The Denver Broncos will have plenty of difficult roster decisions to make in 2021. Which players are on the chopping block at each position group?
Although many talking heads don’t care to discuss it or admit it, the Denver Broncos have assembled a very strong roster heading into the 2021 season. New general manager George Paton picked up where John Elway left off, and the Broncos have one of the better rosters in the league with the quarterback position an obvious “up in the air” status.
Even with a lack of clarity at the quarterback position, there is a lot to be excited about with this 2021 Denver Broncos team.
If the group that took the field for the 2019 season could win seven games, how many could the 2021 roster win?
There are reasonably high expectations for the Broncos this season after the team really fell short in 2020.
The pandemic-affected offseason hurt the Denver Broncos as much as any team in the league, and you could tell throughout the season that one of the youngest rosters in the league was struggling to stay afloat — especially offensively — while the defense was decimated by injuries one by one.
It would be unrealistic to expect the entire roster to stay healthy in 2021, but the team is deeper now than it has been in previous years and they are deep at some key position groups. Namely, the offensive line has really nice depth and the defensive backfield may be the best in the entire NFL.
Okay, it is the best in the NFL.
Denver Broncos: Examining difficult roster cuts
The downside to having a deep roster is having to make difficult cuts when the league mandates teams go from 90 players on the active roster to just 53. Even though you stand a pretty good chance these days of getting guys back onto your practice squad, subjecting players to waivers can be a scary ordeal if you have high hopes for their future.
General managers and decision-makers have to make decisions with both the present and future in mind. George Paton will have no shortage of difficult decisions to make regardless of position group, which is what we’re taking a look at here.
Here are some of the top roster cut candidates at each position group of guys who could latch on to other NFL rosters.
Quarterback: Brett Rypien
Unfortunately, Brett Rypien gets picked for this basically by default.
Barring something unforeseen, there’s just no way the Denver Broncos are going to be cutting either Drew Lock or Teddy Bridgewater absent a trade for Aaron Rodgers. The team has to figure out a way to win as many games as possible and right now, Lock is the upside guy and Bridgewater is the fail-safe.
Rypien was originally picked up by the Denver Broncos after the 2019 NFL Draft and was considered one of the team’s top undrafted pickups.
The fact that he’s still on the roster a couple of seasons later shows you exactly why.
Rypien may not have been “draftable” by the league’s standards, but he has shown that he’s got long-term backup potential.
The Broncos have really been pleased with the way Rypien has contributed to the QB room overall, it seems, and he took over backup duties last season from free agent signing Jeff Driskel.
In his lone start of the season, Rypien threw three touchdowns and three interceptions in a Broncos win over the Jets.
If difficult decisions need to be made in the 2021 offseason, however, the Broncos may be inclined to keep just two quarterbacks on the active roster and stash Rypien on the practice squad, if possible.
They will have to hope he clears waivers and who knows how well Rypien will play when given a shot in training camp? Who knows if he will really impress the Minnesota Vikings‘ coaching staff in joint practices?
There are plenty of scenarios that would lead to Rypien no longer being a Bronco if he hits waivers but if the team does end up cutting him, my guess is it will be with the design of bringing him back on the practice squad.
Running Back: Royce Freeman
As we get into the numbers game of the 90-man roster, Royce Freeman’s name continually comes up as a player that could be cut or traded.
It makes sense.
Every time Vic Fangio has been asked about the running back position in the 2021 offseason, Freeman’s name doesn’t come up when Melvin Gordon’s, Javonte Williams’, and Mike Boone’s names do come up.
I will say — if the Broncos can’t trade Freeman, I think there’s a good chance he will stick on the roster. Maybe they sacrifice a receiver, maybe it’s a tight end, or maybe it’s somewhere else on the roster, but there’s no doubt that Freeman is a 53-man roster player who can contribute on special teams, as a receiver, and obviously as a runner.
Unfortunately, the team just seems to be moving in a different direction. It once appeared as though Freeman would be the clear-cut number one back in Denver and an ankle injury in his rookie season really just derailed his progress and momentum.
With the arrival of free agent Mike Boone as the RB3, Freeman’s role beyond someone above him on the depth chart getting injured is just not there.
The Denver Broncos will undoubtedly be hoping for Freeman to do well in preseason play to maximize trade value, but that RB4 spot is probably going to wind up being someone added to the practice squad like LeVante Bellamy or Damarea Crockett.
