The Denver Broncos have released their first initial depth chart. Which players could make up some ground with a strong preseason? Denver plays their first preseason game on August 9th against the San Francisco 49ers.
In the coming weeks, the team's depth chart will become official as this team and the rest of the NFL cut down their rosters. The neat thing with the Broncos is that this team does have a ton of locked-in players and starters, so the depth chart may not change all that much.
We could see some current backups and even third-stringers begin to make a name for themselves in the preseason and perhaps shoot up the depth chart just in time for the start of the 2025 NFL Season.
Denver Broncos' players who could shoot up the depth chart this preseason
Levelle Bailey, ILB
Levelle Bailey has absolutely made a name for himself this offseason and is listed as a primary backup in the ILB rotation. While Alex Singleton is just about healed from the thumb injury he suffered, what if Bailey boots him down a spot? He's got speed, youth, and athleticism on his side, as Singleton is much older and also coming off of a major knee injury.
We might be in a spot where Singleton eventually sees his starting spot go up in smoke at some point in 2025. He's a free agent following the 2025 NFL Season, and if the team does want Bailey to takeover the other starting ILB duties, what better time for that than in Week 1?
JL Skinner, SAF
JL Skinner is currently listed as a third-string safety behind PJ Locke III and Talanoa Hufanga, and the third-year player did play a ton of special teams' snaps in the 2024 NFL Season. If nothing else, Skinner is a massive defensive back; he's 6'4" and 220 pounds and is obviously a physical, hard-hitting player. You have to wonder if Skinner ends up putting a lot of that together in the preseason. He's surely going to get a ton of action with Hufanga, Brandon Jones, and even PJ Locke III having their roster spots set in stone.
Ideally, you'd love to see Skinner earn himself a bump up on the depth chart.
Audric Estime, RB
Audric Estime saw two running backs come in and basically push him down the depth chart in RJ Harvey and JK Dobbins. Estime is comfortably the RB4 at this point, but he does have a ton of youth on his side and is still just 21 years old. He's a tough runner and did average 4.1 yards per carry in the 2024 NFL Season. With Dobbins and Harvey likely the RB1 and RB2 options for Denver, Estime might be in a heated battle with Jaleel McLaughlin this preseason for the primary RB3 duties.