5 darkhorse players with a real shot at the Broncos' 53-man roster

Thursday night marks the final preseason contest for all 32 NFL teams, followed by the mandatory cut-down period that has to be completed by Saturday evening. For the Denver Broncos, there are more than a handful of positions battles that need to play themselves out.

Some clarity was handed down to a couple of the battles on Monday, given the release of DL Zach Kerr, LB Dekoda Watson, and WR Nick Williams following the Broncos 10-6 loss to the Los Angeles Rams last Saturday night. However, there are still battles on going with several players still fighting for their respective lives on the roster.

Erick Trickel and I broke down most of the roster on the first episode of the "Dove Valley Deep-Divers" podcast a few days ago, and Erick's latest 53-man roster prediction brought up an interesting thought process for me.

What darkhorse players have a chance to land themselves on the opening day roster following Thursday night's preseason finale against the Arizona Cardinals? Given injury concerns and some position versatility, as well as needs throughout the roster, I came up with these five guys.

Khalfani Muhammad, RB

Starting off with a guy that has flashed early and often throughout the preseason, Muhammad's best chance comes on the heels of the Theo Riddick injury. Riddick figured to be the fourth RB on the roster and primary receiving back for the Broncos' offense. Unfortunately, he suffered a fracture in his shoulder against the Seahawks in the Broncos' second preseason game.

Muhammad, who isn't nearly the level of pass catcher that Riddick is, has shown a penchant for being slippery in the hole and creating explosive plays in the running game. He has pretty good vision, and uses his diminutive stature to his advantage behind the line of scrimmage.

Muhammed faces long odds to crack the opening day roster, but having another solid showing, particularly as a pass-catcher, could bring a difficult decision for the Broncos front office.

Should they go with a healthy young guy, wait for Riddick to become available, or start the season with a three-man running back stable?

DeShawn Williams, DL

I made my case for DL Mike Purcell in a film breakdown earlier this week, but don't let that take away from the work Williams has been able to produce over the course of the past five weeks.

Much like Purcell, Williams hasn't shown a lot of chops in the passing game but has been a force against the run. I think there is a lot more to work with in the passing game with Williams, though, and his ability to generate an interior pass rush could be what sets him apart from not only Purcell, but also former second-round pick DeMarcus Walker.

Walker has still been inconsistent in games despite showing out in practices. If the Broncos are ready to cut bait with Walker, Williams could be the guy to take hold of the sixth DL spot. He could also supplant Purcell as well. It's a three-way battle for two spots on the defensive line, unless the Broncos decide to keep seven players there.

Trinity Benson, WR

Benson is a guy that Erick Trickel has been touting for quite some time in a group message between a few guys on the MHH crew, as well as on the DVDD podcast the other day. He's a quick-twitch player that has the speed to take the top off of the defense in the vertical passing game, something that the Broncos are missing at the wide receiver position, even with a healthy Emmanuel Sanders.

Benson also has some experience as a punt returner in the past, even though he hasn't gotten the opportunity to showcase his talents in that facet during the preseason for some unknown reason. The Broncos are desperately wanting to find an answer at the returner position on special teams, so much so that they could look outside of their roster once teams begin releasing players over the next couple of days. Why Benson hasn't been given a shot is mind-boggling.

Though keeping a sixth WR on the opening day depth chart to use specifically as a punt returner may not be the wisest idea of building the roster, the added deep threat ability of Benson's plays right into the offensive philosophy that Rich Scangarello wants to deploy this season; a unit that can create explosive plays at will.

Jamal Carter, LB/S

Carter is a player that was making a strong case to make the roster last year before getting hurt in the preseason. Fast forward a year, and his lower level of play at the strong safety position combined with a massive string of injuries for the Broncos' linebacker room necessitated a position change for the third-year player out of Miami.

The position change hasn't exactly shown eye-opening results, and his future as a Bronco appeared to be up in the air.

However, fellow safety Dymonte Thomas suffered a knee injury the other day and could miss some time. He was seen sporting some crutches at a luncheon on Wednesday, per Mike Klis of 9NEWS.

With Kareem Jackson expected to see time at both safety and cornerback, Thomas' injury opens up a slot in the secondary. The Broncos have four full-time cornerbacks worthy of making the roster in Chris Harris, Jr., Bryce Callahan, Isaac Yiadom and De'Vante Bausby as well as three safeties in Justin Simmons, Will Parks, and Su'a Cravens. Jackson makes eight defensive backs as the Swiss army knife over multiple positions. There's room for one more, if not two depending on how the roster math shakes out.

There are some issues for Carter in both the running game when going against bigger, more physical offensive linemen as well as in pass coverage at times covering running backs and tight ends, but given his physicality on the special teams unit and the lack of available bodies at the linebacker position, as well as the injury to Thomas, Carter could sneak his way onto the roster to begin the season thanks to his position versatility.

George Aston, FB

With Aston, the roster math is pretty complicated. Given the Broncos' offensive scheme, they are going to need a player at fullback that can not only hold his own as a blocker in the running game, but also be effective out of the backfield as a receiver on play-action passing plays.

Incumbent starter Andy Janovich is dealing with a strained pectoral muscle suffered in the game against Seattle a couple of weeks ago. However, Janovich may not miss a lot of time to start the season. His 6-8 week recovery period from the time of his injury could conclude within the month of September.

The Broncos also have newly signed Orson Charles in the mix as a possible H-Back. Charles has previous experience at fullback as well as tight end, another position grouping that the Broncos are struggling to keep healthy at the moment.

Denver also has questions in the running back room with Theo Riddick's injury factoring into the equation.

Combining the factors of Janovich's probable return, only keeping three running backs in the backfield rotation, and the position versatility of Charles, the math turns more towards calculus.

Aston has played well over the past couple of weeks in his natural position, possibly giving the Broncos an excuse to place Janovich on injured reserve to start the season. Charles still has to prove his worth on the roster as the newcomer, and forfeiting a fullback in favor of cross utilizing a much-needed depth tight end may be a questionable move.

Another solid outing from Aston might secure his place on the opening day roster. However, it depends on how John Elway views the talent at hand.

Aston might be number 53. He could also be number 54.

Follow Lance on Twitter @SandersonMHH.

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