Wide receiver: Diontae Spencer
The Denver Broncos could keep as many as seven or eight receivers on the 53-man roster in 2021.
The way things have been going lately, it wouldn’t be a shock if Kendall Hinton found his way onto the roster after being singled out by Vic Fangio as one of the most impressive players at the entire offseason program.
With Hinton’s emergence and a loaded group of young players who have been drafted in recent years, it’s going to be tough for top return specialist Diontae Spencer to make the team.
This was the issue Spencer faced when he was cut by the Pittsburgh Steelers ahead of the 2019 season when the Broncos got him off of waivers. That, at the time, was a huge addition for the Broncos who had struggled with inconsistency and poor play in the return game for years.
Spencer is going to need to carve out a clear role for himself in the offense in 2021. There is no question about it.
In two seasons with the Broncos, Spencer has just 15 receptions. It’s not like he needs to be a featured piece of the offense, but if you’re going to be taking up a 53-man roster spot, the reality for the Denver Broncos now is you can’t just be a special teams guy.
There are already three roster spots being taken up by specialists.
Perhaps the Broncos don’t see this the same way but I think Spencer clearly has to emerge as a threat for the offense, more than he’s been, to make the team in 2021.
Tight end: Andrew Beck
It’s tough to think about the Denver Broncos cutting one of the only guys on the roster with actual NFL snaps at the tight end position, but it could very well happen to Andrew Beck.
Beck, like Diontae Spencer, was someone the Broncos acquired off of waivers ahead of the 2019 regular season. He showed some nice potential throughout the year, playing 230 snaps on offense and another 197 on special teams.
In 2020 with an offensive coordinator change, Beck’s role on the offense dramatically decreased.
The Broncos used him on just 66 offensive snaps throughout the season and 175 special teams snaps in 10 games.
Listed as a fullback/tight end for the Broncos, Beck was out-snapped by just about every other tight end on the roster last year including Troy Fumagalli, who was cut after training camp and brought back later in the year.
Beck needs to have a big training camp and preseason — as a tight end. The Denver Broncos brought in Eric Saubert after the 2021 NFL Draft as well as UDFA Shaun Beyer. Austin Fort is also back from injury, so as much as Beck has contributed on special teams, the Broncos have other guys who can take that role if Beck is not up to standards at tight end.
Beck’s usage in 2020 does not bode well for his 2021 role, but he’ll get the chance to prove himself out on the field.
Offensive line: Austin Schlottmann (OG)
Many fans in Broncos country may have no idea about this, but Austin Schlottmann has played over 500 offensive snaps over the past two seasons.
He has been active for all 32 games and has made six starts for the Denver Broncos on the offensive line.
Once an undrafted free agent out of TCU who made his way up from the practice squad, Schlottmann has become, at the very least, solid depth for the Denver Broncos on the interior offensive line but the team has made some additions there that could push the six-game starter off the roster completely.
The Broncos obviously used picks in the top three rounds of the NFL Draft on left guard Dalton Risner, center Lloyd Cushenberry III, and guard/center Quinn Meinerz. They also have a 2020 sixth-round pick in Netane Muti with big-time potential for 2021 and beyond.
How many interior linemen are the Broncos going to keep? Along with starting right guard Graham Glasgow, Schlottmann is now going to have to beat out a number of promising younger players to stick.
Defensive line: Jonathan Harris
The Denver Broncos picked up Jonathan Harris in the 2019 season after he started his pro career with the Chicago Bears.
There was no history between Harris and the Bears, but the Broncos must have really liked Harris coming out of Lindenwood University because they added him to the active roster late in the season and gave him 49 snaps in three games.
Harris was on the team’s reserve/non-football illness list in the 2020 season but has returned for the 2021 season to compete for a roster spot.
The Denver Broncos defensive line is not currently set in stone, by any means.
It seems, at this point, that the top four of Shelby Harris, Dre’Mont Jones, Mike Purcell, and Shamar Stephen is relatively set. Behind those guys, the Broncos have 2020 third-round pick McTelvin Agim and a key role player from 2020 in DeShawn Williams.
It would be surprising for the Denver Broncos to keep more than six guys, so it would have to be Jonathan Harris over DeShawn Williams or McTelvin Agim or maybe even seventh-round pick Marquiss Spencer.
