Power Ranking the Broncos' Roster: Players 40-31
Welcome to the second installment of our Denver Broncos power rankings, as we take a look at the team's most important players. Today, we reveal players 40-31.
If you missed the first part that detailed 41-50, you can read it here.
This next group of Broncos find themselves in a bit of a limbo state with the team. We may or may not have clear picture of what their future looks like with the Broncos, and many of them aren't exceptional enough to warrant ranking higher on this list based purely on their play in 2019.
Here are your Broncos ranked 40-31.
40: Adam Gotsis, DE
Contract Status: UFA in 2020
If I had written this a couple of weeks ago, I can promise you Gotsis would not have been ranked this low. Coming into his fourth NFL season, many felt this would be the year Gotsis would take a major leap.
After all, he has steadily progressed (slowly) through his first three seasons under defensive line coach Bill Kollar. Unfortunately, through the first four weeks of the 2019 season, Gotsis has proven to be more of a liability on the field than a positive contributor.
Couple this with the fact that he's now been a gameday inactive for three straight weeks, and the future for Gotsis becomes a little unclear. He is set to hit unrestricted free agency following this season, along with fellow defensive linemen Derek Wolfe and Shelby Harris. At this point in time, he appears to be the third priority in this group to remain a Bronco beyond 2019.
39: Troy Fumagalli, TE
Contract Status: Rookie contract through 2021, UFA in 2022
So far in 2019, Fumagalli has received just one target, which he caught for seven yards. After missing his entire rookie campaign from a sports hernia surgery, Fumagalli has struggled to find playing time behind incumbent 2018 starter Jeff Heuerman and rookie Noah Fant.
Barring injury, Fumagalli will likely continue the rest of the 2019 season buried on the depth chart. Beyond this season, though, it's very possible the Broncos move on from Heuerman and thrust Fumagalli into a more prominent role. He may have little to no impact on the current season, but Troy Fumagalli is more of a long-term project TE than anything.
38: Joseph Jones, LB
Contract Status: RFA in 2020
Joseph Jones is a tough one to peg at this point in time. He has had a hard time staying on the field this year while battling a lingering triceps injury. Jones proved in 2018 that he is an invaluable special teams player for the Broncos. That alone warrants his spot on the roster moving forward, but it's worth noting he has immense potential as a linebacker as well.
I personally would love to see what Joe can do paired up with recent breakout linebacker Alexander Johnson on the inside. Given that Jones is a restricted free agent this summer, there's a decent probability Denver will extend him a qualifying offer to keep him around at least another season.
37: Davontae Harris, CB
Contract Status: 1 year, $570,000 remaining
Harris was brought to the Broncos back in early September after adding Drew Lock, Jake Butt, and Theo Riddick on IR. He was initially brought in primarily to be a depth piece, but with the upside to develop. In the early weeks of the season, Harris had very limited playing time, but has been thrust into a more prominent role recently due to a number of injuries to other cornerbacks.
Since being inserted into the starting lineup, he has proven capable of holding his own. If Harris continues to show progress throughout the year, he could very well be a candidate to return for the 2020 season if the price is right.
36: Colby Wadman, P
Contract Status: $660,000 salary in 2020, RFA in 2021
It's hard to determine where to rank a punter on a list like this. Make no mistake, Wadman is not an elite punter. He may not even be an average punter. He currently ranks in the bottom third of most major punting categories, including 27th in net average.
Perhaps not coincidentally, former Broncos punter Riley Dixon is sitting at fifth in the league in that same stat. With that in mind, maybe the Broncos should hold onto Wadman a little longer and let him continue his development. He certainly won't break the bank in 2020 with a modest $660k salary.
35: Mike Purcell, NT
Contract Status: RFA in 2020
Where did this guy come from? Purcell is in his fourth NFL season after playing his previous three in San Francisco. At 6-foot-3 and 330 pounds, he has the prototypical size you need at nose tackle in Vic Fangio's scheme.
Since shifting Shelby Harris to defensive end and inserting Purcell into the starting lineup, the Broncos defense has been much improved both against the run, and in generating an interior pass rush.
Given the number of unrestricted free agents the Broncos will have on the defensive line following this season, I would expect them to make a qualifying offer to Purcell to keep him around, especially if he keeps playing the way he's been. The Broncos don't exactly have a lot of other guys on the roster with the size to effectively play nose tackle.
34: Diontae Spencer, WR
Contract Status: ERFA in 2020
What a great under-the-radar pickup by the Broncos this offseason. It seems like it's been a long time since there has been decent kick returner in Denver. It hasn't been all perfect, as Spencer has a tendency to field punts a little close to the goal line, but that's something you hope he will fix as he adjusts to life in the NFL (in the CFL, where Spencer recently played, balls kicked through the end zone are worth one point).
Given the Broncos have exclusive rights on his 2020 free agency period, his chances of sticking around as the returner on the cheap beyond 2019 look very encouraging.
33: Josey Jewell, LB
Contract Status: Rookie contract through 2021, UFA in 2022
Lots of fans were excited to see whether Slowsey...I mean, Josey, would take a leap forward this year coming off of a rookie campaign where he played much better than many expected. Since Jewell isn't exactly a physical specimen, he relies heavily on his instincts at the inside linebacker position.
Unfortunately, his lack of speed has proven to create issues for him with covering more athletic offensive players this season. Jewell's roster spot isn't in any sort of jeopardy at this time, though.
Even if he finds himself out of the starting two inside linebacker spots, he's valuable as a special teams contributor and depth piece for a position that has struggled with injuries in recent years. Josey has a very cheap contract through the 2021 season, so I wouldn't expect him to go anywhere anytime soon.
32: Justin Hollins, LB
Contract Status: Rookie contract through 2022, UFA in 2023
Through the first three weeks of the season, Hollins totaled just nine snaps on defense. In wake of the Bradley Chubb season-ending injury, Hollins began to see the field quite a bit more as evidenced by his 34 defensive snaps against the Jaguars in Week 4.
He has since been struggling with a knee injury. Hollins showed flashes throughout the offseason in training camp and the preseason as a pass rusher.
One of the main reasons I have him ranked here is because Fangio was extremely high on Hollins during the pre-draft process and he'll be under cheap team control for the next three seasons. There is only one way to move for Hollins going forward, and that's up.
31: Joe Flacco, QB
Contract Status: Due $23,650,000 in 2020, $27,650,000 in 2021 (easy out)
Let me just say that it took about 20 hours to write all of the content for this series. And when I first wrote this little section on Flacco, it was prior to the Chiefs game. I had Flacco ranked in the top-20.
Sadly, in the wake of his embarrassing performance at home against a beat-up Chiefs team, I knew I had to make an immediate adjustment. No. 31 may still be a bit generous, but I'll tell you why I don’t have him lower.
Everything we have heard this season from GM John Elway indicates he wants Flacco to stick around through at least 2020. This Chiefs game may change that notion but one thing I've learned being a Broncos fan is to not assume Elway will do what may be obvious to the fans.
Even if Drew Lock finds a way to play this season and proves capable of starting, Elway's stubbornness will probably keep Flacco around at least one more year as a veteran backup before cutting bait.
Make no mistake, though, Drew Lock is the primary driver for Flacco's future in Denver. What the team does with Lock when he's eligible to return from IR will be very telling. I suspect this ranking to change quite a bit as the season progresses — but not in a position direction, unfortunately.
So there are your 31-40-ranked Broncos. Chime in with your thoughts in the comment section below and look out for the next part of the series unveiling 21-30.
Follow Trevor on Twitter @TrevorJudge and @MileHighHuddle.
