The Broncos will begin training camp practices Friday under first-year coach Sean Payton, the first step in a quest to snap the franchise’s seven-year playoff drought. The workouts at the team’s training complex outside Denver will have a far different feel than they did last season under Nathaniel Hackett, whose regeneration days and no-starter preseason will be replaced by a much more physical, contact-riddled month with the veteran Payton in charge.
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The goal, though, is still the same. Identify the best 53 players to place on the roster ahead of the Week 1 opener against the Raiders. Here is my first attempt at predicting what that lineup will look like, with a second version to come out later in camp.
Quarterback (2)
Russell Wilson, Jarrett Stidham
The Broncos appear set to have four quarterbacks in camp with Ben DiNucci and Jarrett Guarantano splitting whatever reps are left behind Wilson and Stidham. The Broncos could keep three quarterbacks on their roster if DiNucci or Guarantano shines in the preseason, but it’s more likely Payton will simply try to store one or both of the players on the team’s practice squad.
When the Broncos open their doors for training camp, eyes will quickly gravitate toward Russell Wilson and Sean Payton.
There will be 89 other players, though, who will also be part of the landscape.@NickKosmider's five who could surprise in 2023 ⤵️https://t.co/bcX6uVMPGu
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Running back (3)
Javonte Williams, Samaje Perine, Jaleel McLaughlin
The Broncos almost always put an undrafted player on their initial 53-man roster. Payton consistently did the same thing during his 16 seasons constructing the roster in New Orleans. McLaughlin, the all-time leading rusher in NCAA history, has a shot to be that player in Denver this season given the opportunity that exists in the running backs room, which has only five players as camp begins. He’ll have to beat out veteran Tony Jones Jr. and show that he can make a significant impact on special teams, but his big-hit talent in the run game and the growth he showed as a receiver at Youngstown State could make him a versatile piece in Payton’s backfield.
Fullback (1)
Michael Burton
During his one season playing for Payton in New Orleans in 2020, Burton was on the field for 21 percent of the team’s offensive snaps, the most since his 22 percent mark as a rookie in Detroit in 2015. He’ll be a significant part of the offense — and, in particular, what the Broncos hope will be a rejuvenated run game — as he replaces Andrew Beck.
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Wide receiver (6)
Jerry Jeudy, Courtland Sutton, Tim Patrick, KJ Hamler, Marvin Mims, Marquez Callaway
The Broncos are bringing 12 wide receivers into camp, and a case could be made for just about any of them landing on the Week 1 roster. That includes undrafted rookie Taylor Grimes, who caught 15 touchdown passes at Incarnate Word last season and had nice moments during the offseason program. But the group represented here comprises the Broncos’ best blend of experience, speed and positional versatility. Don’t be surprised if the Broncos make a trade at this position at some point during camp to add needed future draft capital. Hamler will begin training camp on the NFI (non-football injury) list after suffering a torn pectoral muscle while training on his own this offseason, but he participated in some elements of the team’s offseason program and will be eligible to return to practice at any point during training camp. Still, the injury could make his case to make the team in the final year of his rookie contract a more difficult one.
Tight end (4)
Greg Dulcich, Albert Okwuegbunam, Adam Trautman, Chris Manhertz
This is an important camp for Okwuegbunam, the 2020 fourth-round pick who has struggled with injuries during the first three seasons of his career and never really carved a role in Hackett’s offense. Still, the speedy 6-foot-5 target can work the seams in a way that could be advantageous inside of Payton’s offense scheme, and he showed flashes of that impact during the offseason program.
“He can run; he’s athletic. I think consistency, he’s made progress,” Payton said of Okwuegbunam during the team’s minicamp in June. “He’s at that stage where this is the time. He did make a few plays. I was encouraged with that. I think that as a teacher, our job is to hit the ceiling with these guys. He’s been very attentive.”
GO DEEPERMueller: Identifying each AFC West team’s biggest concern from a GM’s perspectiveOffensive line (9)
Garett Bolles, Ben Powers, Lloyd Cushenberry, Quinn Meinerz, Mike McGlinchey, Cam Fleming, Alex Forsyth, Kyle Fuller, Isaiah Prince
The starting offensive line — with new additions Powers and McGlinchey joining the mix and veterans Bolles and Cushenberry returning from injury — appears set. Fleming figures to be Denver’s top swing tackle option. The competition for depth spots after that seems wide-open. I did not include 2022 fifth-round pick Luke Wattenberg on this list after Payton selected another center during the 2023 draft in Forsyth, a seventh-rounder, but Wattenberg could certainly make the team with a strong camp. Fuller and Prince have both played in the postseason during their careers, which could give them a nod over other players on the roster like Quinn Bailey.
