What Broncos' depth chart would look like filled out by Dane Brugler's mock picks (2024)

With the NFL Draft fast approaching for the Denver Broncos, today we are combining two exercises into one.

Free agency is largely over, so it’s a great time to reset the roster and look at Denver’s depth chart ahead. To further assess how it may look after the Broncos make their eight scheduled selections, we are filling in the roster with the picks made by the Broncos in Dane Brugler’s monstrous seven-round mock draft at The Athletic, where he made every pick for every team. Those players are listed in the chart below and then italicized in the analysis. While it’s unclear whether any of those players will land with the Broncos come April 25 and beyond, it’s a good way to take a fresh look at where the team stands heading into this critical juncture of the offseason.

Quarterback

Projected starter: Jarrett Stidham

Reserves: Spencer Rattler, Ben DiNucci

The first four selections in Brugler’s mock draft are quarterbacks. After the Bears (Caleb Williams), Commanders (Jayden Daniels) and Patriots (Drake Maye) took signal-callers with their selections, the Vikings, armed with the Nos. 11 and 23 picks, traded with the Cardinals for the No. 4 spot and selected J.J. McCarthy. It’s a plausible scenario that leaves the Broncos without the opportunity to select one of the draft’s top four QB prospects. The consolation prize Brugler gives Denver: Rattler with the team’s third-round pick.

This move would likely lock Stidham in as the Week 1 starter in 2024 — though the team could still add a passer in free agency or via trade — and would give head coach Sean Payton a quarterback to develop in his offense behind the scenes this season. It also would leave the Broncos open to selecting a franchise quarterback with their top selection in 2025 if Rattler doesn’t pan out. It may not be the most appealing option for a fan base eager to see the team permanently and convincingly solve the QB conundrum that has tied up the franchise for eight seasons. Still, it could be the kind of plan that makes sense for the Broncos if the path to one of this year’s top prospects isn’t available.

Running back

Projected starters: Javonte Williams, Michael Burton

Reserves: Samaje Perine, Jaleel McLaughlin, Tyler Badie

Running back doesn’t land high on the list of needs for the Broncos. The team made no moves at the position during free agency outside of re-signing fullback Burton to a one-year deal. Williams, who will be two years removed from his 2022 major injury once the season begins, is entering the last year of his rookie contract. Perine is entering the final season of the two-year deal he signed in free agency in 2023. McLaughlin has three years left on his contract after tallying 570 total yards and three touchdowns as a rookie last season. The Broncos could easily run it back at the position.

Still, Payton knows his team’s rushing attack must improve in 2024. That’s not all on the running backs, but it wouldn’t be a surprise if the Broncos wanted to bring in a young rusher. The fourth round could be a prime spot. In Brugler’s “The Beast” draft guide, he lists seven running backs as having grades of “third-fourth,” “fourth,” or “fourth-fifth” round. One of those to watch is Ray Davis of Kentucky, who rushed for 1,129 yards and 14 touchdowns last season and had a top-30 visit with the Broncos earlier this month.

Wide receiver

Projected starters: Courtland Sutton, Josh Reynolds

Reserves: Tim Patrick, Marvin Mims Jr., Johnny Wilson, Lil’Jordan Humphrey, Brandon Johnson, Jalen Virgil, David Sills, Michael Bandy, Phillip Dorsett

The Broncos replaced Jerry Jeudy, traded to the Browns for two Day 3 picks, with Reynolds, who is coming off a strong stint under former Payton pupil Dan Campbell in Detroit. They also re-signed Humphrey and restructured Patrick’s deal with hopes he can return to the field and provide impact after missing the past two seasons with injuries. This group has a solid mix of experience and young talent (Mims, Johnson), and Payton has made that blend work in the past. The Broncos likely won’t be in a position to select one of the draft’s top three receivers — Ohio State’s Marvin Harrison Jr., LSU’s Malik Nabers, Washington’s Rome Odunze — so a Day 3 addition, like Brugler creates here with Wilson, could be an alternative.

