The Denver Broncos made several splashes this spring, fortifying their roster into one of football's best, while also catching several headlines. However, their big acquisitions were mostly absent from preseason play. Mainly, to be specific, new Broncos defenders Dre Greenlaw and Talanoa Hufanga were nowhere to be seen, along with running back JK Dobbins. Instead, the Broncos have been giving more playing time to players in position battles, such as the defensive line and running back rooms.
These three new Broncos, along with Evan Engram, have been billed as the final pieces that could push the Broncos over the top, and potentially challenge the Kansas City Chiefs for the AFC West crown, a title that Andy Reid has held every season since the 2016 campaign. Different Chargers and Raiders teams have challenged the Chiefs, but no one has come close to winning the divisional crown away from the Chiefs in some time.
The last team to win the title before the Chiefs was the Super Bowl 50 champion Denver Broncos, one of the best defenses in NFL history. If this year's team wants to follow in the footsteps of the 2015 Broncos, they are going to need the contributions of all 53 on the roster, but maybe none more than the foursome of Dre Greenlaw, Talanoa Hufanga, JK Dobbins, and Evan Engram.
Broncos had to protect their biggest investments during preseason action
When preseason games start counting towards the regular season, maybe NFL teams will start pushing veterans to get more reps in during games. Until then, there is no need for teams to be pushing their players early on, let alone the more injury-prone stars. In total, the Broncos' four major free agent signings combined to play just 31 games in 2024, with JK Dobbins accounting for 13 of them.
Ultimately, the Broncos added significant injury risk to their roster in their hunt to improve, but with that comes a need for injury prevention. This rings especially true for Greenlaw, who played just two games last year but is consistently touted as one of the game's most physical players.
If the Broncos have reservations about the ability of any four of those to stay healthy, the perfect place to start is by limiting their snaps in the preseason. Any form of preseason injury to that group could begin to derail Denver's season and bring a good deal of criticism to Sean Payton and George Paton.
Denver's priority is clearly on making sure that their injury-riddled players make it to week one without any concern, and a preseason matchup shouldn't do much to change those plans. Payton and Paton are making sure that their men are ready for week one, and Broncos fans should be thankful.