6 Broncos Who Made 53-Man Roster but Shouldn't Unpack Bags Quite Yet

It's always difficult to talk about the players who are released when teams trim their rosters down to 53, especially when it comes to popular players, and the Broncos are no exception.

But there's the other side to the final roster cuts, and that's those players who may have been long shots to make the team, but impressed the coaches enough to work their way onto the roster.

In some cases, it's particularly impressive because there were fewer offseason workouts and no preseason games. Thus, players on the bubble had to show a lot to earn themselves a spot.

Let's now look at a few players who made the most of their opportunity to earn a roster spot. If the Broncos do indeed make a claim or two on the waiver wire or sign one of the newly-cut veterans on the open market, these six players could be the first to go and thus are on unstable ground.

Essang Bassey | CB

Undrafted rookies faced an uphill climb to make the roster, given that there were no preseason games. But that didn't stop Bassey, who worked his way onto the first team late in camp and earned himself a roster spot.

Bassey making the final roster means that the Broncos' good fortune of an undrafted player making the cut continues. I thought it was the last 15 of 16 seasons this has happened, but it's actually the last 16 of 17 seasons.

We've seen plenty of undrafted rookies who made the cut, go on to good careers with the Broncos. Let's see if this is the start of one for Bassey.

Jake Butt | TE

There was no question that Butt had the talent to be a quality tight end. But he fell to the fifth round in 2017 because of injuries, and he never took the field as a rookie.

The injury bug kept setting him back the next two seasons, but this year, he was healthy and made an impression on coaches right out of the gates.

Fingers crossed for the former fifth-round pick, because if he stays healthy, he only adds to the young talent on offense and gives Broncos fans more reason for excitement.

DeMarcus Walker | DE

Questions have lingered around the 2017 second-round pick and whether he was the best fit for the Broncos' defensive schemes. His roster spot went on the line after the Broncos signed free agent Christian Covington last May.

But give Walker credit: He was one of the first players on the field for training camp on more than one occasion and he kept working to show he could contribute to this team.

He had to have made an impression because the Broncos opted to trade Covington. Walker now enters the final year of his contract and it won't surprise me if he keeps playing with a chip on his shoulder, out to prove he can make an impact.

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Davontae Harris | CB

The Broncos claimed Harris off waivers from the Bengals last season. The 2018 fifth-round pick saw some time on the field last season, but didn't always impress.

I thought he was on the roster bubble this year, but indications are he made an impression on the coaching staff, to the point they felt safe moving on from DeVante Bausby.

While it's tough to see Bausby go, there's a potentially good story to come out of it. If Harris takes what he showed in camp and carries it over into the regular season, he'll give everyone peace of mind about an area of concern, that being cornerback depth.

Calvin Anderson | OT

The Broncos signed Anderson off the New York Jets' practice squad last October and he was mostly a game-day inactive. This year, he had to compete for a spot on the depth chart.

Anderson is a smart player, but he had to battle the likes of Jake Rodgers, who had experience in Mike Munchak's system, and Quinn Bailey, who got some playing time last year, to make the final cut.

It appears Anderson rose to the challenge, because the Broncos kept him over the other two. Anderson has a chance to be the Broncos' future swing tackle -- keep in mind that Elijah Wilkinson will be an unrestricted free agent in 2021, so Anderson has a bigger opportunity ahead of him.

Tyrie Cleveland | WR

One of the last players selected in the 2020 NFL draft, Cleveland was a long shot to make the roster simply because he was facing a numbers game.

But Cleveland took advantage of the situation when other receivers missed time because of minor injuries. It was enough for the Broncos to keep him on the active roster going into the season.

Cleveland did have character concerns coming out of college, but it's OK to use a seventh-round pick on such a player. Now that Cleveland has earned his spot, he has a chance to show he can be an important depth player at wide receiver or somebody who can step into a bigger role when the situation calls for it.

Follow Bob on Twitter @BobMorrisSports and @MileHighHuddle.