The Denver Broncos released their first official yet unofficial depth chart of the 2023 preseason on Wednesday, which was obviously met with a ton of interesting discussion. It's "official" from the standpoint that it comes directly from the team. It's "unofficial" from the standpoint of -- everything is subject to change, possibly in major ways.
Regardless of whether you should or shouldn't really read into the initial depth chart that comes out, we're going to do our best to follow the breadcrumbs of the offseason, training camp, things that have been said after practices, and observations that have been made throughout the team's first 13 days of training camp. Which players are "winners and losers" from the initial depth chart release?
Let's take a look at a handful of players whose placement on the depth chart stood out for one reason or another.
3 winners, 4 losers from Denver Broncos initial depth chart
Winner: Adam Trautman, tight end
When the depth chart initially came out, it might be fair to say that Adam Trautman being listed as TE1 for the Broncos was the biggest surprise out of anything. Trautman emerges as a huge winner of this initial depth chart release because of the fact that everyone assumed Greg Dulcich was far and away the TE1 of this team.
Now, it needs to be noted that these labels don't exactly mean much as of right now. Dulcich might be listed as TE2 on the depth chart, but he could end up leading the team in snaps at the position over the course of the season. You certainly expect him to be more involved in the passing game than Trautman. Here's what Sean Payton had to say about it:
"The one thing that is interesting about this tight end group is that there are some clear roles that you can see. Strengths and weaknesses that these players have. [TE] Adam [Trautman] is the one guy out here who does a good, solid job at blocking and he gives you some flexibility within the route tree. [TE] Chris Manhertz is someone who obviously we are comfortable throwing to, and yet, he is really good at blocking the D-gap. Then [TE Greg] Dulcich is someone who can really threaten [you]. You have these different traits for different [players]...Sean Payton, via Broncos PR
...I could have put the slash there, but you guys know it better. Those tight ends are all playing. I think it becomes easier for you all when you start looking at the play totals and you see how much they are being relied upon.”"
Regardless of the play totals, I think being listed atop the depth chart is good news for Adam Trautman. The Broncos acquired him in a trade during Day 3 of the 2023 NFL Draft and he's obviously going to be a very important part of this team, not just a back-end of the roster player.