Stock report: Broncos vs. Seahawks | 4 up, 6 down

Here's how the stock report is trending for the Broncos.

The Denver Broncos lost on the road to the Seattle Seahawks 22-14. It was Denver's second preseason game and Seattle's first. 

Which way is the stock report trending for the Broncos? Let's dive in. 

Up: First-team Defense

Broncos CB Chris Harris tackles Seahawks first-round WR D.K. Metcalf.  :: Troy Wayrynen/USA TODAY Sports

We finally got to see Von Miller and Bradley Chubb on the field again and it looks like they are going to have a heck of a season coming up. Those two consistently got pressure on Geno Smith and made life difficult on opposing offensive tackles.

The Broncos' secondary also looked fantastic. Chris Harris, Jr. (as you’d expect) was all over the field and made his presence felt. The corners behind him also looked sharp aside from a defensive holding penalty on Isaac Yiadom. The tackling was very good by all, something that will be a major improvement from the past two seasons.

The starting defense, even though they only played a handful of drives (and against Geno Smith), held the Seahawks to zero points. This defense really has the chance to be a top unit in the league if the unit can stay healthy and get some solid production from the inside linebacker position. This was just what we wanted to see in limited action from the starters in this game.

Up: Phillip Lindsay

Phillip Lindsay totes the rock vs. Seattle.  :: Kirby Lee/USA TODAY Sports

First three plays of the game:

Handoff to Lindsay.

Handoff to Lindsay.

Pass to Lindsay.

It’s fair to say he’s going to be a big part of the Broncos' offensive attack this season. Even though he only played one drive, he looked really sharp. 

Lindsay displayed great quickness as you’d expect and was decisive on where he wanted to cut. You can also tell he’s added some size this offseason, which should help him running between the tackles.

He did have a couple of runs that went for one yard or less, but that was largely due to poor blocking by the offensive line. Lindsay finished the game with four carries for 10 yards to go along with a catch for nine yards.

Up: Dalton Risner

Broncos rookie LG Dalton Risner at CenturyLink Field :: Alika Jenner/Getty

Every time you see Dalton Risner on the field, you just get the feeling he is going to be a special player in the NFL. Not only is he an amazing person off the field, and a great role model to look up to — he has shown so far this offseason that he has the goods to be an above-average offensive guard in the NFL.

In a game where most of the offensive line play was poor (and that’s putting it lightly for the third-string unit), Risner stood out on most plays. The 50-yard breakout run by Royce Freeman on the opening drive was in large part due to the huge hole Risner created (with help from center Connor McGovern).

It’s nice to know the team will have some continuity on the left side with Risner playing next to Garett Bolles. The two of them have shown great chemistry together, to a point where Risner has known to bail out Bolles on a few plays. These two will only get better the more reps they get with each other but there is a lot to be excited about with Dalton Risner’s play thus far.

Up: Drew Lock

Drew Lock scrambles vs. Seahawks.  :: Kirby Lee/USA TODAY Sports

I know, I know. Drew Lock didn’t have an amazing game, but, he showed a lot to be excited about. It’s easy to zone in on one play, but the pass he made to Troy Fumagalli on a 3rd-&-long was a throw that not many NFL QBs can make. 

It’s becoming more clear that Lock has the “stuff” that could make him a successful NFL QB. The bigger question is whether or not he can clean up the bad decisions that come along with it.

I would, however, take a lot of Lock’s bad play in this game with a grain of salt. You have to keep in mind he was playing with second- and third-string offensive linemen — and it really showed. I counted at least three plays where Drew didn’t even have enough time to finish his three-step drop before pressure was getting to him. 

I was a little surprised at how much Seattle was blitzing, which felt a little excessive for a preseason game. But that type of pressure is only going to help Lock in his development.

Overall, there is a lot to improve on here for Lock. He took three sacks for 19 yards, one of which was a safety. He’s going to eventually learn that you sometimes just have to get rid of the ball. But beyond that, he finished the game going 17-of-28 for 180 yards with one TD and one INT. 

An average completion of over 10 yards is nothing to scoff at for a rookie QB. And I wouldn’t put too much stock into the interception as it was late in the game in a situation where he was trying to make something happen coming back from behind.

It’s clear that Joe Flacco is the guy for this year, but it will be fun to continue watching Lock develop the rest of the preseason.

Way down: Second & third OL units

I’ve written about my offensive line depth concerns over the last few weeks and boy did those get amplified after seeing this game. The shining light here is the starting unit continued to look solid in this game. The Broncos did not get a chance to see Ron Leary at right guard (replaced by Don Barclay), but the starting five still looked great. After that, it started to get very ugly.