Wilson, a huge target at 6-foot-6 and 231 pounds, averaged 20.9 yards per reception while playing in all 13 games with Florida State in 2022. He missed three games because of injury last season, limiting his production, but he still caught 41 passes for 617 yards. He began his career at Arizona State, where he caught passes from Jayden Daniels, a likely top-five draft pick.

Tight end

Projected starter: Greg Dulcich

Reserves: Adam Trautman, Cade Stover, Lucas Krull, Nate Adkins

If the Broncos don’t take a quarterback with their first-round pick, Georgia’s Brock Bowers, the consensus top tight end in the draft, could be an option. He would provide Day 1 impact as a mismatch weapon who can line up at various spots along the formation and ultimately bolster Denver’s downfield pass attack. It was a major missing piece of Denver’s offense last season as Dulcich, the talented but oft-injured tight end, missed most of the season due to hamstring issues.

Stover doesn’t have the same catch-and-run ability as Bowers or Dulcich, but he is a productive receiver who caught 41 passes for 576 yards and five touchdowns last season while being named the Big Ten’s tight end of the year.

“Stover might never be a top-tier blocker, but he is solid in all phases and will earn NFL paychecks because of his coordinated athleticism to finish at the catch point and move the chains,” Brugler wrote. “With his defensive mentality, offensive skills and special-teams experience, he projects as an NFL role player with starting upside and valuable versatility.”

Offensive line

Projected starters: Taliese Fuaga, Ben Powers, Sam Mustipher, Quinn Meinerz, Mike McGlinchey

Reserves:Matt Peart, Alex Forsyth, Luke Wattenberg, Jacob Monk, Alex Palczewski, Demontrey Jacobs, Quinn Bailey, Calvin Throckmorton, Will Sherman

Let’s start with who is not on this list: Garett Bolles. If the Broncos draft an offensive tackle at No. 12, they won’t be doing it with the plan to sit that player as a rookie. At that stage in the draft, selecting a tackle is a plug-and-play proposition. Bolles, entering the final year of the contract extension he signed in 2020 with no guaranteed money remaining, would likely become a trade candidate if Denver went the first-round tackle route, a move that could even be made during the draft. The Broncos have flexibility here. The Broncos don’t have to move Bolles, who had a strong season in 2023 and will turn 32 this season. They could address another position of need at the top of the draft and return to the tackle spot next offseason.

But a run on quarterbacks could leave the Broncos with a too-good-too-pass-up option at No. 12. Payton invested heavily in the offensive line while leading the Saints’ draft operation, and this would represent his first chance to make a sizable investment in that category in Denver. Many evaluators believe Fuaga is the second-best tackle in this draft behind Notre Dame’s Joe Alt. Former NFL GM Randy Mueller, now a personnel analyst at The Athletic, ranks Fuaga as the draft’s fourth-best prospect.

“Fuaga blends athletic ability with strength and anchor as well as anyone,” Mueller wrote. “He is also consistent with his technique, hand placement and ability to control defenders in the run and pass games. Late last season, he became dominant in pass pro, and his ability to combine the above traits is trending toward a potential that is hard to match.”

There is an important caveat to this selection: Fuaga played right tackle at Oregon State. Many evaluators, including NFL Network lead draft analyst Daniel Jeremiah, believe Fuaga has the traits to play either tackle spot. But Denver would have to share that belief to select Fuaga because they have committed to McGlinchey at right tackle for the next several seasons.

Defensive line

Starters: D.J. Jones, Malcolm Roach, Zach Allen

Reserves: Matt Henningsen, Angelo Blackson, Elijah Garcia, Jordan Jackson, Fabian Lovett Sr., Rashard Lawrence

The Broncos have made improving run defense a significant priority this offseason and believe free-agent additions Malcolm Roach and Angelo Blackson, two veterans with experience playing for members of Denver’s coaching staff, can help in that regard. Still, there is plenty of room for more talented depth on the defensive line, especially since Jones is entering the final season of the three-year deal he signed with the Broncos in 2022.