Defensive line (6)
Zach Allen, D.J. Jones, Matt Henningsen, Eyioma Uwazurike, Tyler Lancaster, Mike Purcell
I could see a player not currently on Denver’s roster eventually cracking the 53-man lineup on the defensive line. The Broncos are still a little thin in my estimation in proven depth at the position. The foundation is solid with marquee free-agent acquisition Allen joining veteran interior defensive linemen Jones and Purcell. Henningsen and Uwazurike, two Day 3 picks during the 2022 draft, should occupy bigger roles during their second seasons. But the bottom line is this feels like a spot where the Broncos could use another established player by way of trade or a late veteran free-agent signing. Purcell is beginning camp on the NFI list, so his injury status will be a development worth monitoring.
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Outside linebacker (5)
Randy Gregory, Frank Clark, Nik Bonitto, Jonathon Cooper, Aaron Patrick
The big question here is Baron Browning. Payton suggested the third-year linebacker will begin the season on the physically unable to perform list as he recovers from offseason knee surgery — Browning is officially on that list to begin camp — and that’s why he’s not represented on this initial 53-man projection. The Broncos would certainly hope any absence for Browning would not last longer than four games. He needs to be a big part of what the team does from a pass-rush perspective. If Browning isn’t active Week 1, it presents an opportunity for someone like undrafted rookie Thomas Incoom out of Central Michigan or second-year player Christopher Allen to make the roster with a strong camp.
Baron Browning collected five sacks last season. (Gary A. Vasquez / USA Today)
Inside linebacker (4)
Josey Jewell, Alex Singleton, Jonas Griffith, Drew Sanders
The Broncos return a strong starting duo of Jewell and Singleton, added a dynamic athlete in the rookie Sanders and benefit from the return of Griffith, who was the starter alongside Jewell to begin the 2022 season before he broke a bone in his foot during Denver’s win against the Jaguars in London in October. That makes this Denver’s most complete group at the position in several seasons and provides defensive coordinator Vance Joseph and inside linebackers coach Greg Manusky a good problem to have as they sort out how to best deploy the four players.
Cornerback (5)
Pat Surtain II, Riley Moss, Damarri Mathis, Tremon Smith, K’Waun Williams
One of the more intriguing camp battles will be the second outside cornerback spot opposite the All-Pro Surtain. Mathis, the second-year player who was drafted by Denver in the fourth round out of the University of Pittsburgh, would seem to have an early edge based on his experience last season — he started 11 games as a rookie in place of the injured Ronald Darby. But the Broncos traded a future third-round pick to move up and select Moss out of Iowa in April, setting up what should be a good clash of young talents vying for a key starting position.
GO DEEPERJustin Simmons eager to experience 'super educational' training camp with BroncosSafety (5)
Justin Simmons, Kareem Jackson, Caden Sterns, P.J. Locke, JL Skinner
This is a hotly contested position with 2022 fifth-round pick Delarrin Turner-Yell also competing for a role. Skinner, the former Boise State standout who suffered a torn pectoral before the NFL Combine in February that caused him to fall to the sixth round, is expected to be healthy and ready to participate at the start of training camp. He’s a big, physical safety who could make a quick impact on special teams.
Specialists (3)
Brett Maher (kicker), Riley Dixon (punter), Mitchell Fraboni (long snapper)
The prediction here is Maher, the former Saints and Cowboys kicker who joined the Broncos on Friday, will beat out Elliott Fry in the kicking competition that will be conducted to name a replacement to Brandon McManus. The Broncos need to get to the playoffs before they worry about whether Maher has addressed his point-after yips that originated last postseason.
(Top photo of Albert Okwuegbunam, Russell Wilson and Courtland Sutton: David Eulitt / Getty Images)
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Nick Kosmider is a staff writer for The Athletic covering the Denver Broncos. He previously covered the Denver Nuggets for The Athletic after spending five years at the Denver Post, where he covered the city’s professional sports scene. His other stops include The Arizona Republic and MLB.com. Follow Nick on Twitter @NickKosmider
