickness, agility, strength, and effort, but can he put the whole package together?
That’s the question heading into year two, and Tuszka is fighting for his job with rookie Jonathon Cooper and a few more camp bodies with some NFL special teams experience.
The Broncos would obviously love to see Tuszka break through in year two, and hopefully, he will get some chances to roll with the number two defense throughout training camp.
Starting with training camp and moving into intrasquad practices and preseason games, Tuszka has a chance to emerge as a key depth piece for 2021 and beyond.
9. Justin Strnad, LB (age: 24)
Expectations should be slightly tempered for Justin Strnad heading into year two.
There has been a lot of hype with Strnad, who showed really well as a coverage linebacker at Wake Forest in his time with the Demon Deacons, but he has obviously struggled to stay healthy the last couple of years.
He went on injured reserve last year with a wrist injury and was shelved after just half of a season in 2019 at Wake Forest due to a torn bicep injury.
Alexander Johnson played over 97 percent of the defensive snaps last year and Josey Jewell played more than 92 percent.
This means that the Denver Broncos had virtually no rotation at inside linebacker last year, and over the course of a full season and even individual games, that can be crippling.
If Strnad can stay healthy, there should be a place for him in the Denver Broncos’ defensive package, even if it’s just in nickel or dime situations.
He has plenty of work to do as Vic Fangio said during OTAs that Strnad is essentially a rookie in terms of the on-field part of things. We’ll see how well he’s done off the field studying come training camp.
10. Baron Browning, LB (age: 22)
Baron Browning is just about the freakiest of freak athletes that you’re going to find, pound for pound.
Baron Browning is a LB prospect in the 2021 draft class. He scored a 9.98 RAS out of a possible 10.00. This ranked 5 out of 2137 LB from 1987 to 2021. https://t.co/9u2aj8ZlSN #RAS via @Mathbomb pic.twitter.com/nwDNRGW9CL
— Kent Lee Platte (@MathBomb) April 14, 2021
In terms of metrics for the linebacker position, Browning is a complete outlier in the best of ways.
How are the Denver Broncos going to get this talent on the field?
They’ve got to do something.
Browning is expected to initially get a shot at the inside linebacker position, but we know from his time at Ohio State that he’s entirely capable of coming off the edge as a pass rusher.
Being in the top 10 percentile of just about every metric, it’s scary to think about the potential Browning has if the game “slows down” for him.
We know that the Vic Fangio defense is not easy for players to pick up on, but the Denver Broncos don’t have to really complicate things for Browning early on.
There is definitely a role he can play as a rookie.
How much of that will the Broncos give away at training camp? We’re fixing to find out.
11. Pat Surtain II, CB (age: 21)
Speaking of freaks, there are very few guys in league history like Pat Surtain II.
The Denver Broncos’ first-round pick in the 2020 NFL Draft is built like a safety at 6-2, 208 pounds, and just about every Denver Broncos player who has been asked about Surtain this offseason has made a comment about how big he is in person.
Despite being big for a corner, Surtain does not lack in the speed, explosiveness, or fluidity departments. He is as natural of an athlete as they come, he has rare size, and he plays with intelligence and instincts.
Call him a safe pick if you must.
There is no question that when training camp opens up, everyone is going to be fascinated by how the Denver Broncos get no. 2 involved in the defense.
Vic Fangio has conceded that the team could play more dime defense in 2021 with the personnel he has at his disposal, and it makes sense.
But what about in the base defense?
How do you keep Surtain off the field?
Denver Broncos: Five big winners from 2021 OTAs
The Denver Broncos wrapped up OTAs last week and with training camp on the horizon, which players came away big winners so far?
The Broncos are going to want to get Surtain as many reps with the number one defense as they possibly can, so we’ll have to see how they incorporate him as training camp progresses.