3 Broncos players on the chopping block after mandatory minicamp in 2024

The Denver Broncos concluded their mandatory minicamp after just two practice sessions instead of the three they had planned going into their summer "break". Head coach Sean Payton must have been satisfied with what he had seen from the team throughout the course of the last month or so, especially given the fact the team went through its entire offseason program without any major injuries.

Even though OTAs and mandatory minicamp do not involve pads (a big asterisk on all of these evaluations), there are things to glean and takeaway. There are players who performed better than others, and that's just a reality. Which players could potentially be on the proverbial chopping block after mandatory minicamp's conclusion for the Denver Broncos?

3 Denver Broncos players on the chopping block after mandatory minicamp

1. Zach Wilson, quarterback

Let's qualify this by making a note that I still think the Broncos made the right decision trading for Zach Wilson. And I maintain that Wilson is going to need time to start doing things the way Sean Payton, Davis Webb, John Morton, Pete Carmichael, and Joe Lombardi are teaching him. His transformation as a player shouldn't be expected to be overnight.

With that being said, it does sound like the other two quarterbacks -- incumbent starter Jarrett Stidham and 2024 first-round pick Bo Nix -- were simply better in the practices over the course of all OTAs. In every session that was attended by media, it was either Stidham or Nix standing out (or both) and Wilson sort of trailing behind.

And that includes days in which Wilson was working with the starting offense. It's interesting that the Broncos canceled their third and final mandatory minicamp practice and had Stidham run with the starters the first day and Bo Nix the second day after Wilson was consistently second in line before that. I don't know that it's completely out of bounds to say that Wilson is firmly third in the pecking order right now which could place him on the chopping block if the team is only keeping two quarterbacks.