5 players skyrocketing up Broncos depth chart after first preseason game

4. Montrell Washington, receiver/returner

One of the top players in need of a big training camp/preseason this year is Montrell Washington. The second-year receiver and former fifth-round pick got benched at the end of last season by interim head coach Jerry Rosburg, and even with a handful of open roster spots at receiver this year, it sort of has felt like Washington is facing long odds to make the team.

Lately, though, he's been making a lot of headlines -- for good reasons. Washington has been making plays offensively throughout the course of training camp, and he looked vastly improved as a punt returner in the preseason opener against the Cardinals. He had two returns for 29 yards (14.5 average) and let a couple of punts go, making the correct decision in both cases.

When you talk about finding "hidden yardage" on special teams, Washington's abilities as a punt returner definitely helped the team on Friday night. He got the opportunity to do most of the returning in this game with the guy listed ahead of him on the depth chart -- rookie Marvin Mims -- not playing.

5. Delarrin Turner-Yell, safety

Delarrin Turner-Yell played fast and free on Friday night both defensively and on special teams. He got the chance to play 33 defensive snaps in this game as well as eight snaps on special teams for the Broncos and I think we saw the type of value he can bring to the table.

Turner-Yell played quite a bit of special teams as a rookie as well, and his aggressive, head-hunting style of play certainly works well for that phase of the game. The question we need to be monitoring as the preseason rolls long is whther or not Turner-Yell can steal a roster spot from another safety or defensive back.

Maybe even Kareem Jackson?

Turner-Yell finished this game with a pair of tackles, but he stood out in a good way.