Denver Broncos training camp battles at every position group

Linebacker: Keeping four or five guys?

There's probably not a more straightforward position on the team right now than linebacker. Josey Jewell, Alex Singleton, Jonas Griffith, and Drew Sanders all feel like roster locks at this point. The question here is whether the team keeps four or five guys at linebacker. If they keep five, the odds-on favorite has to be Justin Strnad, who led the team in special teams snaps played last season.

A darkhorse here could be undrafted rookie Seth Benson out of Iowa, who will undoubtedly make his presence felt throughout the preseason on special teams. There's not much of a question at this position group, barring injury.

EDGE: How do the Broncos navigate the Baron Browning situation?

One of the most interesting position battles on the roster will be taking place off the edge. The Broncos have completely overhauled this position group in the last two years, trading away Bradley Chubb and Von Miller while signing the likes of Randy Gregory and Frank Clark in free agency.

Unfortunately, the Randy Gregory signing was not a good one in 2022. Gregory showed well through the first couple weeks of the season, but missed most of last year due to injury, including the offseason. Now that he's about to be unleashed for the entirety of training camp, how big of a year can he have? How much of an impact can the veteran Frank Clark make?

What young players are going to step up? The Broncos put a lot of eggs in the Baron Browning basket, and a meniscus injury has landed him on the PUP to start training camp. Browning was the Broncos' most promising young edge player and by no means is that off the table, but the fact that it's being put on hold is a very tough pill to swallow.

In the meantime, you're going to have to hope a guy like Jonathon Cooper can really progress, or that Nik Bonitto can take a huge leap forward in year two. There are guys with potential at this position, and there are underdogs to watch out for like Christopher Allen, Thomas Incoom, and Marcus Haynes. Aaron Patrick is also back from his knee injury in 2022.

At this position group, I think you have Gregory and Clark at the top with Jonathon Cooper as another roster lock. You'd like to think Nik Bonitto is also a roster lock, but is he? In a worst-case scenario, what happens if Bonitto doesn't show signs of progress, and Browning ends up needing a long time to heal? The Broncos could be in a bad spot at this position group even with some upside and proven veterans.