Broncos 53-man roster projection: Who will make Sean Payton’s last cut?

As recently as Wednesday, Broncos special teams coach Darren Rizzi made things abundantly clear: Denver’s staff still hadn’t settled on its final 53-man roster.

“There’s still some meat on the bone there, and there’s some guys that still have some work to do,” Rizzi said. “And they can show some stuff in this last game.”

The preseason’s now come to an end, though, with Denver’s 28-19 win over the Saints on Saturday in New Orleans. A few positional battles have resolved themselves with roster movement — like this week’s trade of receiver Devaughn Vele — while others are still coming down to the wire.

Here’s the final 53-man roster projection from each of The Denver Post’s Broncos beat writers, Parker Gabriel and Luca Evans, with thoughts and analysis of any discrepancies.

Offense

Quarterback

Gabriel’s take: 3 (Bo Nix, Jarrett Stidham, Sam Ehlinger)

Evans’ take: 2 (Nix, Stidham)

Analysis: Stidham played so well in his first two games that Sean Payton sat him for the entirety of the Broncos’ preseason finale Saturday. That left the majority of reps to Ehlinger, who threw in a lot of good (a late Patrick Mahomes-esque backyard touchdown to Kyrese Rowan) and a little bad (a frantic dump-off and tipped interception against the rush) against the Saints. Denver’s taken three quarterbacks on its initial roster each of the past two seasons. The question is whether Ehlinger’s been good enough to warrant sacrificing depth at another spot. Gabriel thinks so. Evans does not.

Running back

Gabriel and Evans’ take: 4 (J.K. Dobbins, RJ Harvey, Jaleel McLaughlin, Tyler Badie)

McLaughlin hasn’t done anything in camp to show why he should get cut, and the Broncos wouldn’t be able to sneak him through to a practice squad. In a really tight battle with Audric Estime and Blake Watson, meanwhile, Badie has established himself as the clear next-guy-up and could even fight with McLaughlin for RB3 reps. It’ll hurt to cut Estime (a 2024 fifth-round pick) and Watson (who’s popped in camp reps), but there’s not enough need to carry five backs. The other wild card here is fullback, with Nate Adkins and Michael Burton hurt. The Broncos signed Adam Prentice, but he’ll likely come off the practice squad like Burton did last year.

Wide receiver

Gabriel and Evans’ take: 5 (Courtland Sutton, Marvin Mims Jr., Troy Franklin, Pat Bryant, Trent Sherfield Sr.)

With Vele gone to New Orleans, this room is set. Denver would only take five receivers on gamedays anyway, and every guy in this rotation has shown enough in camp and preseason to play meaningful reps. The Broncos’ cache of undrafted rookies — Courtney Jackson, Kyrese Rowan, Joaquin Davis and Jerjuan Newton — have all had their share of moments, but all are more likely fits for the practice squad.

Tight end

Gabriel’s take: 3 (Evan Engram, Adam Tratuman, Nate Adkins)

Evans’ take: 4 (Engram, Trautman, Adkins, Lucas Krull)

This is the most unpredictable room on the roster. Payton gave a pretty clear clue on Thursday, though, that Adkins will be kept on the active roster even as he recovers from a sprained ankle. That leaves a couple of final decisions: Whether Denver will take four TEs, and whether they’ll opt for seventh-round rookie Caleb Lohner or veteran Krull.

Offensive line

Gabriel and Evans’ take: 9 (Luke Wattenberg, Garett Bolles, Ben Powers, Mike McGlinchey, Quinn Meinerz, Alex Palczewski, Matt Peart, Alex Forsyth, Frank Crum)

The Broncos may have given a roster hint away Saturday, trotting Peart out at left guard and Crum at left tackle with the second-team offense. The 28-year-old Peart hasn’t played a single snap at guard in his NFL life. But tackles who can flex inside are more valuable than interior offensive linemen, and 6-foot-7 tackles with bend like Crum don’t come around often. The Broncos might be viewing Peart as a general backup for the left side of their offensive line, making it easier to take three tackles and Forsyth along with their starting group.

Defense

Defensive line

Gabriel’s take: 7 (Zach Allen, D.J. Jones, John Franklin-Myers, Malcolm Roach, Sai’vion Jones, Jordan Jackson, Eyioma Uwazurike)

Evans’ take: 6 (Allen, D.J. Jones, Franklin-Myers, Roach, Jackson, Sai’vion Jones)

Here’s the toughest question to answer on the roster: Uwazurike or Jackson? Or both? Seven defensive linemen would be a lot, but Denver’s played Uwazurike and Jackson in tandem all preseason, and Uwazurike’s shown the ability to play backup nose tackle. On the other hand, Jackson’s had too good a camp to cut. Uwazurike could well be a trade candidate, or the Broncos could just elect to sit on their riches in this room.

Outside linebacker

Gabriel and Evans’ take: 5 (Nik Bonitto, Jonathon Cooper, Jonah Elliss, Dondrea Tillman, Que Robinson)

The easiest room to project on the roster. Signed, sealed, delivered. Stupid depth here.

Inside linebacker

Gabriel’s take: 4 (Alex Singleton, Dre Greenlaw, Levelle Bailey, Justin Strnad)

Evans’ take: 5 (Singleton, Greenlaw, Bailey, Strnad, Jordan Turner)

The top four are solidified. Five ILBs are a lot, but at this point, Turner’s probably played more snaps in camp and preseason than Singleton and Greenlaw combined. There’s a ton of variability with injury here, and this room could get thin in a hurry. Turner has had a standout camp since he was signed in May from Michigan State, and he led the Broncos with 1.5 sacks in Week 2 of the preseason against Arizona.

Cornerback

Gabriel and Evans’ take: 5 (Pat Surtain II, Riley Moss, Jahdae Barron, Ja’Quan McMillian, Kris Abrams-Draine)