5 Young Broncos Who Need More Playing Time In Wake Of 0-4 Tank

The Broncos might not be tanking on purpose but their season has been torpedoed. In light of that, here are five young players the team needs to get a longer evaluation on.

The Denver Broncos are mired in a 'world of suck' right now. We've heard it directly from head coach Vic Fangio and wide receiver Emmanuel Sanders, but it is even more obvious now. 0-4 is 0-4. Period.

So where do the Broncos turn now? There are still 12 upcoming games to play and not all hope is completely lost given the landscape of the NFL. There are currently six teams without a victory in 2019, the most of any season this decade.

Denver has lost two of their games on last-second field goals and could easily be 2-2 at this point. Fixing some critical execution failures, lapses in situational play-calling, and having the ball bounce the right way could see this team rattle off three or four wins in a row, putting them at or near the .500 marker heading into their Week 10 bye.

However, that is extremely unlikely. The postseason is almost completely out of reach at this point, as only one team in NFL history has made the playoffs after starting the season 0-4; the 1992 San Diego Chargers, who won 11 of their final 12 games. 

At this point, playing for pride (or better draft position) is all that remains for this year's squad, and the Broncos need to make a decision as to the direction they want to go for the remainder of this disappointing season.

Now, whether the Broncos decide to place veterans on the trade block or not, they would do themselves a huge favor by getting their younger depth players on the field more often to get in a boosted evaluation period ahead of the 2020 NFL Draft. 

Which players specifically need to be seeing the field more in the wake of this 0-4 start? I'll tell you. 

Joe Jones, LB | Third Year

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We're gonna start this off by highlighting a player that made the opening day roster despite suffering a triceps tear during the preseason. Jones has been a gameday inactive to this point as a result, but almost got to sport his pads for the first time this past Sunday.

Jones had figured to be a big piece in coverage for the Broncos' linebacker group prior to his injury, and while second-year man Josey Jewell has stepped up noticeably in coverage, the Broncos definitely could use the help and Jewell is banged up.

Jones barely missed playing on Sunday, but the waiving of Keishawn Bierria on Tuesday points to the return of Jones for the upcoming game against the Chargers. He should see a lot of time against Melvin Gordon and Austin Ekeler in Carson.

Duke Dawson, CB | Second Year 

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Right at the close of training camp the Broncos sent a sixth-round selection to the Patriots to acquire the services of Dawson, a former second-round pick out of Florida. Dawson, who has seen the majority of his time as a gunner on special teams, got to see extended defensive action (51 snaps) against the Jaguars in the wake of the injury to Kareem Jackson.

It was an up-and-down showing for Dawson, especially as a tackler in pursuit, but there were flashes of quality coverage ability at times.

Not that a sixth-round selection is an overly huge investment, but the Broncos need to see what kind of player they can mold out of a former second-rounder. With Chris Harris, Jr. on the last year of his deal, Dawson could be a future replacement in the making.

Isaac Yiadom, CB | Second Year

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Sticking in the secondary here, Yiadom has had his own issues trying to find consistency in his play. There's been flashes of incompetence mixed in with flashes of brilliance, which has led to De'Vante Bausby getting a rather large uptick in playing time over the past couple of weeks.

After playing in almost 99% of the defensive snaps for the first two weeks, Yiadom has only seen 14 combined plays over the past two weeks, including only one against Jacksonville.

Getting Bausby and Dawson on the field has certainly tapped into Yiadom's reps, but there's no reason as to why Yiadom should be seeing as few opportunities as he has here lately. As a former third-round pick, Yiadom hasn't progressed as well as many thought he should have by now, but giving him the chance to gain valuable experience on the field should be a priority. Soon.

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Juwann Winfree, WR | Rookie

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The Broncos have a very young wide receiver corps as it is with second-year guys Courtland Sutton and DaeSean Hamilton already in tow, so trying to push off the development of either one of those players is going to be a hard task to manage. Sutton is showing signs of dominance in his sophomore season, but Hamilton has had issues with key drops in his time on the field and despite getting open on a frequent basis hasn't been a primary focus in the offensive game plan.

Winfree offers a completely different skill-set than Hamilton as a boundary receiver, but his immense catch radius and larger physical stature could open up opportunities for shots down the field, something this Broncos offense has been missing all season.

The Broncos have chosen to make Winfree a gameday inactive for three of their four games, and he only saw action on 10 offensive snaps during the one game in which he has played. Largely, the reason he has been relegated to the sideline has to do with the presence of veteran Emmanuel Sanders, who has been absolutely spectacular in his return from a torn Achilles. Sanders is also in the last year of his contract and could be on his way out of Denver following this season.

Finding room for Winfree may be hard to do, but with the Broncos on the ropes, getting a good look at their 2019 sixth-round selection would be a prudent move given the Sanders contract situation.

Justin Hollins, LB | Rookie

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When the Broncos chose to pick Hollins in the fifth-round of the 2019 draft, the thinking behind the selection was to use him as both a coverage linebacker and as a depth player coming off the edge as a pass rusher. Hollins has been primarily utilized as an off-ball linebacker to date, which is why I have him on this list.

Due to losing OLB Bradley Chubb for the season to a torn ACL, the Broncos have a need to fill in the pass-rushing department. The team did sign veteran Jeremiah Attaochu on Tuesday, but there is little reason to suggest that Hollins and fellow rookie Malik Reed shouldn't see extended playing time coming off the edge, especially with the return of Jones.

Aside from his ridiculous athleticism, rushing the passer was arguably Hollins's biggest strength going into the 2019 draft. He looked most natural coming off the edge rather than dropping back into coverage, and those struggles have continued at the pro level. 

He has shown as a capable coverage linebacker at times, but there are still inconsistency issues that have plagued him. Getting Hollins doing what he does best could be a net positive for the Broncos defense.

Honorable Mention: Mike Purcell, DL | Fourth Year.

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Typically when you think of young players, you think of guys either within the first few years of their career or under the age of 26. Purcell doesn't meet either of those parameters as a 28-year-old fourth-year veteran, so he naturally missed the cut.

However, this run plugging defensive lineman was egregiously left off of the gameday roster against a Jaguars offense that primarily runs the ball between the tackles. Jaguars running back Leonard Fournette torched the Broncos defense for 225 yards on the ground, including an 81-yard burst right up the middle. Purcell would have been a great piece to have to counter their interior gap scheme.

Purcell has been a gameday inactive for the last three weeks, and the Broncos are missing a natural run-stuffing nose tackle for Vic Fangio's defensive scheme. How he hasn't received a jersey is beyond any rational thinking. As one of the stand-outs from training camp, Purcell deserves a shot to let his hair down.

Follow Lance on Twitter @SandersonMHH and @MileHighHuddle.