Without question, certain players on a 90-man roster -- for any NFL team, not just the Denver Broncos -- are going to be overlooked at some point or another during the offseason. There's only so much to glean from OTAs, especially when you have rather limited access as Denver media was given by Broncos head coach Sean Payton this year. With that being said, based on what has been discussed and reported, there are undoubtedly some players whose stock seems to be pointing down as we head into training camp later this month.
But who?
There are at least five players -- a few of them at the same position group -- who might need to have a big training camp to get the arrow pointing back the right direction.
5 Denver Broncos players whose stock is down heading into 2023 training camp
1. Baron Browning, EDGE
The first player I want to discuss is a player whose arrow is pointing down for a rather unfair reason. Baron Browning got hurt, needed a procedure done on his knee, and is now expected to land on the PUP to start camp, which could perhaps linger into the regular season. This is not good news for the Denver Broncos at all.
Browning has been expected to take a huge leap forward in his third NFL season and become perhaps the team's top pass rusher off the edge. Browning was initially drafted as an off-ball linebacker with the thought that he could utilize his pass rush skills similar to what we saw early on with Micah Parsons in Dallas, but just like Parsons has made a full-time transition to the edge, so has Browning.
Without Browning in the lineup, the Broncos have added free agent pass rusher Frank Clark, a veteran who raises the floor of a room that carries the "risk-reward" label heading into training camp. It's a shame we're not going to get Browning at training camp this year and that perhaps his third NFL season as a whole could be stunted because of the procedure being done on his knee.
Denver Broncos players whose stock is down heading to camp
2. Kendall Hinton, WR
It feels like over the last handful of years, Kendall Hinton gets counted out during the training camp wide receiver battle, and each year he finds his way back into the mix. Hinton has become a really solid slot player in the NFL who can also contribute as a punt returner and there are rumors he's played quarterback at the college level.
Hinton's value to the Denver Broncos has been tremendous but it always raises a bit of a red flag when you don't hear anything about a guy throughout OTAs, especially at a position like wide receiver where you actually have the chance to stand out a little bit.
The Broncos are banking on a healthy trio of Jerry Jeudy, Courtland Sutton, and Tim Patrick to really carry this unit in 2023. They also used a second-round pick on Marvin Mims out of Oklahoma, they signed Marquez Callaway (formerly of the Saints), and they still have KJ Hamler lingering on the roster.
The idea of Kendall Hinton making the team in some capacity in 2023 seems far-fetched at best, but you never know. The competition he's facing at receiver is going to be stiff, and there are other young players like Brandon Johnson and Jalen Virgil who got opportunities with the team last year and really maximized them. If Hinton is going to beat out any of the top guys at this position, he's going to need to have a dominant training camp.
3. Christopher Allen, EDGE
Like I said before, the EDGE position for the Denver Broncos is a group that really carries that "risk-reward" label. Not that the team has been "banking" on a player like Christopher Allen, by any means, but this was a guy they really believed in a year ago as a highly valued undrafted free agent, and we don't know at this point what kind of value he's going to bring to the team.
At the time, Allen received one of the highest guarantees for an undrafted player in Denver Broncos history. The former Alabama pass rusher missed most of his 2021 season due to injury, but he had flashed his big-time potential off the edge long before that. He led the SEC in tackles for loss in 2020 and had a strip sack in the first game of 2021 before going down with a foot injury.
The Broncos placed Allen on IR last season, essentially giving him a redshirt year with the team. He now has another new defense to grow in, a new pass rush specialist (Jamar Cain) teaching him, and a new position coach (Michael Wilhoite).
Even with some question marks and perhaps even roster spots available this offseason off the edge, Christopher Allen has a long way to go before actually getting into that 53-man roster projection. He's really a wild card at this point in time and we didn't hear really anything about him coming out of OTAs, whether physically or on the field.
Denver Broncos players, stock down heading into training camp
4. JL Skinner, S
The Denver Broncos seemingly got themselves a really great value in safety JL Skinner when they picked him in the 6th round of the 2023 NFL Draft. Drafting the highest-graded player on your board is always advisable, but is the arrow pointing down on JL Skinner heading into training camp?
I would say so.
Availability is the best ability and Skinner -- after missing most of the offseason with a torn pectoral already -- was also out of minicamp and OTAs. Perhaps it was simply precautionary when it comes to the pectoral injury, but by the time he gets to training camp, Skinner is already going to be facing an uphill battle at one of the more loaded positions on the Broncos' roster.
The Broncos brought back Kareem Jackson. We're all expecting a breakout from Caden Sterns. They brought back PJ Locke. Delarrin Turner-Yell isn't just going to lay down and let Skinner take his roster spot, plus the Broncos took Turner-Yell a round earlier than Skinner last year (5th round).
I think it's fair to characterize Skinner as facing long odds to make the Denver Broncos roster at this point, but that doesn't mean he's going to miss out completely. In fact, I think a strong training camp and preseason can entrench his spot on the roster with what he brings to the table physically.
But we've got to see it on the field.
5. Nik Bonitto, EDGE
I'm not going to sit here and use the "B" word with Nik Bonitto just yet. Bonitto was a second-round pick last year, and a late one at that. He seemed like a tremendous value where the Broncos got him (64th overall) but as time has gone on, the question of what Bonitto is actually going to be able to do to help this team is getting bigger and bigger.
What is Bonitto going to contribute to this team?
The Broncos have Randy Gregory and Frank Clark seemingly atop the depth chart off the edge. Third-year player Jonathon Cooper stole all the headlines at OTAs and could be poised for a breakout campaign in 2023. Although Baron Browning is injured, that still leaves Bonitto as the 4th edge on the roster right now with no clear role in sight.
Last year, even as the Broncos struggled with injuries off the edge, Bonitto's role didn't substantially increase. It was a learning year for him in the NFL.
It's really up to the Denver Broncos' coaching staff to maximize his talent and make sure he can be a weapon for this roster going forward. Bonitto has to do his part to grow, get stronger at the point of attack, and be available as an every-down edge, but I also think this coaching staff needs to really extract the best out of him.
The Broncos passed on players like Abraham Lucas and Martin Emerson to draft Bonitto, so they should make sure they do all they possibly can to maximize their investment in him.