Broncos' Initial 53 Is Set—But Three Positions Are Still Screaming for Help

The Denver Broncos have set their initial 53-man roster and practice squad. Denver boasts one of the NFL's best rosters.

Still, the Broncos' roster will evolve over the course of the season for multiple reasons, the biggest being injury. And they'll always be on the hunt for upgrades.

That search for upgrades is never-ending, as a few positions on the Broncos' initial roster are concerningly thin depth-wise. No roster is ever perfect, but the Broncos are pushing for a Super Bowl berth this year, so their standards must remain as high as their expectations.

Lackluster depth at three positions could affect the Broncos' ability to realize those Super Bowl ambitions. The team will doubtless have one eye on the wire and the street, looking for any player at these positions with the makeup and skill set to upgrade the roster.

Let's break it down.

Tight End

Adam Trautman and Dallen Bentley — Denver Broncos tight end Adam Trautman (82) and tight end Dallen Bentley (89) during training camp at Broncos Park. | IMAGN IMAGES via Reuters Connect

We've been questioning the talent in the Broncos' tight end room for months, and so far, they've done nothing to improve things, unless you count the waiving of Justin Joly as addition by subtraction. The Broncos traded up to draft Joly in the fifth round this past spring, and the team hoped he could pick things up quicker than he did.

Instead of Joly, the Broncos kept their seventh-round rookie tight end, Dallen Bentley. A higher floor perhaps, but Bentley's ceiling doesn't come close to Joly's, who is now on the Miami Dolphins' 53-man roster after being claimed off waivers.

Counting Adam Trautman, Evan Engram, Nate Adkins, and one or two others, the Broncos had one of the NFL's worst tight end rooms last year, but they made the decision to essentially run it back with those three topping the depth chart.

New offensive coordinator Davis Webb taking over play-calling could help, and there's always the possibility that each player could step up, but the Broncos are betting on one of those two things happening instead of taking the necessary steps to improve the room.

With Lucas Krull on the practice squad and Caleb Lohner starting out the season on injured reserve, the Broncos need to keep an eye on the NFL's available pool of tight end talent.

Linebacker

At the risk of sounding mean, Alex Singleton and Justin Strnad are limited starters, but the Broncos have proven they can get by with them and have accepted the mistakes that will come with it. The starting duo isn't the biggest issue; it's the lack of experience behind them.

Karene Reid and Jordan Turner are the backup linebackers as second-year players who went undrafted in 2025. Neither garnered much experience on defense as rookies.

Reid and Turner combined for a total of 27 snaps played on defense in the regular season last year, with 17 of them coming from the latter in the season finale when the Broncos pulled their starters. Both players have dealt with injuries since entering the NFL.

This is a position to monitor as well, even with Red Murdock on the practice squad, as teams with Super Bowl aspirations typically don't risk a key position with inexperienced depth.

Safety

Green Bay Packers cornerback Kamal Hadden (36) defends Denver Broncos safety JL Skinner (34). | IMAGN IMAGES via Reuters Connect

The Broncos already attempted to bring in a veteran in Taylor Rapp, but they cut him due to some personal issues he was dealing with. The door remains open to a potential return, though.

The Broncos clearly didn't see the need at safety to spark an outside addition or waiver claim over the weekend, as 1,100 players were cut across the NFL. The Broncos have stuck with the same cast of characters from last season, outside of Tycen Anderson replacing P.J. Locke in free agency this past spring.

It wouldn't be surprising to see the Broncos make another attempt to add a veteran safety, either Rapp or someone else, if the depth of the room doesn't step up. The one saving grace with Denver's depth safeties is their special teams acumen, to a man.

Devon Key is a first-team All-Pro special teams ace, while JL Skinner and Anderson have carved out their young careers by standing out in the third phase. That's a nice asset to have, but if injury befalls one of the two starters — Talanoa Hufanga or Brandon Jones — there is no Locke to step in save the day.

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