The Denver Broncos are about to get their first on-field look at the 90-man roster at OTAs next week and the duo of head coach Sean Payton and general manager George Paton should be proud of the work they have done. The Broncos went from being in a $90 million dead cap hole last year with what was perceived as a laughably bad roster to being in one of the best overall positions out of any team in the AFC, if not the NFL.
Still, there's no such thing in the NFL as a "perfect" roster and there are plenty of question marks in Denver right now.
Namely, the team has one potential disaster at the linebacker position defensively that will be worth putting under the microscope even further after this initial on-field workout.
Broncos linebacker position in focus ahead of OTAs
The Broncos significantly upgraded the linebacker position this offseason when they signed former San Francisco 49ers star Dre Greenlaw to a deal in free agency, but that move came with some risk attached.
Greenlaw was largely available due to recent injuries he's been dealing with, and even though the 49ers tried desperately to bring him back, the Broncos are already feeling the weight of that risk. Greenlaw suffered a pulled quad this offseason, an injury that requires an eight-week recovery time. He's not in danger of missing training camp at this point, but the injury itself serves as a warning sign.
Not only are the Broncos dealing with Greenlaw recovering from his quad injury, but they are also dealing with uncertainty of Alex Singleton's recovery from a major knee injury last season.
Singleton has been at the team facility all offseason, so I say "uncertainty" knowing that it's not uncertainty from the team but the perspective of fans and media. Singleton has stated that he is feeling great and is eager to get back on the field, but a player in his 30s coming off of a torn ACL is not great no matter what way you slice it.
Drew Sanders is the intriguing wild card at the position with a great opportunity before him, but that's all it is at the moment.
Perhaps the player Broncos fans can realistically have the most confidence in at this point is Justin Strnad, who returned to the team this offseason with the idea that he would be competing for a starting job.
The linebacker position could end up being a disaster for the Broncos this season and it's something they need to get sorted out quickly in the offseason program.