3 biggest surprises from Denver Broncos first unofficial depth chart

2. Jonathan Harris is a starter at defensive end

This is a scary position to me, especially since Frank Clark is penciled in as one of the starters at EDGE. I think a lot of us expected Clark to be the other starter at defensive end, and maybe that can change based on the looks that the defense runs in 2023, but man, I have a hard time not having an issue with Harris as a DE1.

The fourth-year pro was undrafted out of 2019 and has spent time with the Broncos for several seasons now. He's played in 14 games for the team and has started just four of them. In his career, he's got 38 total tackles, two tackles for loss, and two QB hits in 16 total games. He's a rotational player, bottom of the roster type of guy, so I am very shocked to see him penciled in as a starter.

Maybe he's having a good camp? Maybe other defensive ends on the roster are not performing up to snuff. Perhaps it's a mixture of both. I have a hard time believing that a low-end backup player is all of a sudden going to be a starter in year four. To me, Jonathan Harris starting at defensive end tells me that Denver needs to make a move to add a defensive end, whether it's in the free agent market or via trade.

A lot of us on this website have been clamoring for the Denver Broncos to add someone else to the defensive front, and I think this initial depth chart confirms our desires. Perhaps once Baron Browning comes back, Denver may consider using Frank Clark at defensive end. And maybe when Mike Purcell gets healthy, Denver can use him to help ease the weakness at defensive end.