I felt really bad for Drew Lock at times in this game because he was just running for his life on seemingly every snap. Many plays he didn’t even have a chance to finish his drop — something that won’t help Lock much in developing his mechanics.

Back to the backup linemen. Elijah Wilkinson and Don Barclay have proven capable of manning the guard position so an injury to one of the starting guards might not be the end of the world. That said, if this team sustains an injury to a starting tackle, they are in serious trouble. 

I can’t imagine Chaz Green staying on this roster much longer. It seemed like he was getting beat on every single passing play. Denver needs to address the swing tackle before the season starts, or they risk putting too many eggs in the Bolles and James baskets.

The Broncos have signed offensive tackle Adam Bisnowaty to take the roster spot of Austin Fort, who was placed on IR. We'll see if he can improve the tackle depth. 

Down: Special teams

It feels a bit like deja vu from the Isaiah McKenzie days. Outside of placekicker Brandon McManus and long snapper Casey Kreiter, there were no positives to take away from this game on special teams. This team clearly wants to lean on the running game and defense this year. In order for that to be successful, they have to improve significantly on both their punting and punt returning game.

The Broncos punt team had exactly five return yards on five punts for the night. It didn’t matter who was returning, they had a defender on them the second they caught the ball. Special teams coordinator Tom McMahon really has his work cut out for him to get this unit ready for the regular season. 

It may be an overreaction since it is just the preseason and a lot of guys are being rotated in, but you still expect better than the product that was on the field in this game.

Down: Injuries

This team is seriously cursed when it comes to injuries to tight ends. If I were Vic Fangio, I would start covering first-round pick Noah Fant in bubble wrap as a precaution. Austin Fort had a fantastic 29-yard catch in the fourth quarter of this game and immediately went down grasping his knee. 

I think everyone knew at the time it was a serious injury. The team has since confirmed he tore his ACL and has been placed on IR for the season. 

In addition to losing Fort, fullback Andy Janovich left the game early with an injury. After an MRI, it was reported that the had a strained pectoral muscle and will be out 6-8 weeks. 

His injury opens up the opportunity for rookie FB George Aston to step up into Jano’s role. It’ll be interesting to see how this injury shakes up the decisions when rosters are cut down to 53.

Injuries are the worst part of the preseason, and they have unfortunately already started to rear its ugly head for the Broncos.

Down: Inside linebackers

Broncos' ILB Alexander Johnson makes a tackle.  :: Alika Jenner/Getty

Going into this season, many felt the Broncos were a little thin at inside linebacker. In Seattle, the Broncos were without their three best at the position — Todd Davis, Josey Jewell, & Joseph Jones. The players beyond them on the depth chart sure do leave a lot to be desired.

Beyond those three, the Broncos rolled out a combination of Alexander Johnson, Josh Watson, Joe Dineen, and Keishawn Bierria. None of them played exceptionally well, despite the grades Pro Football Focus handed out. 

Watson led the game in tackles with nine combined (two solo), followed by Dineen at five (two solo). But don’t look too much into the box score. Many times in this game, you would find these guys playing out of position. There was one play in particular where Johnson rushed the QB and was completely fooled by the screen pass, giving up a huge gain on 3rd-&-long.

The Broncos better hope their starting LBs come back soon and can stay healthy this season. This is clearly the weakness of this defense and I could see the trend continue from past seasons where opposing offensive coordinators abuse this unit by throwing to TEs and RBs.

Down: DeMarcus Walker

Remember the career resurgence DeMarcus Walker seemingly had last week? Well, that went away quickly as this was not the best showing by him. He was consistently taken out of plays, getting eaten up by his blockers. His impact was so minimal, he didn’t even find himself recording a single stat on the box score.

It’s still early but we should pump the brakes a tad on Walker. He still has a legitimate chance of making the 53-man roster, but he’s going to have to play much better over the next three games to state his case. Consistency game to game is likely what either keeps him on the team or gets him cut.

Down: Kevin Hogan

I understand why the Broncos are giving second-team reps to Kevin Hogan, but at a certain point, you have to ask yourself if it’s worth continuing down this path? Drew Lock would significantly benefit from getting reps behind a legitimate offensive line and throwing to receivers who don’t drop every other pass.

But since Hogan is taking those reps, Lock defaults to the scraps left at the bottom of the depth chart. Hogan is not a very good QB. His accuracy is a serious concern, as he was way off target on a handful of throws to open receivers. 

This coaching staff needs to figure out what Hogan’s role is on this team, because he’s not exactly doing a lot to state his case for the backup QB. He finished the game going 3-of-7 for 27 yards.

Follow Trevor on Twitter @TrevorJudge.