Projecting the Broncos' 53-man roster

ENGLEWOOD, Colo. — Effectively, the 53-man roster deadline at 2 p.m. MDT on Saturday is as much about deciding who to protect as who will play.

And in regards to rookies and first-year players, those decisions will be made with less data and observation than at any other time in the modern NFL. Even in 2011, when offseason work was canceled due to a lockout, the league still managed to squeeze a full preseason into the calendar. The lone casualty was the Hall of Fame Game that traditionally opens the preseason in Canton, Ohio. Now, there is some guesswork involved.

So will teams opt to gamble on upside with the players on the back end of the roster, or simply choose the best 53 players? The answer is likely to be somewhere in between — and trying to read the ti leaves of the waiver wire will have an impact. A tiebreaking factor on decisions at the back end of the roster will be the likelihood of whether a player will pass through waivers, allowing him to return to the practice squad.

The practice squad is full of new wrinkles. First, it expands to 16 players. Second, it can include six players with any number of years of NFL experience, allowing teams to keep 10-year veterans on the squad.

But the biggest wrinkle is the fact that each Tuesday, teams will be able to protect four players on the practice squad from being poached by other teams for the 53-man roster. These players can be promoted to their team’s 53-man roster for a game and then sent back down without being exposed to the waiver wire. In effect, this will ensure that 25 percent of a practice squad each week functions like a minor-league squad in one of the other major professional sports.

For the Broncos, here’s a guess as to how the roster will look this weekend.

OFFENSE (25)

QUARTERBACKS (2)

Starter: Drew Lock

Reserve: Jeff Driskel

Do the Broncos roll the dice here? In an ordinary year, they would likely expose Brett Rypien to waivers with the intention of bringing him back to the practice squad. The need for a third quarterback with practice repetitions who knows the scheme — and has an outstanding working relationship and friendship with Lock — could swing the pendulum in Rypien’s direction. However, this also becomes a calculus of determining which player is most likely to clear waivers … and Rypien’s value to the Broncos exceeds what it would be to anyone else, because it is predicated on his knowledge of the scheme.

RUNNING BACKS (3)

Starter: Phillip Lindsay

Backups: Melvin Gordon, Royce Freeman

Lindsay and Gordon are 1 and 1-A, and which running back is emphasized more in each game will depend on the game plan, the situations faced by the offense and who has the hot hand, so don’t read too much into listing Lindsay as the starter. But the third-year back has had an exemplary training camp; as was predicted, the presence of Gordon and the pressure to hold fast to a prominent role brought out his best. Doubt Lindsay at your own peril. Freeman ensures that the Broncos can withstand an injury to one of their top two backs and still have experience and pass-protection skills at their disposal.

WIDE RECEIVERS (7)

Starters: Courtland Sutton, Jerry Jeudy

Reserves: Tyrie Cleveland, DaeSean Hamilton, K.J. Hamler, Tim Patrick, Diontae Spencer

If the Broncos go with three quarterbacks, expect that spot to come from this position group. Hamilton and Patrick should see plenty of playing time early in the season. As Hamler works his way back from a hamstring injury, there is an onus on Cleveland to make himself indispensable in a multi-faceted special-teams role. Success would ensure that he remains on the game-day active roster once the Broncos have a full, healthy complement of wide receivers.

OFFENSIVE LINE (8)

Starters: LT Garett Bolles, C Lloyd Cushenberry, RG Graham Glasgow, LG Dalton Risner, RT Elijah Wilkinson

Reserves: OT Demar Dotson, G Netane Muti, G/C Austin Schlottmann

The Broncos kept eight offensive linemen at the roster deadline last year after going with nine O-linemen in each of Elway’s previous eight seasons running the Broncos’ football operations. This is a calculated risk, but Denver should be able to get at least two of Calvin Anderson, Patrick Morris and Jake Rodgers through waivers and onto the practice squad. Then, they could designate at least one of them as a protected practice-squad player each Tuesday.

TIGHT ENDS (4)

Starters: Noah Fant, Nick Vannett

Reserves: Jake Butt, Albert Okwuegbunam

Expect to see plenty of two-tight end sets from the Broncos in the early part of the season as they try to establish the run and use Vannett to chip and provide blocking support for Bolles and Wilkinson.

UTILITY PLAYER (1)

The one and only: Andrew Beck

A tight end, a fullback, an H-back, a core special teamer and a player who can be credited with a completion in a pinch. Beck calls to mind jack-of-all-trades Patrick Hape, who like Beck was listed as tight end but moved all over the place during his four seasons with the Broncos under then-coach Mike Shanahan (2001-04).

DEFENSE (25)

DEFENSIVE LINE (6)

Starters: DE Jurrell Casey, DE Shelby Harris, NT Mike Purcell

Reserves: DE McTelvin Agim, DL DeMarcus Walker, DE Dre’Mont Jones

The Broncos’ typical game-day plan over the last five seasons in the 3-4 alignment has involved activating just five defensive linemen, leaving the sixth player in the position group donning sweats week after week. The trade of Christian Covington to Cincinnati eases a crunch and allows Walker to make the team once again. That means the battle will be between Walker and Agim to determine who gets a jersey and who sits on game days.

LINEBACKERS (10)

Starters: OLB Bradley Chubb, ILB Josey Jewell, ILB Alexander Johnson, OLB Von Miller

Reserves: OLB Jeremiah Attaochu, ILB Mark Barron, ILB Austin Calitro, OLB/ILB Justin Hollins, ILB Joe Jones, OLB Malik Reed

No group has changed more this week than the inside-linebacker corps, which took another turn with reports Friday that the Broncos would move on from veteran Todd Davis. Hollins moved to inside linebacker in a pinch following the injuries to Davis and Justin Strnad, but if he has a long-term future in the NFL, it will be on the edge and on special teams. Jones makes the roster for his special-teams acumen, but this could also be a spot where the Broncos go with one less player to make room for a third QB … or to add another linebacker.

SECONDARY (9)

Starters: CB A.J. Bouye, CB Bryce Callahan, S Kareem Jackson, S Justin Simmons

Reserves: CB Essang Bassey, CB De’Vante Bausby, CB Davontae Harris, S Trey Marshall, CB Michael Ojemudia

There is only one backup safety listed here, but Barron’s background at safety and Ojemudia’s ability to handle the hybrid role Will Parks manned late last season effectively provides depth at the position. That said, if the Broncos look to make an addition via the waiver wire Sunday, safety appears to be a potential spot they would target.

SPECIAL TEAMS (3)

Starters: LS Jacob Bobenmoyer, P Sam Martin, K Brandon McManus

The lone lingering question was resolved when the Broncos waived long snapper Wes Farnsworth, ending his competition with Bobenmoyer. A reserve-future signee in the wake of the 2019 season, Bobenmoyer’s precision on snaps and hustle in coverage earned him the job. The Broncos’ last two gambles on youth at long snapper — Aaron Brewer (2012) and Casey Kreiter (2016) worked out well; Bobenmoyer should extend that success.

PRACTICE SQUAD (16)

OT Calvin Anderson
G Quinn Bailey
RB LeVante Bellamy
RB Jeremy Cox
TE Troy Fumagalli
WR Kendall Hinton
S Alijah Holder
OL Tyler Jones
S P.J. Locke
G/C Patrick Morris
OT Jake Rodgers
OLB Derrek Tuszka
ILB Josh Watson
OT Hunter Watts
DL DeShawn Williams
WR Juwann Winfree

Protected players for Week 1 (set on Tuesday, Sep. 8): Anderson, Fumagalli, Morris, Tuszka.