Mile High Report
When the Denver Broncos take on the New Orleans Saints Saturday afternoon, it will be the last chance for many players to make their case in pursuit of a spot on the final 53-man roster. While I believe a good portion of the roster is set in stone, I think there are a handful of depth spots of for grabs. Without further ado, here are three players I think are on the cusp of earning a role with the squad if they impress against the Saints.
A lot of roster projections have the Broncos keeping five safeties. Brandon Jones, Talanoa Hufanga, P.J. Locke, and J.L. Skinner are often the top four listed. Those I agree with. The fifth is usually Devon Key. However, based on the first two games and what has been reported this training camp, I feel Keidron Smith has outperformed Key on the field in coverage and on special teams.
Last season, Smith’s penchant for creating turnovers earned him a spot on Denver’s roster. He was an active participant on special teams for the first nine games of the year. Leading up to the trade deadline, he former SEC standout was waived and signed to the practice squad for the second half of the season. That gave way for Devon Key to make an impression, who wound up even seeing meaningful playing time on defense.
I’d expect the Broncos to keep ten defensive backs. Patrick Surtain II, Riley Moss, Ja’Quan McMillan, Jahdae Barron and Kris Abrams-Draine are locks at corner. With the aforementioned safeties above joining them that covers nine spots. That leaves Smith and Key fighting it out for that final spot. I like Smith’s size and versatility. While he is playing safety for the Broncos, he also has experience at cornerback. I expect both him and Key to get a lot of reps against the Saints to help the coaches decide who might stick on the final roster.
When the Broncos selected Eyioma Uwazurike in the fourth round of the 2022 NFL Draft, they picked a battle-tested defensive lineman coming of a collegiate career season. Sporting an impeccable physical profile and hefty experience, the Iowa State checked a lot of boxes teams are looking for in the trenches.
In his rookie season, he played in eight games and saw a decent number of rotational snaps. Fans across Broncos Country were hopeful he would develop on his season. Unfortunately, he missed all of 2023 due to a suspension linked to a gambling case during his time with the Cyclones. Uwazurike only played in four games for the Broncos last season. Since being drafted, he has played in 12 career games—registering 228 defensive snaps and 54 special teams’ snaps. Hia production numbers come in at 28 tackles, 0.5 sack, and 3 quarterback hits.
Last week against the Arizona Cardinals, Uwazurike started and logged 30 defensive snaps—one of the highest amounts of any defender. I believe...