Edge defenders: Derrek Tuszka/Jonathon Cooper
Although we’ve been talking up Derrek Tuszka’s potential lately, there’s also a chance that neither of the Denver Broncos’ last two seventh-round pass rushers make it to the 53-man roster in the 2021 season.
The Broncos have an intriguing undrafted free agent in Andre Mintze who has some rare athleticism and explosiveness at the edge position. They also brought in some camp bodies like Pita Taumoepenu and Peter Kalambayi who could vie for roster spots and contribute right away.
Nobody wants to have to cut actual draft picks. You would obviously rather see both of these guys realize their potential and make it difficult for the Broncos to cut even one of them, much less both.
But that’s the beauty of having a competition and competition bringing out the best in these players.
Seventh-round picks rarely work out in the NFL. It’s not uncommon for those guys to essentially be camp bodies.
The Broncos know what they need off the edge behind Von Miller, Bradley Chubb, and Malik Reed. It would be outstanding for one of the guys they drafted to step up, but it would be no less outstanding if Andre Mintze comes into training camp and preseason play and wins a roster spot, too.
You always love to see the team’s GM bat a high average in the NFL Draft, so cutting a pick immediately would not be ideal, but it is definitely possible off the edge in 2021.
Linebacker: Josh Watson
The Denver Broncos will be hoping for a very strong training camp and preseason from their current backup inside linebackers.
As things stand today, it would not be surprising at all to see George Paton go out and acquire some proven linebacker depth behind both Josey Jewell and Alexander Johnson who are in contract years.
Justin Strnad is back off of injury in 2021 and the team has high hopes for third-round pick Baron Browning, but Josh Watson and undrafted rookie Curtis Robinson are the only two behind those young players.
Maybe something will materialize in a trade, perhaps someone the Denver Broncos like will hit the waiver wire. Whatever the situation ends up being, Josh Watson is on notice for the time being.
He ended up being essentially a 54th active roster player for the Broncos in 2020, playing in nine regular season games and contributing on 183 special teams snaps despite being on the practice squad.
Can Watson project as a future factor on defense or will he be strictly relegated to special teams duty?
Can Curtis Robinson take his spot as the fifth linebacker?
Cornerback: Duke Dawson
Duke Dawson was the 58th overall pick in the 2018 NFL Draft. He was hurt most of his rookie season, so when the Denver Broncos acquired him in a late-round pick swap from the New England Patriots in a roster deadline trade, it seemed like a really good deal.
It was still a really good process from the front office to acquire Dawson at such a low cost, but staying on the field has proven to be difficult for him.
He played 14 games in 2019 and then just 12 in 2020, and at this point, Dawson has not quite been able to carve out a clear role for himself in the defense.
Does he have a future as the team’s nickel? Could he be an eventual Kareem Jackson replacement?
It’s tough to say for the time being.
The Denver Broncos poured so many assets into the cornerback room in 2021 that it’s hard to find spots for everyone. Dawson is going to have to be fully healthy and play lights out to force the team to keep more corners than they probably otherwise would.
He could beat out someone like Essang Bassey for a roster spot, but at this point it looks like there are at least five cornerback spots solidified in Denver and who knows if they will end up keeping more than six?
Safety: Trey Marshall
The Denver Broncos signed Trey Marshall as an undrafted player out of Florida State in the 2018 offseason, and he’s proven to be a pretty nice find, all things considered.
Marshall appeared in just two games as a rookie, but became a full-time special teams player in 2019 and also got a shot to play some defense.
He played 160 snaps for Vic Fangio down the stretch of the 2019 season but did not factor into the rotation at all in 2020.
His 15 defensive snaps in 2020 were barely a blip on the radar as Kareem Jackson and Justin Simmons played all of the snaps.
The Denver Broncos drafted Caden Sterns and Jamar Johnson at the safety position in the fifth round of the 2021 NFL Draft just a dozen picks apart which could spell the end for Marshall if the team only keeps four safeties.
Even if they keep five safeties, Marshall is going to have to fend off PJ Locke, who played almost 100 more special teams snaps a season ago.
Denver Broncos: 11 young players to watch closely at training camp
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?
The Denver Broncos will undoubtedly need to see more from Marshall at the safety position and there will be some fun competition there happening throughout training camp and preseason games.