2020 Broncos' Season, Final Roster Prediction

 


Even though we don't have pre-season games by which to measure the progress of the off-season, we are rapidly approaching the 2020 regular season, which begins a week from tonight. That means this weekend the Broncos, like so many other teams in the league, will have to do the hard work of narrowing the roster from 80 to just 53. They will add 16 to the Practice Squad, but this is about the official roster. Below is my prediction for the Final 53.

Quarterback (2):
* Drew Lock
* Jeff Driskel
About: The Broncos have a few quarterbacks on the roster, but I think they carry just two, the starter in Lock and the backup in Driskel. Brett Rypien is there, and will likely be someone they'd like to keep in the system. But I think Rypien will go to the Practice Squad.

Running Backs (3):
* Melvin Gordon
* Phillip Lindsay
* Royce Freeman
About: The Broncos kept only three running backs last year, and I think they do the same. Gordon and Lindsay will be the main workhorse backs, and I think Lindsay will lead the team in rushing. But Freeman, a talented back with experience, is great depth here.

Wide Receiver (6):
* Courtland Sutton
* Jerry Jeudy
* K.J. Hamler
* DaeSean Hamilton
* Tim Patrick
* Diontae Spencer
About: The Broncos have some talent here, and I think they'll try to push a few players to the Practice Squad. In terms of the active roster, I like this group. Sutton is the lead, and Hamilton, Patrick and Spencer bring veteran presence, including for Special Teams. Meanwhile Jeudy and Hamler are the big rookie additions that bring firepower.

Tight Ends (5):
* Noah Fant
* Nick Vannett
* Albert Okweugbanum
* Jake Butt
* Andrew Beck
About: Five is a lot, but the Broncos have a lot of depth here and a lot of weapons. Albert O. and Butt are weapons they'll want to keep, Beck and Vannett are capable blockers and traditional tight ends with flexibility and Fant is a rock star. They have the talent to keep five, and I think they will.

Offensive Line (9):
* Garrett Bolles
* Dalton Risner
* Lloyd Cushenberry III
* Graham Glasgow
* Elijah Wilkinson
* Austin Schlottmann
* Netane Muti
* Jake Rodgers
* Demar Dotson
About: The Broncos could keep fewer here, or more. I'm settling on nine because I think the team needs depth and most NFL Teams will need depth during the season. The Broncos have some talent and options, and I think the team will want to lean into that at a crucial position.

Defensive Line (6):
* Mike Purcell
* Jurrell Casey
* Shelby Harris
* McTelvin Agim
* Dre'Mont Jones
* DeMarcus Walker
About: The Broncos have a great group at defensive line, including a solid group of starters and three good depth options. I think the Broncos will feel good with six here, and can't really afford to take more.

Linebackers (10):
* Von Miller
* Bradley Chubb
* Alexander Johnson
* Todd Davis
* Jeremiah Attaochu
* Mark Barron
* Malik Reed
* Josey Jewell
* Justin Hollins
* Joe Jones
About: The Broncos have a solid group here, and with the addition of Barron they have the depth they feared they'd lose with the injury to Justin Strnad. There are others that could be in play here, but I think this ends up being the group of 10 the Broncos go with. And because of depth needs and Special Teams, I think they keep 10 here again.

Defensive Backs (9):
* A.J. Bouye
* Bryce Callahan
* Justin Simmons
* Kareem Jackson
* Michael Ojemudia
* De'Vante Bausby
* Essang Bassey
* Davonte Harris
* Trey Marshall
About: The Broncos have some great corner depth but little in the way of safety depth. I think they'll keep nine here, but only three safeties with Marshall being the depth. That leaves them with six corners, and likely will mean some positional shifting if there are injuries. It wouldn't be a shock to see the Broncos look for some depth among the cuts, but for now I'm going with these nine. With Bassey, the Broncos will also keep the tradition of adding an undrafted free agent to the list.

Special Teams (3):
* Brandon McManus, K
* Sam Martin, P
* Jacob Bobenmoyer, LS
About: The Special Teams group here seems pretty set, with just three specialists remaining on the roster. That makes this the easiest group to predict right now.

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