Mike Purcell earns best PFF grade of any Bronco in the 2019 preseason

Although Mike Purcell has been playing in the NFL since 2013, he's technically entering his fourth accrued year. Purcell entered the league as an undrafted rookie with Vic Fangio's San Francisco 49ers.

Purcell is from Highlands Ranch in Colorado and went to school at Wyoming. Another Colorado local boy making good.

His arrival in the NFL came the year after the Niners lost Super Bowl XLVII to Joe Flacco and the Baltimore Ravens. Purcell put his head down and plugged away in Fangio's scheme but when the coach departed to Chicago to be the Bears' defensive coordinator in 2015, Purcell stayed behind.

The Football Fates willed their paths together once again this past April, on the heels of Purcell's maiden AAF season with the Salt Lake Stallions. Denver signed Purcell and since then, he's mostly been a seen-not-heard player trying to crack a deep and talented defensive line depth chart.

However, with only two preseason games left to make a case for himself, Purcell made a massive push on Saturday night vs. the Los Angeles Rams. He was a wrecking ball on the D-line, finishing with the highest Pro Football Focus single-game grade of any Bronco who's seen at least 25 plays this preseason.

Purcell garnered an elite 91.1 grade from the leading football analytics site. That's huge for a young low-profile player still trying to carve himself out a place on the Broncos' 53-man roster.

Pro players pay close attention to their PFF grades. I know this, because before PFF started making their analytics available to NFL teams, I would be contacted by Broncos' players asking what their individual grade was after each game.

PFF's grading system is honestly a part of the equation that sees an NFL player's stock rise and fall. PFF has created analytics darlings over the years, and it's helped many players not only elevate their individual profiles but even helping guys make the Pro Bowl and thus more money in free agency.

Two past beneficiaries in Denver who PFF helped vault are Chris Harris, Jr. and Matt Paradis. Now, a guy like Mike Purcell would have to string along multiple games at this level and sustain it, in order for it to really factor in terms of elevating his profile in the NFL.

But for a guy still fighting for a job, Purcell's 91.1 PFF grade from Game 4 could be a massive boon. Purcell is battling with guys like DeMarcus Walker and DeShawn Williams for what is likely to be the sixth and last D-line roster spot on the 53.

Denver could keep seven DL, but last year they opened the regular season with six. The shoe-ins are Derek Wolfe, Shelby Harris, Adam Gotsis, Zach Kerr and Dre'Mont Jones. Walker will get every opportunity to lock down the last spot but he'll have a difficult time doing it with Purcell dominating preseason games.

Walker had a few flash plays in L.A., too, but was nowhere near as consistently dominant as Mike Purcell. If Purcell can replicate this performance in the preseason finale on Thursday night, combined with his Fangio history, it might be enough to upset the apple cart and land him on the Broncos' 53-man roster.

Follow Chad on Twitter @ChadNJensen.