Broncos first preseason game gives 3 players chance to make necessary noise

The Denver Broncos have their first preseason game on Friday, taking on the Atlanta Falcons. Preseason games are incredibly important, as it gives every team the necessary reps to sharpen their own skills before the regular season.

This is true for starters, but it's especially true for players who are fighting for a roster spot. The Broncos roster is among the best in the NFL and really doesn't have many holes, so there may not be much room for someone to make sizeable progress up the depth chart.

And you'd think then that the preseason action would matter that much more for certain players. Head coach Sean Payton announced on Wednesday that the starters would play around 15 snaps. Which players, starters or not, need to use this first game to make some necessary noise?

Denver Broncos first preseason game gives key players a chance to make some noise

Troy Franklin, WR

The Broncos third-year wide receiver finished second on the team in receptions, yards, and touchdowns in 2025 behind Courtland Sutton. Well, the Broncos first depth chart now has Franklin as a second-stringer and the fourth option in the WR room, at best.

It's clear that with the emergence of Pat Bryant and Marvin Mims Jr this offseason during camp, Franklin is falling down the depth chart. It isn't the biggest shock in the world, as Franklin's overall skill set just isn't as enticing as Mims' or Bryant's, but this is still an instance where Franklin probably feels like he needs to prove some folks wrong.

He did play rather well last year given the circumstances, but it also felt like, at times, the ball was being forced to him. Franklin was a fourth-round pick for a reason, so perhaps what we saw in 2025 was about as good as we'll get, but he's still quite young, and I am not sure anything is stopping him from rebounding in the preseason.

RJ Harvey, RB

Rookie running back Jonah Coleman has been making some noise in camp thus far, and it's clear, at least based on certain reporting, that Coleman is excelling as a runner during camp, which is huge news for the backfield.

And while Harvey has made noise as a pass-catcher, his usage in the offense just isn't going to be all that frequent if Coleman is already making strides as a runner. We all know that J.K. Dobbins is going to get most of the carries, but with his injury concern, one of Coleman or Harvey is going to step into that unofficial RB2 role.

As of now, that person appears to be Coleman. Sure, I could be reading this wrong, but Harvey does feel like someone trending toward a third-down role, as his receiving threat being better than Dobbins and Coleman does give him that value.

But there simply might not be enough carries for the trio, so Harvey does have some work to go on the ground if he hopes to earn more snaps.

Eyioma Uwazurike, DE

Despite Eyioma Uwazurike dominating in camp thus far, he is listed in the second unit along the defensive line, behind Malcolm Roach. It appears that Roach is the de-facto John Franklin-Myers replacement thus far.

But that can change. What's neat is that Uwazurike and Roach both have pass-rush and run defense chops, and both have a ton of value to the room. Uwazurike does have the size and length advantage, but Roach is slotted into that starting lineup thus far.

There is still time for Uwazurike to surpass Roach here, and while the defensive line does rotate players frequently, someone is going to get the largest share of snaps.

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