The Denver Broncos have a roster and coaching staff that is clearly ready to be much more competitive in the loaded AFC West, but is their depth chart really a depth chart at this point? Or is it just a chart? Believe it or not, the Denver Broncos still have some weaknesses heading into the 2023 NFL Draft. Thankfully, very few of those appear to be in the actual projected starting lineup.
Still, if you want to be competitive in December and January, you need strong depth. The Broncos don't have that everywhere on their roster, which is why you're still seeing posts suggesting additional free agent acquisitions. Sean Payton knows the value of quality depth, as does GM George Paton. With just five picks in the 2023 NFL Draft and a little less than $8 million in salary cap space, how will the Broncos round out some of the weak areas of the team?
We need to take a look at a few position groups that, as of right now, would send the team into panic mode if they were to suffer any injuries to starters.
3 positions the Denver Broncos are one injury away from disaster mode
1. Cornerback
Let's just imagine, for the moment, that the Denver Broncos had to spend any amount of significant time next season without Pat Surtain II. As of right now, who are you going to replace him with that's even on the roster? Although there's really no "replacing" Surtain, what kind of depth do you have on the roster to be able to sustain an injury like that?
Okay, let's not go to such an extreme. Let's say the Broncos lose Damarri Mathis for a significant amount of time. Mathis is a good young player, but he's not on Surtain's level. Who steps into that CB2 slot? Do the Broncos even have a viable third cornerback on their roster right now (not including their guys who play nickel)?
I'm not so sure of that.
They have free agent pickup Tremon Smith, who will bring his "elite" special teams abilities to that phase of the game. They have second-year player Ja'Quan McMillian, an undrafted player in 2022 who showed some nice things down the stretch last season.
But that's really it. The Broncos don't have the kind of depth they really need at the outside cornerback position right now, which leads me to believe that could be one of the positions they are more seriously targeting with their top picks in the 2023 NFL Draft.