4 Denver Broncos whose roster spots are in trouble after the Draft

3. Josey Jewell, LB

I don't want to be dramatic, and I don't want to overreact, but the Denver Broncos have four starting-caliber linebackers on the roster and only two spots up for grabs. I want to preface this one by saying that I think Jewell is likely safe for the 2022 season, but his contract is up after this year and the team just used a high third-round pick on Drew Sanders out of Arkansas, a player considered one of the best values in this entire rookie class based on his projection.

Injuries have limited Jewell to just 15 out of a possible 34 games the last two seasons, and although he certainly makes a strong impact when he's able to be on the field, you can't help but wonder if this puts some writing on the wall.

The good news immediately for Jewell is this -- Sanders is considered relatively raw at the linebacker position since he was playing all over the place in high school before getting to Alabama and being buried on the depth chart as an edge guy behind Will Anderson Jr., the third overall pick in this year's draft (Houston).

Sanders moved to the off-ball linebacker spot in 2022 for Arkansas, which also used him as a pass rusher in certain spots and gave him the opportunity to put his full arsenal of skills on display.

With the Denver Broncos, however, it's uncertain how much time Sanders is going to need to acclimate to the NFL level of play. It's one thing to play with instincts -- which Sanders does -- and another to be established as one of the smartest players in the league like Jewell.

The Broncos committed to Alex Singleton on a three-year deal in free agency, they have Jonas Griffith back as an exclusive rights free agent, and now they've added Sanders. Again, I'm not going to sit here and say that Jewell is gone this year already, but would anyone be all that surprised after what we saw go down with Todd Davis being surprisingly cut in 2020?