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.

Wide Receiver (5):

Jerry Jeudy

Courtland Sutton

Marvin Mims, Jr.

Marquez Callaway

Lil’Jordan Humphrey

Denver suffered another major blow this season when Tim Patrick tore his Achilles in practice. Not only does it hurt their depth chart but it’s awful to see him go down after missing all of 2022 with a torn ACL — which was also suffered in practice and happened almost exactly one year prior to the Achilles injury.

With him out, the Broncos will have Jerry Jeudy, Courtland Sutton, and Marvin Mims, Jr. as their top three receivers. Marquez Callaway also makes it and had just 158 yards last season with New Orleans. But in 2021 when working with Sean Payton, he had 698 yards and six touchdowns.

Kendall Hinton is edged out by Lil’Jordan Humprhey who spent three seasons with the Saints. He knows Payton’s offense and Hinton did himself no favors with a poor outing on Saturday.

Tight End (4):

Greg Dulcich

Adam Trautman

Albert Okwuegbunam

Chris Manhertz

The tight ends were a disappointment in 2022 for Denver, especially Albert Okwuegbunam. After trading Noah Fant to Seattle in the Russell Wilson deal, he was hyped as the new pass-catching threat but had just 95 yards on 10 receptions. Their best weapon at the position ended up being Greg Dulcich, their rookie third-round pick from UCLA. He finished with 411 yards and will be the starter this year.

Adam Trautman should be the second tight end, as he too came over from the Saints. Chris Manhertz was another free-agent addition and makes the roster as a blocking tight end. He also spent time with Payton back in 2016 although he played just three games with them. He’s since been with the Panthers and Jaguars and has 24 catches for 255 yards and two touchdowns in seven seasons.

Offensive Line (10):

Garrett Bolles

Ben Powers

Lloyd Cushenberry

Quinn Meinerz

Mike McGlinchey

Cam Fleming

Isaiah Prince

Kyle Fuller

Alex Forsyth

Quinn Bailey

This offseason, the Broncos went out and signed Ben Powers and Mike McGlinchey in an effort to shore up their offensive line. So far, it doesn’t seem as though everything is fixed. Powers hasn’t been great in pass protection and McGlinchey was struggling in camp before suffering a sprained knee. They’ll still start, as long as McGlinchey is back that is, and will be joined by Garrett Bolles, Lloyd Cushenberry, and Quinn Meinerz.

They do have solid backup tackles with veterans Cam Fleming and Isaiah Prince. As for the interior, they go with Kyle Fuller, Alex Forsythe, and Quinn Bailey. Don’t be surprised if they keep an eye on waivers, meaning not all of the interior reserves are safe.

Defensive Line (6):

Zach Allen
D.J. Jones
Jonathan Harris
P.J. Mustipher
Matt Henningsen
Mike Purcell

Zach Allen was added this offseason and should be a help along the defensive line — although it won’t be easy to replace Dre’Mont Jones. D.J. Jones is in the middle of the three-man line and does a lot of the dirty work. Jonathan Harris rounds out the starters.

On the bench, Matt Henningsen is entering year two and P.J. Mustipher is a promising rookie out of Penn State. Veteran Mike Purcell makes it as a backup nose tackle but his spot isn’t guaranteed at this point especially if they want to go deeper at defensive end. 

EDGE (5):

Randy Gregory
Frank Clark
Nik Bonitto
Baron Browning
Jonathon Cooper

It was less than encouraging to see Randy Gregory on the field well into the third quarter of the Broncos' last preseason game. The former Cowboy was supposed to be their top pass rusher when they signed him in 2022 but he had just two sacks in six games played.

They added Frank a Clark as insurance and still hope 2022 second-round pick Nik Bonitto can develop into a weapon. Baron Browning is entering his third season and had five sacks a year ago. 

Former seventh-round pick Jonathon Cooper rounds out the edge corps. 

Linebackers (4):

Josey Jewell
Alex Singleton
Drew Sanders
Jonas Griffith

Josey Jewell missed the majority of the 2021 campaign with a pectoral injury but bounced back in a big way this past season. He had 128 tackles, 2.5 sacks, and two picks. He remains the top linebacker and will start inside with Alex Singleton.

Added last season after spending three years with the Philadelphia Eagles, Singleton was all over the field for Denver. He didn’t have the splash plays that Jewell did (no sacks or interceptions) but recorded 163 tackles on the year.

They go with just two reserves behind them with Drew Sandwrs and Jonas Griffith. Sanders is a third-round pick that could develop into a starter one day. Griffith is entering year three and has 46 tackles in each of the past two seasons.

Cornerback (5):

Patrick Surtain II
Damarri Mathis
K'Waun Williams
Riley Moss
Tremon Smith

Patrick Surtain had a great season according to PFF in 2022, finishing with the second-highest grade at the position. He now has 118 tackles and six picks over the past two seasons and is expected to do even more going forward.

The rest of the depth chart needs to step up some. Damarri Mathis and K'Waun Williams were in the middle tier according to PFF but Mathis could be a potential breakout star. They'll have to fight off former late-round pick Tremon Smith and 2023 third-rounder Riley Moss.

Safety (5):

Justin Simmons
Kareem Jackson
Caden Sterns
JL Skinner
P.J. Locke

Justin Simmons is the star at safety for Denver. A three-time All-Pro, Simmons signed a four-year, $61 million contract ahead of the 2021 season and has continued to serve as one of the top safeties in the game.

Kareem Jackson, a former cornerback for the Houston Texans, has found a new life late in his career as a safety for Denver. Behind them, they have an up-and-coming player in Caden Sterns who has four picks over the past two seasons.

Rookie J.L. Skinner was added in Round 6 and could be a steal. He's a hard hitter who can develop into a starter if he improves his deep coverage skill. The final spot goes to P.J. Locke, giving them a veteran presence off the bench.

Specialists (3):

Brett Maher
Riley Dixon
Mithcell Fraboni

Brett Maher was one of the best kickers in the NFL throughout the 2022 campaign. He hit 29-of-32 field goals on the season and had a couple of game-winners for Dallas. But then in the playoffs, he fell apart. Maher missed five extra points in two games and the Cowboys moved on. He now re-joins Sean Payton, as the two were together for a short time in 2021 while WIll Lutz was injured.

Riley Dixon returns to Denver after playing there in 2016 and 2017. He had 48.4 yards per punt for the Rams last season and can flip the field in a hurry.

Last, but not least, is Mitchell Fraboni. The long snapper returns for his second season even though recent competition was added.

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