6 Holdovers Poised for Increased Role with Broncos in 2022

A new coaching staff, quarterback, and free-agent acquisitions have altered the board for a handful of Denver's young holdovers from last season.

The first wave of free agency is in the books. While no one would be shocked to see Denver Broncos general manager George Paton pull off another shocking acquisition as he has done multiple times so far this offseason, the team is probably done making splashes.

Even if the Broncos don’t add anymore marquee level veterans to this roster, and turn to the NFL draft and a few smaller-priced free agents to fill out the rest of the depth chart, the moves Paton has made, and the moves he hasn't made, likely give us a peek into which players from the Broncos’ squad of 2021 have a chance to earn a larger role for this next iteration of the team. 

Which holdovers from last year are primed for success in 2022, armed with a new franchise quarterback and head coach? Let's dive in. 

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Albert Okwuegbunam | TE

Gabriel Christus/Denver Broncos

After sending former first-round pick Noah Fant to the Seattle Seahawks in the trade for quarterback Russell Wilson, the Broncos created a rather large vacancy at the tight end position. While Fant dealt with and played through injuries, he hadn’t quite delivered on his first-round pedigree. 

Tight ends typically take about four years from college to the pros to really hit their stride, so the best was likely yet to come. Still, Fant shouldn’t have kept the Broncos from obtaining a massive upgrade at the quarterback spot.

Enter Okwuegbunam. After dealing with a few injuries over the last two years, the massive and athletic tight end out of Missouri will likely get the first crack at the starting tight end spot. 

Okwuegbunam has proven to still be somewhat raw as a player. He's big and fast in a straight line and can be a problem in the quick passing game, but he will need to continue to work on his route running to help create more separation. The area where he'll need to show the most growth is as a blocker in the running game.

Okwuegbunam is currently a step back from Fant in this department and out of 11 personnel, he'll have to show his blocking chops or risk being benched for recent free-agent signing, and blocking specialist, Eric Tomlinson. Even if Okwuegbunam doesn’t progress much here, his combination of tools could make him a fun option in the passing game this season.

McTelvin Agim | DL

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Another player set up to earn a much larger role is Agim, Denver's former third-round pick out of Arkansas. He appears to be the next man up at defensive end to replace Shelby Harris (who was dealt to Seattle) when Denver is in 3-4 base on defense. 

When Agim has seen the field, he has shown to be a competent pass-rushing threat with active hands and a hot motor to continue to work off blocks and chase the ball. He's not a freak athlete at the position, but he has solid burst and fluidity that translates to rushing the quarterback.

Why then did Agim not see the field more last season? While Agim is a solid pass rusher, he is not the interior force that Dre’Mont Jones is and has been over the last few seasons in Denver. If Jones had sustained an injury, odds are Agim would have seen a lot more snaps. 

Fortunately for the Broncos, Jones has been mostly healthy. With him on the field, the opposite defensive end in base defense needs to be a plus player in the run game, be able to take on blockers, and anchor against double teams. Agim has not shown to date that he is capable of anchoring well enough against the run to see the field consistently. 

Year 3 out of college will likely be telling for what kind of career Agim will have going forward, but as it stands, he is in a position to earn a lot of reps in 2022.

Mike Boone | RB

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A year ago, Boone was signed by the Broncos to a two-year, $3.85 million contract. This was much to the chagrin of Broncos Country who, for the most part, was jaded by the Broncos moving on from hometown kid Phillip Lindsay just days before the signing. 

Boone was touted for his speed and slashing running style to complement the more start-and-stop and crafty Melvin Gordon. Boone also was expected to provide more value on special teams than that of Linsday for Denver's ailing third phase.

Unfortunately for Boone, the 2021 season did not go out as he likely had hoped. While he was penciled in as the No. 2 running back prior to the draft last season, the Broncos saw North Carolina’s Javonte Williams fall to Round 2 and traded up to select him, thus relegating Boone to third string. 

Later in the combined preseason practices with the Minnesota Vikings, Boone suffered a quadriceps injury that cost him much of the season. He did return for limited action later in the season, but with the surprising health of Denver’s running backs ahead of him, Boone was kept in reserve. 

