Finally, the Denver Broncos have their first unofficial depth chart of the 2023 NFL season. There could be many positions that look different come week one, but there are a few initial surprises. The depth chart looks, for the most part, how many of us expected it to look, but there are some surprises for sure.
Most of the defense is just about set in stone, so the surprises are mostly on the offensive side of the ball, where the Denver Broncos need to be much, much better in 2023. Fortunately, Sean Payton is a historically good offensive mind, so there is a very good chance that the offense is just fine in 2023.
Are there any major surprises on the Denver Broncos' first unofficial depth chart? Let's dive into three obvious ones.
Broncos release their first depth chart of preseason in the pregame release: pic.twitter.com/4dEPMssafK
— Andrew Mason (@MaseDenver) August 9, 2023
3 biggest surprises from Denver Broncos first unofficial depth chart
1. Adam Trautman is TE1 over Greg Dulcich
This seems to be a bit of a surprise, as Sean Payton has spoken highly of Greg Dulcich this offseason, and I'm not sure we've heard Adam Trautman's name called much this offseason. Perhaps this is just a seniority thing until both hit the field, but it's still a bit of a shock. While Trautman is a more established tight end who has two more years of experience, Dulcich is clearly the higher-ceiling player and probably the better player.
In 2021 with Sean Payton, Trautman caught 27 passes for 263 yards and two scores, which was a noticeable improvement over his rookie season. However, he managed just 207 yards and one score in 2022. Tight end is a very tough position to learn in the NFL, and it usually takes TEs multiple years to settle into the role.
In Dulcich's rookie season, he caught 33 passes for 411 yards and two scores in just 10 games. HIs 41.1 yards per game in 2022 translates to nearly 700 receiving yards over a 17-game season. Greg Dulcich probably begins the year as the TE1, but it's still a bit of a shock to see him behind Trautman.
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.
3. Marvin Mims Jr is all over the place on the initial depth chart
I guess this might not be a huge surprise to some, as Mims has had a fantastic camp, but the Denver Broncos are very much buying into their rookie from Oklahoma. At wide receiver, he's behind Jerry Jeudy on the depth chart but is in a WR3 role.
Well, running with three wide receivers on the NFL is 11 personnel, which is very common in today's league. Payton might not run it a ton if the Denver Broncos are going to be a run-first team, but we'll most definitely see it. And that'll mean that Mims is likely going to get a ton of run on offense.
He's also penciled in as the starter at the punt and kick returning positions. He's already ahead on the depth chart at these positions over other veteran players, so the rookie has impressed thus far. I guess the reason I am surprised to see him in all of these spots is the amount of responsibility he'll have.
With Tim Patrick and KJ Hamler going down and Patrick set to miss the entire season, someone has to step up at wide receiver, and it appears that Marvin Mims is going to be that player.