6 Broncos whose stock has fallen ahead of training camp in 2024

It's tough to gauge everything that's going on throughout the course of OTAs for a variety of reasons. Players aren't even wearing pads yet. Installation is happening. Guys are in new environments. Some players were held out for precautionary (injury) reasons. You can only do your best to read the tea leaves and follow the breadcrumbs out there in terms of which players might be seeing their "stock" going down heading into training camp.

For the Denver Broncos, there are a lot of changes going on and there's certainly a lot of pressure to perform at a high level. Every player on this team is going to be under the microscope as we enter year two of the Sean Payton era, but which players are seemingly in need of a jolt ahead of training camp?

Let's look at some players whose stock is down around the roster, whether they were outperformed at OTAs by someone else or some other factors at play.

1. Zach Wilson, quarterback

It was always going to be a tough climb for Zach Wilson. Jarrett Stidham has a year head start in Sean Payton's offense and the team used a 1st-round pick on Bo Nix in the 2024 NFL Draft. Even though Wilson was the 2nd overall pick in the 2021 NFL Draft, and even though he may be the most talented player the Broncos have at quarterback, he seems to be clearly behind the others at the position.

Not that this is the biggest deal, but it's not the best look for Wilson that both Jarrett Stidham and Bo Nix are getting in extra work with the team's skill players and Wilson isn't there...

Again, not the biggest deal, but definitely not the best look, either.

2. Javonte Williams, running back

For the majority of the second half of the entire 2023 season, Javonte Williams struggled to average even three yards per carry. He averaged just 3.8 yards per touch over the course of the year, down a pretty staggering 1.2 yards per touch from his rookie year when he averaged 5.0 yards per touch.

We didn't see the same guy in the 2023 season that was out there in 2021. Williams' game is based on creating yards after contact, which he has been incredible at since his days at North Carolina -- until last year. There was very little in the way of yardage after contact and while Williams didn't exactly get the chance to display whether or not he's improved in that area, Jaleel McLaughlin was a standout at OTAs and the Broncos used a 5th-round pick on Audric Estimé of Notre Dame.

The team had a 3rd-round grade on Estimé, and Williams is going to have to fight for his starter carries as well as potentially even his spot on the roster.

3. Greg Dulcich, tight end

There were rumors that Greg Dulcich could return to the practice field at some point during OTAs, but that never happened. Nor did it happen at mandatory minicamp. Nor do we see him in the "Camp Stiddy" workout photos.

In all honesty, and this will sound brutal, the stock for Greg Dulcich has never been lower. We've barely seen him on the field since his rookie year. He's barely even been on the practice field. The team is hyping up Lucas Krull in a big way. Dulcich will make this roster barring something surprising, but he's got a long way to go toward rehabbing his overall stock.

The Broncos still believe in his abilities, but nobody has any clue about his availability. Dulcich's talent means nothing if he can't stay on the field, and nobody wants these injuries to stop more than Dulcich himself. His situation will be worth monitoring all throughout training camp.

4. The safety position

The loss of Justin Simmons looms large for the Denver Broncos right now. Brandon Jones -- the free agent the Broncos signed to "replace" Simmons in 2024 -- was not available for some of the team's OTAs. Caden Sterns hasn't been on the practice field and remains another major wild card for this defense despite his immense talent and outstanding ball skills.

PJ Locke had a good offseason, but the Broncos really feel like they are just one injury away from certain doom at the safety position.

Every team has to bank on guys staying healthy and very few rosters can sustain injuries, but the Broncos made a bold move to cut and move on from Simmons when there were other ways for them to save salary cap space. These young players have a lot of pressure on them going into training camp and right now, I'm saying their stock overall is down due to Jones and Sterns not being on the field at times throughout OTAs.

5. Riley Dixon, punter

This might be a little bit boring because it's the punter position, but even coming off of a solid first year (back) in Denver, the Broncos don't seem overly thrilled with Riley Dixon. Either that, or the decision to sign former Bears 7th-round pick Trenton Gill to the 90-man roster has more to do with maximizing the new kickoff rules as you need your kickoff specialist to hit the ball into specific "zones".

One way or another, Dixon is the only Broncos specialist who has been given any competition so far this offseason. The Broncos didn't bring in a second kicker to compete with Wil Lutz and there's no second long snapper competing with Mitchell Fraboni. Dixon seems to be on the bubble going into training camp.

6. Sam Mustipher, center

Despite being the only guy in the group with actual starting experience in the NFL, it seems like Sam Mustipher is already on the roster bubble going into training camp.

Throughout the course of OTAs, it sounds like the Broncos mostly rotated Luke Wattenberg and Alex Forsyth at the starting center position, although the media wasn't allowed to watch every practice. At one point, Sean Payton noted that the centers were rotating like the quarterbacks, but from those observing practice, Mustipher seemingly didn't get many reps with the starters.

After a pretty rough stint with the Chicago Bears, Mustipher bounced back in his development as a member of the Baltimore Ravens. It'll be interesting to see if he is truly rotating with the starters once training camp gets rolling later this month.