Broncos 53-man roster projection: Who will make Sean Payton’s last cut?

As in the past few days as Wednesday Broncos special teams coach Darren Rizzi made things abundantly clear Denver s staff still hadn t settled on its final -man roster There s still particular meat on the bone there and there s several guys that still have certain work to do Rizzi explained And they can show chosen stuff in this last event The preseason s now come to an end though with Denver s - win over the Saints on Saturday in New Orleans A meager positional battles have resolved themselves with roster movement like this week s commerce of receiver Devaughn Vele while others are still coming down to the wire Here s the final -man roster projection from each of The Denver Post s Broncos beat writers Parker Gabriel and Luca Evans with thoughts and analysis of any discrepancies Offense Quarterback Gabriel s take Bo Nix Jarrett Stidham Sam Ehlinger Evans take Nix Stidham Analysis Stidham played so well in his first two games that Sean Payton sat him for the entirety of the Broncos preseason finale Saturday That left the majority of reps to Ehlinger who threw in a lot of good a late Patrick Mahomes-esque backyard touchdown to Kyrese Rowan and a little bad a frantic dump-off and tipped interception against the rush against the Saints Denver s taken three quarterbacks on its initial roster each of the past two seasons The question is whether Ehlinger s been good enough to warrant sacrificing depth at another spot Gabriel thinks so Evans does not Running back Gabriel and Evans take J K Dobbins RJ Harvey Jaleel McLaughlin Tyler Badie McLaughlin hasn t done anything in camp to show why he should get cut and the Broncos wouldn t be able to sneak him through to a practice squad In a really tight battle with Audric Estime and Blake Watson meanwhile Badie has established himself as the clear next-guy-up and could even fight with McLaughlin for RB reps It ll hurt to cut Estime a fifth-round pick and Watson who s popped in camp reps but there s not enough need to carry five backs The other wild card here is fullback with Nate Adkins and Michael Burton hurt The Broncos signed Adam Prentice but he ll likely come off the practice squad like Burton did last year Wide receiver Gabriel and Evans take Courtland Sutton Marvin Mims Jr Troy Franklin Pat Bryant Trent Sherfield Sr With Vele gone to New Orleans this room is set Denver would only take five receivers on gamedays anyway and every guy in this rotation has shown enough in camp and preseason to play meaningful reps The Broncos cache of undrafted rookies Courtney Jackson Kyrese Rowan Joaquin Davis and Jerjuan Newton have all had their share of moments but all are more likely fits for the practice squad Tight end Gabriel s take Evan Engram Adam Tratuman Nate Adkins Evans take Engram Trautman Adkins Lucas Krull This is the the greater part unpredictable room on the roster Payton gave a pretty clear clue on Thursday though that Adkins will be kept on the operational roster even as he recovers from a sprained ankle That leaves a couple of final decisions Whether Denver will take four TEs and whether they ll opt for seventh-round rookie Caleb Lohner or veteran Krull Offensive line Gabriel and Evans take Luke Wattenberg Garett Bolles Ben Powers Mike McGlinchey Quinn Meinerz Alex Palczewski Matt Peart Alex Forsyth Frank Crum The Broncos may have given a roster hint away Saturday trotting Peart out at left guard and Crum at left tackle with the second-team offense The -year-old Peart hasn t played a single snap at guard in his NFL life But tackles who can flex inside are more valuable than interior offensive linemen and -foot- tackles with bend like Crum don t come around often The Broncos might be viewing Peart as a general backup for the left side of their offensive line making it easier to take three tackles and Forsyth along with their starting group Defense Defensive line Gabriel s take Zach Allen D J Jones John Franklin-Myers Malcolm Roach Sai vion Jones Jordan Jackson Eyioma Uwazurike Evans take Allen D J Jones Franklin-Myers Roach Jackson Sai vion Jones Here s the toughest question to answer on the roster Uwazurike or Jackson Or both Seven defensive linemen would be a lot but Denver s played Uwazurike and Jackson in tandem all preseason and Uwazurike s shown the ability to play backup nose tackle On the other hand Jackson s had too good a camp to cut Uwazurike could well be a agreement candidate or the Broncos could just elect to sit on their riches in this room Outside linebacker Gabriel and Evans take Nik Bonitto Jonathon Cooper Jonah Elliss Dondrea Tillman Que Robinson The easiest room to project on the roster Signed sealed delivered Stupid depth here Inside linebacker Gabriel s take Alex Singleton Dre Greenlaw Levelle Bailey Justin Strnad Evans take Singleton Greenlaw Bailey Strnad Jordan Turner The top four are solidified Five ILBs are a lot but at this point Turner s seemingly played more snaps in camp and preseason than Singleton and Greenlaw combined There s a ton of variability with injury here and this room could get thin in a hurry Turner has had a standout camp since he was signed in May from Michigan State and he led the Broncos with sacks in Week of the preseason against Arizona Cornerback Gabriel and Evans take Pat Surtain II Riley Moss Jahdae Barron Ja Quan McMillian Kris Abrams-Draine Related Articles Broncos starters sputter in preseason finale but only concern is if slow starts carry to Week Broncos stock analysis Bo Nix and Courtland Sutton pop but first-team rushing attack stalls Renck Broncos biggest turnaround GM George Paton He should have been fired Now give him his flowers Five Broncos with largest part at stake in preseason finale at New Orleans Saints Inside Broncos rookie Jahdae Barron s early NFL ups and downs A plant doesn t grow in one day Kind of the same concept as the defensive line here This quintet is just too solid and versatile to warrant taking in six cornerbacks which would leave guys like Damarri Mathis Reese Taylor and Quinton Newsome on the outside Taylor looked like a stronger contender at the start of camp but he s been out for a while with injury Mathis has had a strong camp but he carries a cap number of million Safety Gabriel s take Brandon Jones Talanoa Hufanga P J Locke JL Skinner Sam Franklin Evans take Jones Hufanga Locke Skinner Devon Key The Broncos need Locke in the very real event of an injury to Jones or Hufanga as there s a lack of proven depth elsewhere here The biggest question mark is Franklin a special-teams ace who Denver signed to a one-year deal in free agency This ll come down to whether the Broncos value Key s defensive depth more in this room or Franklin s special-teams flexibility Special teams Gabriel and Evans take K Wil Lutz P Jeremy Crawshaw LS Mitchell Fraboni Literally no other options here The Broncos will need rookie Crawshaw to develop consistency and fast Want more Broncos news Sign up for the Broncos Insider to get all our NFL analysis