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The Denver Broncos will look for their first playoff appearance in five years. But In order to accomplish that, many things would need to go right, starting with their depth chart.
With every passing day, the Denver Broncos seem less likely to be saved by the addition of Aaron Rodgers. For this depth chart, it has been assumed that he will remain in Green Bay or he finds another team in 2021.
On that note, let's have a look at the Denver Broncos' depth chart, using ESPN's as a baseline and narrowing that down to 53 players.
Denver Broncos 2021 Depth Chart - Offense
Quarterback: Teddy Bridgewater, Drew Lock.
Running Back: Melvin Gordon III, Javonte Williams, Mike Boone.
Wide Receiver: Courtland Sutton, Jerry Jeudy, KJ Hamler, Tim Patrick, Diontae Spencer, Seth Williams.
Tight End: Noah Fant, Albert Okwegbunam, Austin Fort.
Left Tackle: Garett Bolles, Calvin Anderson.
Left Guard: Dalton Risner, Netane Muti.
Center: Quinn Meirnerz, Lloyd Cushenberry.
Right Guard: Graham Glasgow, Netane Muti.
Right Tackle: Bobby Massie, Cameron Fleming.
Denver Broncos 2021 Depth Chart - Defense
Left Defensive End: Dre'mont Jones, McTelvin Agim.
Nose Tackle: Mike Purcell, McTelvin Agim.
Right Defensive End: Shelby Harris, Johnathan Harris.
Left Outside Linebacker: Bradley Chubb, Malik Reed, Derrek Tuszka.
Middle Linebacker 1: Alexander Johnson, Baron Browning, Justin Strnad.
Middle Linebacker 2: Josey Jewell, Baron Browning, Justin Strnad.
Right Outside Linebacker: Von Miller, Malik Reed, Derrek Tuszka.
Left Cornerback: Kyle Fuller, Patrick Surtain II, Michael Ojemudia, Essang Bassey.
Strong Safety: Kareem Jackson, Caden Sterns, Trey Marshall.
Free Safety: Justin Simmons, Caden Sterns, Trey Marshall.
Right Cornerback: Ronald Darby, Bryce Callahan, Duke Dawson, Essang Bassey.
Denver Broncos 2021 Depth Chart - Special Teams
Kicker: Brandon McManus.
Punter: Sam Martin.
Punt Returner: Diontae Spencer.
Kick Returner: Diontae Spencer.
Long Snapper: Jacob Bobenmeyer.
Denver Broncos Depth Chart 2021 Roster Analysis
Quarterbacks
Without Rodgers to save this group, they could be in for a long competition between Bridgewater and Lock.
Bridgewater has more experience in the NFL and will likely outperform Drew Lock, who'll try to push the ball downfield too much and throw more interceptions. Bridgewater, by avoiding turnovers, might let Lock beat himself and will take over as the starting quarterback by September.
Running Backs
The Denver Broncos have a solid squad in this room. Unfortunately, the Denver Broncos let Phillip Lindsay walk in the off-season but have upgraded by snagging Javonte Williams in the 2021 NFL Draft.
Williams recorded 19 touchdowns in his final college season and earned around 1000 yards in each of his last two campaigns. It may take a while for him to get going in 2021,, but he could overtake veteran Melvin Gordon as the lead back by the start of 2022.
Wide Receivers
It's one of the top wide receiver rooms in the NFL. Courtland Sutton will likely be back healthy after a torn ACL. Jerry Jeudy and KJ Hamler could be entering their all-important second seasons after solid respective rookie campaigns.
Additionally, the Denver Broncos have the sure-handed Tim Patrick and a sneaky speed option in Diontae Spencer. The Broncos also landed Seth Williams in the sixth round of the NFL Draft as an added bonus.
Out of the top four receivers, the lowest 2020 grade on PFF was 55.9, while the highest grade was 74.5. Considering the lowest grade was for a player in his rookie season, the floor for this receiver room is high, and the ceiling could be off the charts.
Tight Ends
Noah Fant leads this room as a speed option. Fant ran a 4.5 40-yard dash at the NFL combine before the Denver Broncos picked him up. He can easily blow past defenders and create unique options deep down the field. PFF graded him as a 71.2 in 2020.
