5 mistakes the Denver Broncos made with their final 53-man roster

Denver Broncos roster mistake no. 4: Not enough depth at CB

Going into the 2022 season, the Denver Broncos have one of the league’s best up-and-coming young cornerbacks in Pat Surtain II. Actually, is it really even fair to call him “up-and-coming”? Surtain is a star already. The Broncos have a very strong duo of outside cornerbacks in the starting lineup with Surtain and veteran Ronald Darby. Unfortunately, the depth behind those guys is virtually non-existent at this point.

Fourth-round pick Damarri Mathis can play if needed according to GM George Paton, but Michael Ojemudia is on IR with a dislocated elbow and looked really bad in the preseason anyway. The Broncos did recently just sign veteran cornerback Darius Phillips, and that’s a solid pickup for the team, but do they need to do more?

The cornerbacks on the practice squad are Essang Bassey, Ja’Quan McMillian, and rookie seventh-round pick Faion Hicks. The Broncos could utilize Hicks on the outside in a pinch if need be, but it looks like their current outside corner depth behind the oft-injured Darby and the prodigy Surtain are Mathis and Phillips only.

Just like at receiver, the Broncos know exactly what it’s like to have to deal with a wide variety of injuries at this position group. They had to endure a number of them just last year. They’ve got to expect at some point that Mathis and/or Phillips will have to play meaningful snaps. Is that the kind of depth you want going into the season?

There are veterans available for the Broncos, but it’s pretty slim pickings out there.