ENGLEWOOD, Colo. -- The Denver Broncos open the 2023 NFL regular season against the Las Vegas Raiders on Sept. 10 at Empower Field at Mile High.
Given the Broncos are in their fourth coaching change since the start of the 2017 season and they traded away five first- or second-round draft picks over the last two years to acquire quarterback Russell Wilson and sign Sean Payton as the head coach, this is a roster in need of depth all over that will likely be in flux all season because of it.
That means the Broncos might be the cruelest team in the league as August turns to September, because there may be several players who make the cut to the 53 on Aug. 29 who are then waived or cut a day or two later as the Broncos scour the waiver wire for replacements. Any projection of what the Broncos' cut to 53 players on cut-down day will look like comes with the enormous caveat it almost certainly will not look that way 48 hours after cut-down.
Payton has said the Broncos will be active if they think they can find help and there is no reason not to believe him because this roster has depth issues almost everywhere across the board.
With that in mind, here is an initial 53-player roster projection:
QUARTERBACK (2): Russell Wilson, Jarett Stidham
In Payton's last season with the Saints -- 2021 -- the team kept four quarterbacks on the 53-man roster and ended up starting all of them at least once in that season. However, the Broncos may have too many decisions in too many other places for Payton to keep three on the roster, even if he wanted to.
RUNNING BACK (4): Javonte Williams, Samaje Perine, Tony Jones Jr., Jaleel McLaughlin
There may be more question marks in the big picture here than any other spot on the roster and the decision to sign a veteran when cuts are made elsewhere remains in play. A lot depends on how Williams' recovery continues from his season-ending knee injury last year. It might be a leap for McLaughlin to make it, but few players flashed as much potential as he did in the offseason program.
FULLBACK (1): Michael Burton
Payton isn't quite ready to be specific about what the Broncos' offense might look like, but there is room in the scheme for a fullback, especially one with the special teams resume like Burton's.
WIDE RECEIVER (6): Jerry Jeudy, Courtland Sutton, Tim Patrick, Marvin Mims Jr., Kendall Hinton. Marquez Callaway
The Broncos closed out their offseason program with 12 wide receivers on the roster, so this could look like a free-for-all to get things whittled down. Payton did keep a return specialist in many of his seasons with the Saints, usually in a receiver roster spot, but the Broncos' primary returner is likely a defensive back. Hinton has the special teams, return option, reliability boxes checked. But it's difficult to believe both receivers who had time with Payton with the Saints -- Callaway and Lil'Jordan Humphrey -- don't make it, so KJ Hamler and/or Hinton could get caught in the squeeze if Broncos only keep five players here.
TIGHT END (4): Greg Dulcich, Chris Manhertz, Adam Trautman, Albert Okwuegbunam
In an offense that figures to use a bunch of two-back, two-tight end sets, it's difficult to see how Broncos would keep fewer than four here. Okwuegbunam needs a quality preseason to be one of them. The other three have very defined roles in the offense, so Okwuegbunam needs to find his or play more special teams.
OFFENSIVE LINE (9): Garett Bolles, Ben Powers, Lloyd Cushenberry III, Quinn Meinerz, Mike McGlinchey, Cam Fleming, Kyle Fuller, Luke Wattenberg, Isaiah Prince
This is another of the positions where, in the days following the roster cut-down to 53, a change or two could come among the backups. Fleming was a late addition in the offseason program (May 23) because the Broncos were thin at tackle, especially players who could play left tackle if needed. That could be a position where they take a long look when the cuts come.
DEFENSIVE LINE (6): Zach Allen, Matt Henningsen, Mike Purcell, Eyioma Uwazurike, D.J. Jones, Tyler Lancaster
The Broncos will work out of a 3-4 for the most part under Vance Joseph. And not that past performance guarantees future results, but as a point of reference the Broncos kept seven defensive linemen in Joseph's first year as head coach in 2017, six his second year. Allen, at three years, $47.75 million, was the biggest contract the Broncos handed out for a defensive player in free agency this year and was the fourth-highest paid defender who switched teams this offseason.
LINEBACKER (7): Randy Gregory, Josey Jewell, Alex Singleton, Frank Clark, Jonathon Cooper, Nik Bonitto, Drew Sanders
The Broncos have some tough choices to make here in the short-term. Baron Browning had surgery to repair some cartilage in his knee this offseason and is still recovering, so the Broncos signed Clark in June. Also, Justin Strnad plays a lot of special teams, so if that becomes a priority, the Broncos may have to keep an extra player here and trim elsewhere.
CORNERBACK (6): Pat Surtain II, Damarri Mathis, K'Waun Williams, Riley Moss, Tremon Smith, Essang Bassey
This is another spot where a veteran cornerback with some positional versatility could force a change and the battle for the other starting spot, opposite of Surtain, will bear watching. Williams has been reliable as the nickel corner and Moss, a rookie, flashed plenty in the offseason program. Smith figures to be the team's front-line returner as well.
SAFETY (5): Justin Simmons, Kareem Jackson, Caden Sterns, JL Skinner, P.J. Locke
It will be intriguing to see what Joseph and Payton envision for Jackson, as in whether or not they the 35-year-old playing anywhere close to the career-most 1,139 snaps he played last season in the Broncos' defense. Special teams needs could result in adding a player here as well.
SPECIALISTS (3): Riley Dixon (P), Elliott Fry (K), Mitchell Fraboni (LS)
Maybe yes, maybe no on Fry since he has attempted all of six field goals in his NFL career. Fry was signed by the Broncos in late May after Brandon McManus, the last player on the roster to have played for the team in Super Bowl 50, was released. Teams around the league were largely maxed out at 90 players each when Fry was signed, so options were limited. So until Payton says Fry has the job, kicker will also be one of the spots to keep an eye on after cuts league-wide.