The Denver Broncos got absolutely destroyed in a preseason outing against the Buffalo Bills from start to finish. The Bills scored touchdowns on their first six possessions of the game and frankly, that wasn’t really even the extent of their domination, which started in the trenches.
The Broncos looked bad throughout the game, causing a pretty significant uproar from the fan base on Twitter during the game, with many people questioning whether or not this team’s depth is what we all thought it was after the Broncos’ convincing win against the Dallas Cowboys in week one of the preseason.
The preseason is no time to panic, especially when almost none of your starters are playing. The Broncos don’t need to blow up the roster, by any means. With that being said, I think from the first two games and especially after this Buffalo game, we can see that there are certain players on this roster that have simply not done enough to make the final 53. There are three — among plenty of others if we’re being honest — that stood out.
Broncos players not making case for the final 53: RBs JaQuan Hardy, Stevie Scott
Our first one is going to be a two-for-one. Mike Boone had a fantastic outing against the Bills, showing off his skills out of the backfield as a runner and receiver, then showing a little something in the kickoff return game as well. The same cannot be said for the Broncos’ other two backs that played in this game, JaQuan Hardy and Stevie Scott.
Hardy and Scott have failed to really get much of anything going in these first two games, in general. Some blame can be placed on the offensive line as well here, no doubt, but neither Hardy nor Scott has looked explosive. They’re not breaking tackles, they’re not showing great vision, and they’re not really making any plays in the passing game, either.
Hardy had two carries for -1 yards against the Bills and added two receptions on three targets for seven yards. Scott had five carries for 13 yards as well as three receptions for 10 yards on five targets. I think not only have these guys not done enough to prove themselves worthy of a 53-man roster spot, but how can you even really be excited about their potential inclusion on the practice squad?
Broncos players not making the case for the final 53: Joe Schobert, LB
Let’s be fair to Joe Schobert here for a moment. This guy was not on an NFL roster just over a week ago and with the Broncos losing Jonas Griffith to injury, he’s only had a handful of days to get up to speed. The Broncos brought in Schobert as some competition along with Alex Singleton and Justin Strnad to hold down the fort while Griffith recovers from a dislocated elbow.
Schobert playing the way he did against the Buffalo Bills from that standpoint is at least somewhat understandable. Unfortunately, his performance against the Bills did absolutely nothing to inspire any sort of confidence that he could be a viable option during the regular season if the Broncos had to call his number.
Early on last week, we had heard that Schobert was immediately taking some reps next to Josey Jewell with the first-team offense, but Cody Roark of Mile High Sports and Locked on Broncos noted that after that first day, Schobert was rotating in mainly with the second and third defense.
Schobert, along with the majority of linebackers that played in this game from the Broncos, looked really bad. He wasn’t attacking the line of scrimmage aggressively. He was getting washed out of plays at the second level. He wasn’t coming off blocks. He finished his Broncos preseason debut with just one solo tackle.
At this point, if you’re general manager George Paton, you’ve really got to be hopeful of some team making another off-ball linebacker available that you might be able to poach. I’m sure Schobert will get another chance to prove his worth out there in the third and final preseason game, but right now all we have to go off of is this Buffalo performance which was shockingly bad.
For a guy that has averaged 120-something tackles a year for the last five years, a former Pro Bowl player, and someone who has recently signed a rather big-money contract, I expected a lot more. Schobert definitely didn’t do enough in this game — over 30 snaps — to prove himself worthy of a regular season roster spot for the Broncos.
Just to make sure they have the depth, we could see the Broncos cut him from the 90-man roster and keep him as a veteran inclusion on the practice squad, but as of right now, that’s looking like the best-case scenario for Schobert based on how he played against the Bills.
Broncos players not making a case for the final 53: McTelvin Agim, DL
One player that really stood out consistently in a bad way against the Buffalo Bills was former third-round pick McTelvin Agim. Over the course of his first two seasons with the Broncos, Agim has barely made any appearances defensively, and at this point, will we even see him on the roster come Week 1 of the 2022 NFL season?
I really don’t think we will.
The Broncos’ defensive line was horrendous against the Buffalo Bills for the entire 60 minutes of this game. Agim was constantly getting wiped out of plays and didn’t finish with a single tackle, pressure, QB hit — nothing. He unfortunately made no positive impact on this game for the Broncos defensively despite a pretty great opportunity in front of him.
As of right now, the Broncos’ starting defensive line appears to be Dre’Mont Jones, DJ Jones, and DeShawn Williams. As a former third-round pick, you sort of expect a player like Agim to be able to seize one of those top three spots considering Williams has been a backup the last couple of years. But it’s Williams who has taken advantage of the opportunity.
Predicting the next five roster cuts for the Broncos
Following a loss to the Buffalo Bills in the preseason, the Denver Broncos will need to cut five players from their roster before Tuesday.
Mike Purcell will be the top reserve for the defensive line, and the Broncos will undoubtedly keep fourth-round pick Eyioma Uwazurike around, but Agim has played his way off the roster, in my opinion. You obviously wish the best for him and we’ve maintained optimism thanks to his draft status and some of the promising flashes he’s showin in the past, but after this game against the Bills, Agim would need a Herculean effort against the Vikings to even be considered for the roster.