Denver Broncos 53 man roster prediction heading into Preseason Week 3

With just one preseason game left to play, the Denver Broncos are nearing the time to make their cuts down to 53 players.

It's never easy to do and teams often have to risk players they like by exposing them to waivers. Still, it must be done and here, we look ahead and try to predict what the Broncos 53-man roster will look like in Week 1 when they face the Raiders on Sept. 10.

Quarterback (2):

Russell Wilson

Jarrett Stidham

This is going to be a huge season for Russell Wilson. The second-year Bronco struggled mightily in 2022 but Sean Payton is convinced that the problem was Nathaniel Hackett. The good news is, Payton knows what he’s talking about when it comes to signal callers, so if he’s confident enough to talk trash, Denver should be just fine.

Behind him is Jarrett Stidham who played much better in the second week of the preseason than he did in Week 1 (but still left a lot to be desired). He’s going to finish ahead of Ben DiNucci, even though DiNucci can bring some excitement when he's on the field.

Denver would like to bring him back on the practice squad as they keep just two on the active roster.

Running Back (4):

Javonte Williams

Samaje Perine

Jaleel McLaughlin

Michael Burton

Javonte Williams saw action in the first week of the preseason which is huge considering he tore his ACL, LCL, and posterolateral corner last season. When healthy, he’s a very good running back, so the hope is that he will be back at 100 percent this year.

As insurance, the Broncos added Samaje Perine who had 941 yards and six touchdowns on the ground and 549 yards and five touchdowns as a receiver over the past three years in Cincinnati. He’s a 240-pounder that can gain the tough yards and can carry the load if necessary.

Jaleel McLaughlin, who had an NCAA record 8,166 career rushing yards went undrafted. He’s now scored rushing touchdowns in each of his two preseason games and added a receiving touchdown this weekend as well. He’s the third running back and might be hard to keep off the field.

The fourth back is Michael Burton, a fullback who Denver signed away from divisional rival Kansas City.