The Denver Broncos blew out the Atlanta Falcons in Week 1 of the preseason, and they then proceeded to get blown out in Week 2 of the preseason against the Green Bay Packers.
With just one preseason game left, Denver has a final chance to put some good football on the field before the regular season. Fortunately, this loss does leave the Broncos with a lot of solid coaching points to work on before the final game, which is at home against the Minnesota Vikings.
Let's chat about three players who just have not made enough noise thus far and are running out of time.
These Denver Broncos are running out of time as preseason continues
Hakeem Butler, WR
Hakeem Butler has all the things you'd want in a contributor at the position. He was also the UFL Offensive Player of the Year and has hung around since the middle of June with the Broncos. It may have been unlikely in the first place that Butler would have made the roster, but the Broncos could use someone with his type of size at the bottom of the wide receiver depth chart.
But he's just not made much of an impact during in-game situations this preseason. He had two targets against the Packers and couldn't haul in either, and we're now at the point where it feels like Butler is a lock to be cut.
The Broncos could roll with Lil'Jordan Humphrey, a Sean Payton favorite, as the last player in the WR room, but Butler did have a chance to make some noise near the bottom of this unit. While his likely not making the roster wouldn't end up being a huge shock, his two preseason games just haven't really been that notable.
Troy Franklin, WR
Third-year wide receiver Troy Franklin put up "0s" in the box score for the Broncos against the Packers. He played in 16 total snaps. Only Humphrey and Joseph Manjack played more snaps at the position.
Broncos offensive snap counts: pic.twitter.com/YE30FHyQAO
— MikeKlis9NEWS (@mikeklis9news) August 22, 2026
Franklin has clearly fallen out of favor a bit, as it seems like both Pat Bryant and Marvin Mims Jr have passed him up in the depth chart. With the Broncos also having added Jaylen Waddle this offseason, Franklin might be, at best, the fifth option in the room behind Waddle, Courtland Sutton, Bryant, and Mims.
There simply might not be much more of a ceiling for Franklin. And given that he isn't great as a run blocker, the Broncos now appear to have an extremely limited wide receiver trending in the wrong direction, and I'd not be shocked if the team took trade calls on him.
Sai'vion Jones, DE
Another player running out of time to make some noise is second-year defensive end Sai'vion Jones. Like Butler and Franklin, Jones just hasn't heard his named called much through two games. Jones was and still may be a developmental player, but for having essentially red-shirted during his rookie season, you'd think that he'd be showing more along the defensive line.
The Broncos defensive end spot has obviously been a talking point this offseason with the departure of John Franklin-Myers, and it does now seem like Enyi Uwazurike and Malcolm Roach are going to be the primary players filling in for him, but something has to be said about those young, developmental players, right?
Even in the offseason, there just hasn't been much coming out about Jones, and he's surely had a ton of chances to prove that he's taken that next step. There is still one more preseason game left, but Jones would really need to begin stacking some plays then to give the coaches something to talk about.
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