The Denver Broncos have completed their 2023 NFL Draft and have added five new rookies to the roster while also trading for a new tight end. The team also signed a host of players that went undrafted.
The Broncos will now start to examine their full 90-player roster as we head towards OTAs, mini-camps and then later this summer, training camp. There are some players on the roster who will now have to prove they still belong based on the players who were chosen in this draft.
Though the Broncos didn't necessarily address all of the positional needs that analysts and fans felt they needed to, they still have these players that were just drafted and those players are likely to take a roster spot from someone.
With that in mind, these five players are going to have a tough time sticking around Denver in 2023 and could be looking for work with one of the other 31 teams in the league.
K.J. Hamler, Wide Receiver
I discussed K.J. Hamler's shaky standing with the team following the draft and he is easily on this list.
Though he's not a bad player, his production has been incredibly limited because of the varierty of injuries he has suffered during his career with the team.
When he's been available, he has shown the ability to be a speedy receiver who can be a home run threat. This throw from Drew Lock to Hamler, though it came in a preseason game, was an illustration of that.
We just haven't seen enough of that and in the ever-changing world of NFL rosters, teams lose patience on players quickly, even if they were once a second-round pick.
The Broncos used a second-round pick in this draft to select Oklahoma's Marvin Mims, Jr. That puts Hamler at the No. 5 wide receiver spot on the depth chart right now, at best.
The team has talented young players behind him such as Brandon Johnson and Jalen Virgil so at this point, it would almost be a surprise if Hamler makes the team. The Broncos may shop him around as potential trade bait to see if they can get anything in return before the decision is made to just cut him.
Delarrin Turner-Yell, Safety
General manager George Paton has drafted safeties in all three of his drafts with the Broncos and in this one, he found Boise State safety JL Skinner, a player who had a higher draft grade on most every analysts' list.
His addition is going to push last year's fifth-round choice, Delarrin Turner-Yell, to prove that he deserves a second season in Denver.
Turner-Yell played in 14 games last season but that was exclusively on special teams where he registered six tackles.
The Broncos have Justin Simmons and Caden Sterns as their starters but it also sounds like there are significant talks to bring veteran Kareem Jackson back for another season. If that were to happen, Turner-Yell's roster status certainly becomes shaky.
Skinner seems to be a much better defensive prospect which would likely leave Turner-Yell to battle P.J. Locke for a roster spot as a special teams guy. Locke would have to be considered the favorite in that race.
Justin Strnad, Linebacker
The Broncos took Justin Strnad in the fifth round of the 2020 draft but he's yet to do anything other than be another guy on the roster since that.
He missed the entire 2020 season due to a wrist injury and though he's been available for every game since, he has just 41 career tackles. The Broncos have needed help at the inside linebacker position for an eternity but they could still afford to cut this guy loose.
The Broncos used a third-round pick to select Arkansas linebacker Drew Sanders, who can come in and be a dynamic defender right off the bat.
After transferring from Alabama, Sanders had a big year for the Razorbacks last season, racking up 9.5 sacks. That could lead some to believe that the Broncos could use him as a rusher off the edge and in some packages, that is certainly a possibility.
But Sanders projects best as a middle linebacker who should easily be able to push Josey Jewell and Alex Singleton for snaps. But all three of those guys will most likely be on the team, meaning the trickle-down effect would probably cost one player their spot.
The Broncos have Jonas Griffith and Ray Wilborn and while either of those players would probably be on the same bubble that Strnad is on, Strnad has been on the team for three seasons and has yet to make any kind of an impact on the field.
Kyle Fuller, Center
The Broncos should have an open competition at the center position this year and there are still many fans who don't see a "good" center on the roster. That left some flabbergasted that the team didn't take one until the third-to-last pick of the draft when they chose Alex Forsyth out of Oregon.
It's not often that pick No. 257 in the draft has a chance to become a productive starter but in this case, Alex Forsyth certainly could have that chance. Many analysts had a much higher grade on him and some even had him as a Day 2 pick.
Forysth is a consistent and athletic center who plays smart football. He will have an excellent chance to make this roster.
But Lloyd Cushenberry, for as poor as he's played since being chosen in the third round of the 2020 draft, would have to be considered the leader in the clubhouse.
That leaves Kyle Fuller, who the Broncos just signed as a free agent this offseason, as the guy who could be the odd man out. The one thing that Fuller will have on his side is his experience playing with Russell Wilson in Seattle.
Wilson could be most comfortable with a player he has played with before but unless that translates to success on the field, Fuller may have a tough time making this roster.
There is a good chance that Forsyth is the one center the Broncos could keep for sure as a rookie, whether he is a starter or not. Either Fuller or Cushenberry will be gone.
Albert Okwuegbunam, Tight End
The Broncos' trade for Adam Trautman during the draft added another tight end to the roster and while the Broncos could keep as many as four of them on the 53-man roster, it wasn't a vote of confidence for Albert Okwuegbunam.
The Broncos got a good rookie season out of Greg Dulcich last year and signed Chris Manhertz as a free agent to be the team's blocking tight end. Trautman gives Sean Payton a tight end who he is familiar with.
The Broncos also signed two tight ends as undrafted free agents.
Though Okwuegbunam has always been a promising athlete, he has not shown it very often on the field. When the Broncos sent Noah Fant to Seattle last year in the Russell Wilson trade, it was a vote of confidence toward Okwuegbunam.
But he seemed to quickly fall out of favor with Nathaniel Hackett, who had him on the field during preseason games despite resting the starters for the entire preseason. When the season opened, Hackett seemed intent on using guys like Andrew Beck and Eric Tomlinson at that position, guys not known for their receiving ability.
Soon, Okwuegbunam was a healthy scratch for pretty much every game. Once Hackett was fired, he was put on the field and showed he can make plays. But how will the new coaching staff feel about him?
This will be a very important offseason for Okwuegbunam but he could be fighting an uphill battle to make the team.