With Gordon out of the picture (for now), Boone is set to become the backup with more opportunities this season. Given that Boone came from an outside zone scheme in Minnesota, don’t be surprised if he proves to be a more than capable backup for Denver this coming season in a contract year. 

Caden Sterns | S

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Regardless of how the rest of the offseason goes, Sterns seems to be in line for a significantly larger role in 2022. After playing sparingly last season under former head coach Vic Fangio, Sterns was tossed into the fire, playing a very diverse role as the Broncos’ third safety. 

Logging a nearly even split of reps in different spots in the back seven, 94 box snaps, 119 safety snaps, and 97 slot snaps, Sterns’ versatility will likely be called upon again in 2022. The Broncos signed former Ram J.R. Reed and still might bring in an additional safety to the backfield.

While fellow 2021 fifth-round safety Jamar Johnson is still on the roster, he did not flash that much last season. To be fair to Johnson, he did contract COVID-19 which seemed to send the rest of his rookie season into a spiral, but he will have to show much better physicality, tackling, and special teams ability if he wants to make an impact for the Broncos this season.

It's possible the Broncos sign a free agent or bring back veteran Kareem Jackson. The Broncos could also draft a safety early in what appears to be a very athletic and talented safety crop this season. 

Even if Sterns gets some competition for snaps prior to the season, he should see the field plenty. With new defensive coordinator Ejiro Evero coming over from Los Angeles and how often the Rams utilized three-safety looks and dime personnel, Sterns will likely be given every opportunity this season. 

Perhaps a somewhat underappreciated draft selection last year, how Sterns progresses and plays could make a monumental impact on a Denver secondary that will be tested in the pass-happy AFC West.

KJ Hamler | WR

C. Morgan Engel-USA TODAY Sports

Speaking of pass-happy, how about some speedy good news? By all reports, Hamler is ahead of schedule to return from a knee injury suffered in Week 3 last season. Given the reported severity of his injury, there was skepticism about just how long he could be out in 2022 and how he'd look coming back.

Broncos Country is within its right to be guarded in expecting a huge year from Hamler. Not only is a ligament-based knee injury concerning for a quick-twitch and speedy wide receiver such as he, but Hamler has seemingly been battling injury since prior to being drafted in 2019. 

However, when on the field Hamler is one of the most dynamic weapons in the AFC West with incredible suddenness to change direction and speed to stress defenses vertically and horizontally. A player that Hamler was routinely compared to coming out of Penn State was none other than one of Wilson's favorite targets in Seattle Tyler Lockett. 

Lockett in his career has been a much better contested-catch player and hasn’t dropped catchable footballs at the rate Hamler has to date, but there is a role and a skill set that has already been shown to be dynamic with Wilson at quarterback. If Hamler is healthy, he could really make some noise this season in Denver.

Jonas Griffith | LB

Mark J. Rebilas-USA TODAY Sports

Every conversation surrounding the Broncos' linebacker position seems to end with “and seriously, don’t forget about Jonas Griffith. There are those in the building that are ecstatic about what he can be this season.” 

After being traded from San Francisco to help bolster an ailing linebacker corps and provide a height/weight/speed athletic specimen jolt to the defense, Griffith received a few opportunities to play in 2021 and when he did, he flashed.

A large linebacker for today’s standards at 6-foot-4 and 250 pounds, Griffith is a good mover in space and provided a few splash plays when on the field last season. Still young and coming from playing football for the Indiana State Sycamores (home of Larry Bird), Griffith had some understandable plays in which processing and filling in against the run by deconstructing blocks was less than ideal.

There is no doubt Griffith has the combination of athletic traits to be a very good linebacker. However, much like how accuracy and processing speed are more important than arm talent and athleticism to see the field, instincts, processing, and not putting yourself in a bad position by playing undisciplined is more important in seeing the field in today’s NFL at linebacker. 

If the game starts to slow down for Griffith and his skills continue to improve, don’t be surprised if he pushes for a starting role sooner than later. Perhaps the recent rumors of 2021 third-round pick Baron Browning getting more edge rusher reps in 2022 wasn’t just about finding more ways to use him but also presents a clearer path for Griffith to insert himself into the discussion at linebacker for the Broncos.

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