Broncos Practice Observations: Last Two DL Making the Roster

Englewood, Colo. — The Denver Broncos had a rough showing along the defensive line in last Saturday’s preseason game against the Buffalo Bills. It must be taken with a grain of salt since the Broncos rolled out second and third-team players against the Bills' starters.

However, that mauling Denver suffered definitely made coaches re-evaluate their earlier camp decision regarding D-line depth. The starters on the defensive line are set.

Dre'Mont Jones, D.J. Jones, and DeShawn Williams will start, but a good defensive line is only as good as its depth rotation. Keeping those big guys up front rested is key. Look no further than the incredible Broncos defense in 2015. That unit had key rotational players that didn’t miss a beat when they lined up in relief.

Mike Purcell is one of those players who will be in the rotation often. He is an experienced starter who has only struggled because of injury. He appears fully healthy and ready to go.

In camp, it appeared that rookie Eyioma Uwazurike and Jonathan Harris were going to be the final two players to make the roster in that position group. Now that decision is up in the air.

It would be a surprise for the Broncos to cut Uwazurike, a fourth-round selection in 2022. He has shown flashes, but has also made his rookie mistakes.

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The potential is there, making it a sizable risk to release him to get him on the practice squad. Another team would claim Uwazurike quickly, making it likely he is on the final roster from that risk alone.

The big question is Harris. He was running with the first team often in camp, but he had a bad game last Saturday. That opened up the competition from sixth-round rookie Matt Henningsen.

Henningsen was running more often with the ones in Thursday’s practice. He is a brawler, and his hard-working attitude has thrust him into the competition. He needs development, but it's easy to see the potential with more playing time.

The Broncos will take a big risk having late-round rookies being the fifth and sixth defensive linemen to start the season, but it's looking more and more like they are willing to take that risk.

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