5 Broncos Offensive Players in Need of a Big Game vs. Cowboys

The pressure is on these Broncos to shine in preseason Game 1 vs. Dallas.

The Denver Broncos are set for their first preseason game on Saturday night vs. the Dallas Cowboys, and plenty of players need to step up. Roster battles continue within the Broncos' offense, and the preseason games are a way to find some clarity. 

The following five players all need to step up in preseason Game 1, but they each fall in different order on their respective depth charts. It's the first of three preseason games, and whether these players have shined in training camp or not, the games can help them make up a lot of ground. 

Kendall Hinton | WR

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Hinton is a fan favorite in Denver because he was thrust into a starting job as a quarterback in his rookie year. Unfortunately, Denver lost that game badly, but what Hinton attempted to do was impossible to root against. 

However, that doesn't play into what he is trying to do now, which is to make the roster as a receiver. Word coming out of training camp practices paints Hinton as being solid, but other receivers are showing more than he is. 

In the 2021 season, Hinton found himself as a rotational wide receiver and caught 15 passes for 175 yards and one touchdown. It was a solid showing, but even with the loss of Tim Patrick, he has to show more. 

Other receivers are stepping up in camp, and they seem to offer more, not just to the offense but to special teams, than Hinton does. So Hinton is still very much in the mix to make the roster, but he could use a big game to help gain some potentially lost ground in that backup receiver battle. 

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Calvin Anderson | OT

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Anderson is the starting right tackle at this point. His battle ended up being against Cameron Fleming as Billy Turner and Tom Compton have been out with injuries. 

While Anderson projects to be the starting right tackle when the season comes around, barring a change for whenever Turner can practice again, he has to improve his game. 

There have been plenty of high moments for Anderson in practice, but he has also had his fair share of struggles. The Broncos' edge defenders have gotten around him for what would be sacks in real games on multiple occasions.

Despite being the starter, Anderson has to show more against the Cowboys. He has struggled whenever he has taken the field in a game as a right tackle. 

Anderson has to show he can hold his own in a game setting to inspire more confidence. The good thing is, when he was starting games during the 2021 season, he had an excellent game against the Cowboys, but it came with him playing left tackle. 

Sometimes players can't flip sides of the line so easily. Multiple former offensive linemen have spoken on the difficulties of switching from right to left and how switching guard to tackle is much easier. 

Brandon Johnson | WR

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Johnson has been one of those receivers that have been stepping up in camp, but he still has to show it in a game. Plenty of players over the years, even undrafted free-agent rookies like Johnson, have had good practices in camp, but it never translated into games. 

After getting work with the first-team offense, Johnson has to show it can carry over into games. He is one player that has been viewed as a great candidate to replicate some of what Patrick brought to the offense. 

Johnson has good size and possesses those possession receiver traits. Standing out in a preseason game would go a long way to help his battle to make the roster. 

Brett Rypien | QB

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There has been plenty of high moments in camp for Rypien as he is competing for the backup quarterback job. Unfortunately, he's had plenty of horrendous moments with multiple interceptions. 

Rypien will need to be more steady if he wants to walk away with the backup job, as right now, he seems set as the third quarterback. While he will likely face third and fourth units of the Cowboys' defense, if he can play clean and consistent football, he might make a dent in the separation for the backup job. 

Josh Johnson | QB

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Not only does Rypien need to step up, but so does Johnson. As things stand now, Johnson seems set as the backup quarterback, but his play in camp has been rough. His passes have been all over the place, and while he doesn't have the highs Rypien does, he doesn't have the terrible lows either. 

There hasn't been the level of variance in Johnson as there has been with Rypien, which is fine. You want your backup quarterback not to cost you games, so you want a more consistent performance. That's Johnson at the moment. However, he still needs to be better with his ball placement.

Losing a starting quarterback is never a recipe for success, but if it happens (knock on wood), you want to feel more inspired about the backup quarterback. Right now, neither Johnson nor Rypien inspire that confidence. 

There hasn't been the level of variance in Josh Johnson as there has been with Brett Rypien, which is fine. You want your backup quarterback not to cost you games, so you want more consistency. That's Johnson at the moment. However, he still needs to be better with his ball placement.

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