Denver Post Broncos writer Parker Gabriel posts his Broncos Mailbag periodically during the season. Click here to submit a question.
Who is No. 1 on the running backs depth chart?
— David W. Mensing, Colorado Springs
Hey David, thanks for getting us going this week. If Javonte Williams is healthy, he’s No. 1 on the depth chart. The question is what exactly his work load will look like come Week 1. Williams was in pads with the rest of the Broncos on Monday, though the team didn’t do any live tackling as it transitions into fully padded work. Williams and Samaje Perine figure to be the top pair, but the No. 3 job is shaping up to be interesting. Tony Jones Jr. has experience and has played for coach Sean Payton in the past, but keep an eye on college free agent Jaleel McLaughlin. He and Tyler Badie each have burst and big-play ability.
Rosters fluctuate and flex over the course of a season, but Denver’s cleanest configuration to start the season when it cuts down to 53 players from 90 (the deadline is Aug. 29) is three running backs plus fullback Michael Burton. Long way to go before then, obviously, but the backfield is shaping up to be a good battle.
How much playing time do you think our rookies Marvin Mims, Drew Sanders and Riley Moss will get this season? Also what’s the word on Nik Bonitto?
— Najee, Bronx
Great question, Najee. Mims’ importance grew Monday when Tim Patrick was lost for the season to a torn Achilles and KJ Hamler was waived with a non-football illness designation. But he’s also got to get over a couple of nagging hamstring issues and then prove he can be trusted on the field.
Sanders and Moss have each flashed at times during the opening days of camp, but they also each play positions where the Broncos have some depth. All three need to be significant special teams contributors this fall — Mims as a return man and the other two as core four-type guys. You never know when a rookie is going to be pressed into more extensive action. It happened to Damarri Mathis last year when Ronald Darby tore his ACL and the cornerback acquitted himself really well over the rest of the season.
As for Bonitto, he’s trying to make the jump into a more consistent and disruptive player in his second season. Denver’s got Randy Gregory and Frank Clark on the edge currently with Baron Browning recovering from offseason knee surgery. Then Jonathon Cooper, Bonitto and the others are trying to crack the rotation for new outside linebackers coach Michael Wilhoite and defensive coordinator Vance Joseph.
I’ve been a fan of Caden Sterns ever since we drafted him. Do you think this is the year he takes over as the starting safety over Kareem Jackson?
— Mike, Denver
Timely question, Mike. I just talked with Sterns late last week about the opportunity he’s got in front of him this fall and he was categorical about having high expectations for himself and about the fact that he’s ready.
At the same time, he’s got great respect for Jackson, whom he views as a football mentor of sorts. Ultimately, I do think Sterns will play a lot more this year. He just might fully take the starting spot opposite Justin Simmons or he could end up rotating with Jackson and continuing to play some special teams. The thing of it is, Sterns has to prove he can stay healthy. That’s been an issue for the third-year man out of Texas, though he said the hip surgery he had which cost him the final 12 games of 2022 has him feeling better than he has in years .
Hi Parker. I’m cautiously optimistic about Russell Wilson bouncing back this year under coach Sean Payton. But if he doesn’t — or if he gets hurt — what do you think about Jarrett Stidham or Ben DiNucci being under center? I kinda feel like our season may be toast at that point.
— Deshawn, Thornton
Indeed, the Broncos are hoping that’s not necessary for any of the above reasons — injury or poor performance from Wilson.
It’ll be Stidham in there first if Wilson gets hurt. He got $5 million guaranteed on a two-year deal. He’s the clear No. 2 unless something really drastic happens over the next month. Payton said he had a strong grade on Stidham when he came out as a draft prospect from Auburn and came away from Stidham’s two late-season starts with Las Vegas last year impressed. In particular, Payton pointed out that not many teams did to San Francisco’s vaunted defense what Stidham and the Raiders did. Las Vegas lost, but Stidham threw for 365 yards, three touchdowns and an interception in a 37-34 shootout. Overall in the final two weeks, he had four touchdowns, three interceptions and played to a 91.6 quarterback rating. That’s a small sample size, obviously, but typically you’re hoping that’s what you get out of your backup quarterback.
Stidham’s the kind of quarterback who can keep a team afloat for a couple or few weeks if the schedule breaks right at the time he’s needed. That’s already a difference from where Denver’s found itself the past couple of seasons.
Tim Patrick’s out. KJ Hamler’s gone. I’m glad we didn’t trade Courtland Sutton or Jerry Jeudy in the offseason.
Who do you think will break out as a third option in the receiving corps? Is Marvin Mims the dark horse star for fantasy football owners?
— David Starr, Los Angeles
Yeah, David, strength in numbers so rarely lasts long in the NFL, and now the Broncos are probably glad they hung on to Sutton and Jeudy both over the course of the offseason.
Mims certainly is going to get every opportunity to make a difference. I mentioned this in the story I wrote on Monday in the aftermath of the wave of wide receiver news, but don’t forget about Brandon Johnson. He’s big, can do a little bit of everything and really put together a stellar camp as an undrafted rookie last year before a high-ankle sprain cost him a likely 53-man roster spot in the preseason finale. It took several weeks for him to get healthy and then re-signed to Denver’s roster and up to speed, but he did some nice things down the stretch of a lost season and looks like he’s intent on turning that into momentum at the outset of Year 2.
Don’t forget, too, that the last time Payton was on a sideline in 2021, Marquez Callaway had 698 yards receiving and six touchdowns.
I’m not much of a fantasy football guy, but I’d hazard to say the attrition at receiver won’t be replaced production-wise by one player or even one position group. It ups the ante for not just the receivers, but Greg Dulcich, the young running backs listed above who are fighting for a roster spot and others, too.
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