Mile High Report
The Broncos won their preseason opener last weekend, but a slow start by the offense had Broncos Country hitting the panic button throughout the week. Thankfully, Bo Nix and the Broncos offense bounced back in a big way during their joint practice with the Cardinals on Thursday, which eased some concerns. However, we also learned that both coaches agreed to sit the vast majority of their starters for this game, which changes the storylines heading into this game.
We’ll see a select few starters play along with the 2nd and 3rd team offense and defense throughout this game, and see a lot of players fighting for a role and/or a spot on the 53-man roster or the practice squad. The Broncos showcased their depth last weekend, and they’ll look to do the same once again tonight.
So, with all that said, here are five things I want to see from the Broncos during their week two preseason matchup vs. the Cardinals.
We may see a little bit of rookie R.J. Harvey early on, but the two backs I am most intrigued by are Tyler Badie and Blake Watson. Just from the eye test (unreliable at best), Badie and Watson looked like the Broncos’ best backs last weekend. Both looked explosive, were able to make defenders miss, and frankly, outplayed their competition.
Veteran J.K. Dobbins and rookie R.J. Harvey are your starters, but the competition behind these two backs is fierce. Jaleel McLaughlin seems like the favorite to be the RB3, but Badie, Watson, and Audric Estime will be pushing for a roster spot.
My current guess is that Badie makes the 53-man roster and Blake Watson lands on the practice squad. I am not sure where Estime will factor in, but he seems like the odd man out right now. It’ll be interesting to see how it all plays out, and I hope these two backs have strong nights and make the decision difficult for Sean Payton and the other Broncos decision makers.
With the starters sitting, we will not see Courtland Sutton, and I’d assume Marvin Mims Jr. would get the night off as well. That means Troy Franklin, Devaughn Vele, Pat Bryant, Trent Sherfield, and the rest of the Broncos’ talented and deep wide receiver room will see significant snaps in this one.
As I mentioned, this is a deep group at wide receiver for the Broncos, and they will have some tough decisions to make during final cuts. Sean Payton told reporters the other day that there’s a chance that someone playing for them now will be on a 53-man roster elsewhere because they cannot keep them all.
“There’ll be some tough decisions. There’s a chance a receiver that might be out here today might be on a 53 [-man roster] somewhere else. So it’s a good thing.”
We know Troy Franklin and Pat Bryant are not going anywhere. It would be...
