Denver Broncos training camp marks the beginning of a new era at the quarterback position, and will certainly be loaded with intrigue day after day thanks to a lot of competition across the board on this roster.
The Broncos are not expected to be one of the better teams in the NFL this season, but this roster feels a little bit underrated as a whole and could end up surprising a lot of folks. Head coach Sean Payton and general manager George Paton have the next six weeks to make sure they get to the regular season with the best 53 players possible.
Who is making this Denver Broncos roster in 2024?
Denver Broncos 53-man roster prediction before training camp
Quarterbacks: 3 (3/53)
- Bo Nix
- Jarrett Stidham
- Zach Wilson
We'll see what the Broncos have in store for the rest of the roster, but keeping just two quarterbacks remains a distinct possibility even after trading for Zach Wilson. Trading for Wilson would seem to give him a real shot at making the roster even though the third quarterback isn't going to be utilized unless in case of emergency, but this is a specific type of situation.
And that specific type of situation is that the Broncos are trying to help Wilson revive his NFL career. They see his talent and they want to develop it. Because of that, I almost wonder if it doesn't matter how rough of an offseason he has. The team's decision to trade for him seems like a minimum of a one year commitment and it's possible Wilson could be the QB2 in 2025 behind Bo Nix.
There's also a possibility we could see the Broncos trade Jarrett Stidham to the highest bidder if they are comfortable rolling into the regular season with Nix and Wilson. There are a lot of possibilities here.
Specialists: 3 (6/53)
- Wil Lutz, kicker
- Riley Dixon, punter
- Mitchell Fraboni, long snapper
Right now, the only competition the Broncos have among their specialist group is at the punter position, where Riley Dixon is facing off in training camp against Trenton Gill. The Broncos brought in Gill after he was let go by the Chicago Bears, and considering he was a recent 7th-round draft pick, that pickup is intriguing.
Dixon had a solid season in 2023 for the Broncos, but maybe the idea of Gill being a kickoff specialist could give him an edge.
Running backs: 4 (10/53)
- Javonte Williams
- Jaleel McLaughlin
- Audric Estimé
- Michael Burton (FB)
Based on how the rest of the roster plays out, the Broncos might be left with a really interesting dilemma here at running back. I don't know that it's overly wise to just write off Samaje Perine at this point, especially with how effective he was last season, but there are a couple of things to consider.
The first is that Perine is the oldest running back in this group. That doesn't necessarily matter all that much, but he's a free agent after this year and players like Jaleel McLaughlin and Audric Estimé have more team control beyond this year.
The second is that Perine barely carried the ball 50 times last season. We're talking about keeping an aging running back who isn't under contract beyond this year and whose primary contributions last year came as Russell Wilson's go-to target in 2-minute drill. There is tremendous value there and it's going to be tough for the Broncos to part with him, but this group of players seems relatively set in stone if the Broncos are only keeping four backs including Michael Burton at fullback.
Wide receivers: 6 (16/53)
- Courtland Sutton
- Tim Patrick
- Marvin Mims
- Josh Reynolds
- Troy Franklin
- Jalen Virgil
If you look at the Denver Broncos wide receiver position, there's a handful of quality players competing for what is likely just one roster spot right now. Unless the Broncos keep seven wide receivers, which isn't impossible, then all but one spot right now seems set in stone. None of the top five players in this group are going anywhere, and I like Jalen Virgil for the final spot here because of his kickoff return abilities.
The new format of kickoff returns will undoubtedly play a massive factor in how rosters are built around the league, and Virgil -- coming off of a major injury last preseason -- has a chance to be special in that phase of the game.
Tight Ends: 3 (19/53)
- Adam Trautman
- Greg Dulcich
- Lucas Krull
With three quarterbacks in this projection, the Broncos can only afford to keep three tight ends, and that means Nate Adkins is likely headed for the practice squad.
