Power Ranking the Broncos' Roster: Players 50-41
After a putrid loss to the Kansas City Chiefs in Week 7, the Denver Broncos find themselves at 2-5, looking beyond the 2019 season. In this series, we are going to go through the Broncos' current roster and rank each player 1-50 on how important they are to the team, not only for this season, but also moving forward as a core building block for this franchise.
We will look at factors such as current level of play, age, injury concerns, and most importantly — contract status, to determine which players the Broncos brass should give priority to when building towards future success.
After the Top-50 players have been unveiled, we will adjust the rankings throughout the season based on their week-to-week performances and various other considerations.
Let's start by taking a look at the players that didn't quite crack the Top-50 rankings.
Honorable Mentions: S Trey Marshall, WR Fred Brown, QB Brandon Allen, LB Corey Nelson, OLB Jeremiah Attaochu, OT Jake Rodgers, OG Austin Schlottmann.
None of the above players really factor into the long-term plans for the Broncos. Some of them are vets that were added during the season for depth in wake of injuries, while others are younger players who just haven't quite developed into gameday-caliber players.
Some of these younger guys will likely get a chance to compete next year for the 53-man roster, but don't expect much from any of them this season.
Now, onto the top 50 most important Denver Broncos now and going forward.
This first group of players are either borderline 53 man guys, or are on their way out of Denver after this season. A lot can change as we aren't even halfway through the 2019 season, but it's fair to say these players aren't overly critical to the team's success moving forward. Without further ado, here is #41-50:
50: Theo Riddick, RB
Contract Status: 1 year, $2,500,000 remaining
Riddick was placed on injured reserve to open the season, so he has not had the chance to suit up on gameday for the Broncos. When healthy, Riddick brings a dynamic threat to the receiving game out of the backfield for the Broncos. He's also able to line up as a WR in the slot and be effective. It's really unfortunate he went down almost immediately with an injury after signing. Fans would love to see what kind of impact he could make in this offense.
It’s possible the team uses one of their two designate-to-return off IR options on Riddick. But regardless of whether Riddick plays this season, his future with the team is somewhat in question given he’s just on a one-year contract.
49: Austin Fort, TE
Contract Status: 3 years, $1,758,500 remaining (RFA in 2022)
Remember Fort? He was having an incredible showing throughout training camp and into the preseason before finding himself on IR for the year after tearing his ACL. Fort is on a cheap contract through the 2021 season so expect him to have a chance to compete next offseason for a roster spot, and don’t be surprised if he is able to land himself on the 53-man roster.
48: Devontae Booker, RB
Contract Status: UFA in 2020
Booker finds himself No. 3 on the depth chart for the second straight year, and if not for Riddick's injury, he may not even be on the roster at all. Booker has had very limited playing time so far this year and doesn’t factor into the offense much, if at all. His role on the team is primarily a depth piece and pass blocking back. He will be an unrestricted free agent after this season, so the Broncos will have to decide whether he’s worth re-signing.
Given the relatively low cost of drafting running backs, I wouldn't be at all surprised if Denver looks to draft someone next year to plug in behind Phillip Lindsay and Royce Freeman — as opposed to spending valuable cap space on Booker.
47: Jake Butt, TE
Contract Status: Due salary of $735,000 in 2020, UFA in 2021
How about another injured tight end? Butt finds himself on the outside looking in yet another season on the injured reserve list. It’s possible he returns at some point this season, and if he stays healthy, it will certainly help his chances of sticking with the team beyond 2019. Next training camp will likely be Butt’s last chance to make a case for why the Broncos should keep him.
He's due a modest $735,000 in 2020 so it's in Denver's best interest to give him a legitimate shot to make the team. I'm really rooting for the guy, but his NFL future is starting to look awfully bleak.
46: Ronald Leary, OG
Contract Status: Club option for $9,375,000 in 2020
It's really too bad this free-agent signing didn't turn out better than it did for the team. We can chalk this one up as another one of those classic John Elway moves where he pays top dollar for a guy with an injury history that's already hit his ceiling. I love Leary, and when healthy he is a fantastic player, but he has given the Broncos just 24 starts out of a possible 39 since being signed. He has also looked very poor this season, challenging Garett Bolles for the title of most holding penalties.
