Denver Broncos 8 stock up, 3 stock down following massive shutout win over Rams

The Denver Broncos wrap up their offseason with a huge shutout victory over the Los Angeles Rams in their preseason finale by a score of 41-0 where all three phases of the team looked nearly flawless in every way imaginable. With the starters sitting this one out, QB Jarrett Stidham led the second-team offense to a whopping 27 points in the first half and passed for over 235 yards paired with a touchdown as well.

On the defensive side of the ball, numerous pass rushers stepped up to the plate and showed out against both the run and pass, resulting in an ineffective Rams running game and two interceptions for the Broncos secondary. From top to bottom, Denver looked like a very well-coached and disciplined team against a Rams squad that can say the same under head coach Sean McVay. Therefore, the Broncos seem to be in a very favorable spot talent-wise heading into the regular season.

Denver Broncos Stock Up after preseason finale:

QB Jarrett Stidham

This one is fairly obvious considering the performance he put under the lights during the first half. QB Jarrett Stidham started the game for the Broncos and immediately provided a spark to the passing game that has seemingly been lost through the first two weeks of preseason football. He finished the first half with 236 passing yards (145 in first quarter) on 61 percent completions along with a passing touchdown and a rushing attempt for 20 yards. For any questions looming around the possibility of third-string QB Ben DiNucci stealing away the backup job, Stidham made sure to put those to rest.

Stidham was very decisive and quick in his decision making and consistently anticipated his throws before making them which is an instant improvement from the previous two games against the Cardinals and 49ers. The 27-year-old backup QB did not hesitate at all to take deep shots down the field when the opportunity presented itself and did a fantastic job involving multiple receivers in the offense as he completed passes to eight different receivers in the first half. For once, the Broncos finally have a legitimate backup quarterback option.

TE Albert Okwuegbunam

Talk about putting on a performance! Coming into the week, veteran TE Albert Okwuegbunam's chances of making the team were as slim as you could imagine. Unfortunately for those odds, they were completely slaughtered on Saturday night when the 25-year-old caught seven passes for an impressive 109 yards and a touchdown to pair along with an incredible one-handed catch in the fourth quarter.

It will be rather interesting to see if head coach Sean Payton decides to retain him for the 53-man roster or potentially look to shop him in the coming hours after his monster performance. Nonetheless, Albert O played well enough to guarantee himself a spot on a 53-man roster, but there is no guarantee it will be on Denver's considering the high confidence the organization has for rookie UDFA TE Nate Adkins. If the Broncos wish to have more playmakers on their active roster, they'll choose to keep Okwuegbunam solely based off the performance he had against the Rams.