Drafting a player like Lovett in the fifth round is one way the Broncos could approach that goal. This would also be a position to keep an eye on if the Broncos moved back in the first round and picked up a second-round selection, where they could target a player like Kris Jenkins of Michigan or Johnny Newton of Illinois.

Outside linebacker

Starters: Baron Browning, Jonathon Cooper

Reserves: Nik Bonitto, Drew Sanders, Thomas Incoom, Ronnie Perkins

While Brugler had the Broncos taking Fuaga with their first-round pick, edge rusher would also be a strong possibility if they chose a non-quarterback path. Laiatu Latu of UCLA could fit the profile Denver is seeking as they try to add more length to their defensive front. The Broncos were pleased with the development of rookie contract pass rushers Cooper and Bonitto last season. Browning has dealt with injuries since joining the Broncos as a third-round pick in 2021, but he has flashed dynamic ability. It’s a promising young group, particularly if Sanders, the 2023 third-round pick who moved to edge after beginning his rookie season at inside linebacker, can blossom on the outside.

Still, this is another position that can use an infusion of impact talent, and adding that with their top selection in the draft has to be considered a real option.

Inside linebacker

Starters: Alex Singleton, Cody Barton

Reserves: Justin Strnad, Jonas Griffith, Durrell Nchami, Curtis Jacobs

The Broncos allowed Josey Jewell to leave for a big contract with the Panthers in free agency and replaced him with a budget veteran in Barton. There is still a need for athletic depth at this spot, particularly if Sanders remains on the outside. Jacobs, Brugler’s 10th-ranked inside linebacker in the class, “has sub-package value and will earn an immediate role on special-teams coverages. He projects as a backup and a poor man’s version of Buffalo Bills’ Terrel Bernard.”

Cornerback

Starters: Pat Surtain II, Ja’Quan McMillian

Reserves: Riley Moss, Damarri Mathis, Tremon Smith, Decamerion Richardson, Art Green, Reese Taylor

This position has been a popular first-round target for the Broncos in mock drafts, most of which land them with Toledo’s Quinyon Mitchell or Alabama’s Terrion Arnold. Either player would pair with Surtain to give Denver one of the league’s best cornerback duos, which is an intriguing scenario inside the AFC West. But Denver could also take the approach Brugler outlines here where they draft a player like Richardson in the fourth round (he runs a blazing 4.34-second 40) and have him compete with Moss (entering his second season) and Mathis (third) for the starting spot opposite Surtain.

The Broncos could still be looking to add a veteran at this spot, too. They had former Steelers defensive back Levi Wallace in for a visit last week and could continue exploring other options after the draft.

Safety

Starters: Brandon Jones, Caden Sterns

Reserves: P.J. Locke, JL Skinner, Delarrin Turner-Yell, Devon Key, Tanner McCalister, Keidron Smith

The Broncos have drafted four safeties during George Paton’s first three drafts as Denver’s general manager, including Skinner in the sixth round last year. None of those selections was made before the fifth round, and it seems unlikely the Broncos would address the position earlier than that in this draft after signing Jones to replace Justin Simmons and then re-signing Locke. They will also have Sterns returning from the knee injury that ended his 2023 season in Week 1 and Skinner figures to make a jump in his second season. Denver appears to be in good shape from a depth perspective at this spot, even if the top-end talent isn’t the same following Simmons’ release in March.

Specialists

Starters: Wil Lutz (kicker), Riley Dixon (punter), Mitchell Fraboni (long snapper)

Lutz was a big part of Denver’s special teams resurgence last year, and it’s why the Broncos made a strong late push to re-sign him in free agency.

(Top photo of Taliese Fuaga: Brandon Sloter / Getty Images)