Over The Cap Reveals the Most Unique Characteristic of Broncos' 2020 Roster
Denver Broncos fans know that the 2020 team will have multiple young players, some of whom are undrafted rookies that have impressed in recent seasons, and others who are recent draft picks for whom much is expected this season.
But how do the Broncos compare to other teams in these aspects? Jason Fitzgerald of Over the Cap broke down each NFL team's 53-man roster to compare them in aspects such as age, homegrown players, and undrafted free agents.
Most Former Undrafted Players On-Roster
The Broncos are one of two teams with the most players who started their careers as college free agents. The Broncos are tied with the New Orleans Saints with 21 such players.
Some signed with the Broncos right after the draft, such as Phillip Lindsay, Malik Reed, and Elijah Wilkinson. Other players, such as Shelby Harris, Mike Purcell, and Bryce Callahan, spent time with other teams before joining the Broncos.
Still, it's not hard to see why Broncos fans get excited about undrafted rookies who turn heads in training camp. The Broncos have had good fortune in finding undrafted players who have become quality contributors.
Not as Many Homegrown Players
The flip-side is, the Broncos don't have as many homegrown players — players the Broncos either drafted or signed as rookie free agents — on the current roster as other teams do. They have 33, which puts them in the lower half among NFL teams.
The Baltimore Ravens and Minnesota Vikings have the most homegrown players at 45 and the upper half of the league features teams with at least 35. On the other hand, the Broncos actually have more homegrown players than the Kansas City Chiefs (who have 29) and the Las Vegas Raiders (28), with only the Los Angeles Chargers having more (36) among AFC West rivals.
Of course, when you look at the Chiefs, Patrick Mahomes leads their homegrown players at the most important position in football; the quarterback. Meanwhile, the Broncos whiffed on 2016 first-round pick Paxton Lynch. Hitting or missing on a highly-drafted QB may fuel perception about how much homegrown talent a team actually has.
Broncos' Draft Classes Ubiquitous Across NFL
Fitzgerald also looked at which teams make the best overall selections by looking at how many players a team selected are still active in the NFL. The Broncos have 61 such players active, with 28 of them on other team rosters.
That actually puts the Broncos No. 9 overall among such teams. The Ravens and the New England Patriots lead the way with drafted players still active, whether with them or another team. But they're both well ahead of everyone as the Ravens have 83 such players (38 with other teams) and the Patriots have 74 (35 on other teams).
Draft Bust Paxton Lynch Wasn't an Outlier
Fitzgerald also looked at how many draft picks in the past five seasons are still on a 53-man roster. His research showed that 80.6 percent of the first-round picks from 2016 are still active, but just 38.7 percent are with the teams that drafted them.
That's a reminder to Broncos fans that, while it was bad to miss on Lynch, the majority of teams didn't retain their first-round picks that year. If you expect a first-rounder to be a long-term player that should get a second contract with the team, Fitzgerald's research shows that plenty of teams have moved on from their 2016 first-round picks.
Youth Brigade
There's also the average age of a team to consider. Fitzgerald's research shows that every team has an average age of less than 27 years old, indicating that most teams prefer to go with younger players. Take out the quarterback and every team's average age is still below 27.
The Broncos are one of the youngest teams in the NFL with an average player age of 25.87 — and that doesn't change much when you remove Drew Lock, which shouldn't surprise you, given that Lock enters his second NFL season.
Not as Many Returning Contributors
Finally, Fitzgerald looked at the percentage of snaps returning to each team. The Broncos are toward the lower end with 65.1 percent, but it's nowhere near as low as the lowest team in the NFL, which is the Panthers at 44.2 percent and isn't far off the league average of 69.5 percent.
You can read Fitzgerald's article because it's interesting to see how the Broncos compare to the rest of the league in these areas.
It also gives you perspective about the job the Broncos have actually done in finding quality players. The undrafted players metric is pretty telling and the Broncos have actually been better at drafting players who are still active in the NFL.
Of course, Broncos fans would prefer that those many players that are drafted would have become long-term contributors. The team did go through several draft classes in which the bulk wasn't retained, but perhaps that will change with the more recent draft classes.
Follow Bob on Twitter @BobMorrisSports and @MileHighHuddle.