The Broncos don't have the most impressive group of tight ends in the league, but if Greg Dulcich and Lucas Krull can live up to the hype, then this group could honestly change the entire course of the offense in 2024.
The Broncos are one injury away from a potential disaster at this position.
Offensive Line: 9 (28/53)
- Garett Bolles
- Ben Powers
- Quinn Meinerz
- Mike McGlinchey
- Alex Forsyth
- Luke Wattenberg
- Calvin Throckmorton
- Alex Palczewski
- Demontrey Jacobs
There might be more spots available on the Denver Broncos' offensive line than it really seems on the surface right now. Four of the starting five positions up front are solidified, which is outstanding, but the Broncos have a battle going on at center between Alex Forsyth and Luke Wattenberg. As of OTAs and minicamp, it doesn't seem like either player separated themselves and that battle will be ongoing at the start of training camp.
The Broncos signed a number of players in 2024 including veteran center Sam Mustipher, veteran tackle Matt Peart, and veteran swingman Calvin Throckmorton. They also have a couple of recent UDFAs they really like in Alex Palczewski, Demontrey Jacobs, and Frank Crum.
If their development is going well, hopefully the Broncos find a way to keep as many home-grown players as possible here.
Defensive line: 5 (33/53)
- John Franklin-Myers
- Zach Allen
- DJ Jones
- Malcolm Roach
- Angelo Blackson
A couple of players left off of this list who could be interesting this offseason are Matt Henningsen and Elijah Garcia, a couple of players who have been developing in this organization over the last two seasons. Another wild card is Eyioma Uwazurike whose status, at the time of this post being written, is unknown. He was suspended by the NFL indefinitely for gambling on games and his reinstatement can't happen until July 24 at the earliest.
As of right now, the defensive line is one of the more substantially improved groups on this roster with the additions of John Franklin-Myers and Malcolm Roach, but Angelo Blackson is an underrated pickup as well. We'll see if any of the younger guys can make enough of an impression to stick. One undrafted player to keep an eye on here as well is Brandon Matterson.
Edge rushers: 5 (38/53)
- Baron Browning
- Jonathon Cooper
- Nik Bonitto
- Jonah Elliss
- Dondrea Tillman
There are no questions right now regarding the top four off the edge for the Denver Broncos. The team obviously hopes they can make it to the regular season with a healthy quartet of Baron Browning, Jonathon Cooper, Nik Bonitto, and Jonah Elliss. Having all four of those guys available would be a tremendous luxury and would give the Broncos a lot of talent off the edge.
The one wrinkle the team has thrown into the mix here is Dondrea Tillman, one of the top UFL players over the past few years and a pressure player with versatility and playmaking ability. At 270 pounds, Tillman is the heaviest of the OLB group in Denver right now but he could be a versatile weapon for the defensive line and move all around the formation.
Linebackers: 4 (42/53)
- Alex Singleton
- Jonas Griffith
- Cody Barton
- Justin Strnad
If tight end is the biggest question mark on the Denver Broncos' roster going into 2024, then the linebacker position is nipping at its heels.
The loss of Josey Jewell isn't insurmountable, but the Broncos don't have much certainty next to Alex Singleton right now. Cody Barton is the most proven player aside from Singleton and has multiple seasons in a row with over 100 total tackles. He could be in line to start this season but the Broncos would feel comfortable with him as a core special teams player.
Jonas Griffith was supposed to start for this team in 2022 but suffered a couple of injuries and actually paved the way for Alex Singleton to get his big-money deal. His talent and upside is still there, and at 6-foot-4, 250 pounds, he's got a rare blend of size and athleticism at this position.
The unfortunate reality of this position group is that the player with the highest upside -- 2023 third-round pick Drew Sanders -- is likely going to be missing most if not all of the season due to an injury suffered before the draft. Sanders' position vision wasn't clear, though. Was he an off-ball linebacker or an edge defender?
Either way, him being injured was a huge blow to the potential of this group.
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.