Albert Okwegbunam has battled injuries in his young career,, but many Denver Broncos fans are excited to see the young tight end grow. Lastly, Austin Fort is a big drop off and should be hidden behind Fant and Okwegbunam.
Offensive Tackles
The tackles could easily be the Achillies heel for the Denver Broncos' offense in 2021. Ja'Wuan James is out after a disastrous contract. In his place is Bobby Massie, who was signed late in free agency and could easily be a problem in 2021.
Garett Bolles, meanwhile, is in a very fragile place. Leading up to 2020, Bolles was one of the most penalized starting left tackles in the league. His least penalized season was in 2018, with 13 penalties.
In 2020, right before his rookie contract was up, he played his best season with a 90.6 PFF grade and only two penalties. The Denver Broncos paid him a large sum of money, and the fear is that Bolles will go back to his old ways now that he has a large contract.
Offensive Guards
Dalton Risner and Graham Glasgow will be the starting guards. This group is the strongest on the offensive line. Risner earned a 61.3 PFF grade and Glasgow earned a 68.5. They both stayed healthy enough to play most of the season and did their jobs. Simply put, they are solid,, but the depth is a big dropoff.
Center
Quinn Meirnez was drafted in the third round to overtake Lloyd Cushenberry. Cushenberry was a huge disappointment in 2020, earning a 40.5 PFF score. Meirnez will almost surely be an upgrade. How big of an upgrade that will be remains to be seen, though.
Denver Broncos 2021 Depth Chart - Defense
Defensive End
Dre'Mont Jones and Shelby Harris are the starters for this group. Harris started from deep in the depth chart and has slowly ascended to earning a big deal this off-season.
Harris is famous for batting down balls at the line of scrimmage and has even caught a game-ending interception in a game against the Pittsburgh Steelers. Jones, meanwhile, is coming off a solid year. He earned seven sacks and a PFF grade of 74.7.
Nose Tackle
This is the least remarkable group on the defensive front. Mike Purcell fills the starting role. He earned one sack in 2020. So, the depth is likely to be worse.
Outside Linebackers
The hope in drafting Bradley Chubb was to get him alongside Von Miller and recreate the duo of Miller and DeMarcus Ware, who helped win a Super Bowl. However, Chubb and Miller have had injuries and haven't been able to both be on the field for a long stretch of time for a while. The hope is that the two can finally stay healthy in 2021. If they can, offensive lines would be in trouble.
Middle Linebackers
Alexander Johnson will continue to be a diamond in the rough. He was undrafted in 2018 and put together a season with 93 solo tackles and a 65.2 PFF grade in 2020. Opposite him, Josey Jewell will barely win the competition between him and new rookie third-round pick Baron Browning. That said, expect Browning to find his way onto the field in 2021.
Cornerbacks
Last season, the Denver Broncos had one of their weakest backfields in almost a decade after the final breakup of the No Fly Zone. They gave up 237.9 yards per game in 2020, placing them 16th overall for the category. The Denver Broncos focused much of their resources on bolstering their cornerbacks. Kyle Fuller and Ronald Darby will be the new top two corners.
Patrick Surtain II, arguably the highest-ranked cornerback in the NFL draft, will fill in at the third cornerback spot. Coupled with Vic Fangio's scheme, the Denve Broncosr' secondary could be right back in the days of yore. This might be the strongest group on the team if the free agents work out.
Safeties
Justin Simmons is back with a new deal. The Denver Broncos almost lost Kareem Jackson but got him back at a discount. Simmons is coming off a year with five interceptions and a PFF grade of 77.4.
Behind Jackson, who is getting up in age, is new rookie Caden Sterns. Sterns will likely find his way onto the field this season and hopefully play well enough to replace Jackson by the start of the 2022 season.
Denver Broncos 2021 Depth Chart - Special Teams
Brandon McManus has been one of the most stable positions for the Denver Broncos since the Peyton Manning era. He is pretty shaky past 50 yards,, but inside 50, he is seemingly automatic. Sam Martin is a middle-of-the-road punter. PFF has him tied at 17th in punts inside the 20.
Diontae Spencer has been a great returner for the Denver Broncos. He had a punt returned for a touchdown.
Jacob Bobenmeyer has been invisible for the Denver Broncos and will hope to stay that way as the longsnapper.
