Broncos at the 2025 Shrine Bowl: Offensive Prospects to Watch

The Denver Broncos' offseason is underway, and while they vastly overachieved, according to the oddsmakers, this team still has a long way to go in improving the roster to compete for a Super Bowl in the coming years.
With the Broncos' focus shifting to the upcoming free agency period and the NFL draft, one of the first stops on the pre-draft train is approaching: the East-West Shrine Bowl. Practices for the Shrine Bowl start on January 25, with the game on Saturday, January 30.
As we look toward the Shrine game, we see some prospects on the rosters there for the Broncos to keep an eye on. Today, we'll go position by position to analyze the prospects on the offensive side of the ball.
Remember, we're three months out from the draft, and there will be risers and fallers. So, any mention of how a player is viewed simply reflects where he stands now before the other stops on the pre-drat train, like the Senior Bowl, NFL Scouting Combine, and school pro days.
Quarterbacks
The Broncos don’t need a starting quarterback with Bo Nix in the fold, but many fans will be familiar with Colorado’s Shedeur Sanders, who leads the way. The Broncos could look for a potential long-term backup for Nix, and that player could be among the others at this event.
Brady Cook (Missouri), Kyle McCord (Syracuse), and Max Brosmer (Minnesota) are all currently viewed as Day 3 (Rounds 4-7) options the Broncos can consider, as they do presently hold their own fourth and three sixth-round picks. Payton Thorne (Auburn) and Cam Miller (North Dakota State) round out the quarterbacks.
Running Backs
There is a lot of help needed here, even though Sean Payton said what everyone already knew: they won’t use a bell-cow back, instead relying on a 1A/1B type rotation. However, the Shrine Bowl doesn’t have a clear top guy like some other positions.
Corey Kiner (Cincinnati), Raheim Sanders (South Carolina), Phil Mafah (Clemson), Tahj Brooks (Texas Tech), and Montrell Johnson (Florida) are all viewed as Day 3 guys, and each of them could be an option for the Broncos. Jaydon Blue (Texas), Jacory Croskey-Merritt (Arizona), and Ja’Quinden Jackson (Arkansas) currently look like post-draft options to add.
Wide Receivers
The Broncos seem to have a solid receiver corps but can use a big slot type or even a true No. 1 receiver. Courtland Sutton had a great year, but he might be best as a high-level WR2 instead of being forced into trying to be a legit No. 1.
There doesn’t appear to be the top guy at the Shrine Bowl, and for a big slot, the Broncos might be better served looking to add that through a tight end. That doesn’t mean there aren’t guys to be scouted at the Shrine Bowl, including a trio of Colorado Buffaloes: Jimmy Horn Jr, Will Sheppard, and LaJohntay Wester.
Tight Ends
One of my favorite tight ends, and one who could be great for Payton and what he's looking for at the position, is Oronde Gadsden II (Syracuse), who is currently viewed as a Day 2 pick. Gadsden would fit in perfectly as a big slot type, but his usage in-line would be limited.
Luke Lachey (Iowa) could be used in various ways and is viewed as a mid-round pick. The rest of the group is currently considered as undrafted options.
Offensive Line
The Broncos can use some additional developmental guys. They have Ben Powers and Mike McGlinchey as potential cap-casualty candidates after the 2025 season and can try to upgrade over Luke Wattenberg at center.
I'm still getting to know the crop of offensive line options at the Shrine Bowl, but the few I know include Brandon Crenshaw-Dickson (Florida), a developmental tackle option who best projects as a right tackle in the NFL and needs at least a year of work before getting looked at as a starter. Drew Kendall (Boston College) isn’t an excellent fit for what Payton wants to do due to his smaller size, making him a better fit for a West Coast run-game system.
However, there is a group of smaller-school prospects, including Aiden Williams (Minnesota-Duluth), Marcus Wehr (Montana State), Nash Jones (Texas State), Thomas Perry (Middlebury), and Gareth Warren (Lindenwood,) and every year a small-school offensive lineman makes himself a lot of money based on Shrine Bowl week. It will be interesting to see which, if any, of this group follows suit.
We'll get to the defensive roster at the Shrine Bowl next.
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