Predicting the Denver Broncos’ 53-man roster going into training camp

Cornerbacks: 6 (48/53)

• Pat Surtain II
• Riley Moss
• Ja'Quan McMillian
• Kris Abrams-Draine
• Damarri Mathis
• Tremon Smith

The Broncos were forced to punt at the cornerback position last year thanks to a number of key injuries, but we did see a breakout year from second-year player Ja'Quan McMillian. Now entering his third NFL season, McMillian is expected to play a massive role in 2024 and could even start on the outside opposite Pat Surtain II.

The team is also expecting a breakthrough from second-year player Riley Moss, but at this stage, he remains an unknown.

The toughest part about projecting this position is whether or not to cut a veteran like Levi Wallace, the only other guy besides Pat Surtain II with extensive time on task. Wallace's roster status will depend largely on how Moss and Damarri Mathis look throughout training camp and the preseason.

Tremon Smith, a top-tier special teams player whose value could increase with the new kickoff return format, is probably not going anywhere.

Safeties: 5 (53/53)

• PJ Locke
• Brandon Jones
• Caden Sterns
• Devon Key
• JL Skinner

Here we have the Broncos keeping 11 total players for the secondary, which is on the high end, but it's not out of the question right now. There are simply a lot of young players back there and the Broncos need to make sure they have plenty of options.

The safety position is missing Justin Simmons and Kareem Jackson for the first time since 2019, and many perceive this position group to be the clearest downgrade on the roster with Simmons gone. Brandon Jones had a strong year last year for Miami and the Broncos are expecting him to take another leap forward with increased snaps in 2024.

Caden Sterns is another health concern for the Broncos but one of the most talented defensive backs on the roster.

Devon Key and JL Skinner might be fighting for one roster spot depending on whether the Broncos allocate another roster spot elsewhere, but those two guys could help tremendously on special teams. At this point, Skinner has to be considered firmly on the roster bubble as it was Key running with the top defense when both Jones and Sterns were not available at OTAs.