The Broncos have a team option for Leary in 2020 for just over $9M. At this point, it seems almost certain that they'll decline that and go younger at the right guard spot. That $9M can go a long way to retaining one or more of the many free agents Denver is slated to have hit the open market following the 2019 season. Leary is going to continue to start as long as he's healthy, but his time as a Bronco is likely short-lived going forward.
45: Jeff Heuerman, TE
Contract Status: Due $4,500,000 in 2020, UFA in 2021
Wait…another tight end? Unfortunately, yes.
Before the Broncos re-signed Heuerman to a two-year contract this offseason, the best tight end Denver had under contract was Jake Butt. At the time of his signing, the move was seen largely as an insurance policy at the position heading into the draft. Obviously, the selection of Noah Fant in the first round of the draft changes the long-term outlook for Heuerman.
Look no further than the structure of his contract to validate why it was a "just-in-case" type of signing. Jeff is due $4.5M in 2020 but can be cut with just a $500,000 dead cap hit, saving the Broncos exactly $4M in cap space. As I mentioned above with Leary, I would not be surprised if Elway chooses to take this $4 million from Heuerman and spend it elsewhere. Whether or not they feel comfortable with that will likely depend on how the rest of the tight ends on the roster look throughout the 2019 season.
44: Casey Kreiter, LS
Contract Status: UFA in 2020
Gotta give the long snapper a little love, right? Randomly enough, the Broncos actually have one of the best long snappers in the league on their roster. Kreiter, a Pro Bowler last year, was re-signed this offseason to a cool one-year, $1 million contract. Long snappers historically don’t demand top dollar so odds are the Broncos do something similar following the 2019 season with him. Pay him just above the vet minimum again and cross this necessary position off your to do list.
43: Will Parks, S
Contract Status: 1 year remaining, UFA in 2020
Before you crucify me for ranking Parks so low, hear me out. He is entering the final year of his rookie contract and is set to become an unrestricted free agent in 2020. The Broncos already have Kareem Jackson signed through the next two seasons and if you have to pick a safety to pay between Parks and Justin Simmons, you pay Simmons (especially at free safety). A lot can still change but this very well could be the last season Parks plays in Denver if he prices himself out next spring.
For this season, however, Parks is a key piece of the secondary playing as the third safety. If Denver does move on from him following 2019, they'll need to look to either the draft or some of the other younger, somewhat unproven safeties already on the roster to replace his production.
42: Duke Dawson, CB
Contract Status: Due $2M total over 2020 and 2021, UFA in 2022
The Broncos sent a 2020 sixth-round pick to New England back in August to acquire Dawson. He's just 24 years old and is in just his second NFL season after being selected by New England in the second round of the 2018 draft. He spent his entire rookie year on IR with a hamstring injury, and for whatever reason. the Patriots decided to move on from him without ever seeing him in a regular-season game.
In the first three weeks of this season, Dawson saw only one defensive snap to go along with his special teams duties. In Weeks 4 and 5, he logged 51 and 57 snaps on defense, respectively. Those 57 vs. the Chargers accounted for 81% of the team's total defensive snaps. Needless to say, he was thrown into the fire quickly after some injuries to other key corners on the roster. Duke is due about $1M per year over the next two seasons, so I'd expect him to stick around and compete (assuming he can stay healthy).
41: Todd Davis, LB
Contract Status: Due $6,000,000 in 2020, UFA in 2021
'But Todd Davis is our best inside linebacker. And Fangio's system thrives on inside linebackers. Why is he so low?'
By this point, you can start to see a theme with some of these players I've ranking 41-50. Several of them may be under contract beyond his season, but have both 1.) high-priced cap hits relative to their production levels and 2.) have easy outs on their contracts. You can add 'Bam Bam' Davis to that group.
Don't get me wrong, I really like Davis, and he is a great leader on this defense. But make no mistake, the recent emergence of Alexander Johnson absolutely alters the long-term outlook for Davis on this team in a negative way. You only need so many run-stopping thumpers on the roster. Even though Josey Jewell is a downgrade, he will be under a very cheap contract beyond this season and give you a similar playstyle. The Broncos can save $5M of the $6M due to Davis by cutting him following the 2019 season.
So there are your #41-50 ranked Denver Broncos. Please chime in with your thoughts in the comment section below and look out for the next part of the series unveiling #31-40.
Follow Trevor on Twitter @TrevorJudge and @MileHighHuddle.
