A few Broncos have seen their stock rise and fall in recent weeks
Based on their play during training camp and preseason games, these players chances of making the roster have gone up and down
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The Broncos only have one preseason game left on the schedule. After that, the team will have several tough decisions to make as they put together the 53-man roster.
They don’t have a ton of quality depth, but there are players on the roster bubble that do have upside to move up the depth chart someday. It’s up to the team to examine the roster closely and precisely identify who those players are.
Which player’s stock is on the rise, and who is on the decline at this crucial juncture of the preseason? Let’s find out.
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Stock Up: Troy Fumagalli
The Broncos have had their fair share of challenges at the tight end position in training camp. Injuries to players like Austin Fort and Bug Howard have robbed them of the depth they had about a month ago. Add in Jake Butt’s troublesome knee and this team is thin at the tight end position.
Even though Troy Fumagalli is on the bubble, I think his stock is on the rise for multiple reasons.
First, Fumagalli has great hands and can make difficult catches seem routine. He’s athletic enough to get open against linebackers down the seam and Fumagalli is a consistent receiver for his quarterback who will do whatever it takes to make the catch.
Second, the second-year tight end is an underrated blocker. He’s what scouts call an “effort” blocker, meaning that Fumagalli may not have the best technique as a blocker but he puts a lot of effort when tasked with keeping his man away from the play.
Finally, Fumagalli is versatile enough to play in-line, out wide or from the backfield as an H-back. This could really help the team early in the season as they’ll be without injured fullback Andy Janovich. Fumagalli is not a devastating lead blocker, but he can be motioned into the backfield and create mismatches from the H-back position.
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Stock Down: Brendan Langley
We saw the team move Brendan Langley, a 2017 third-round pick, from cornerback to wide receiver earlier this offseason. The transition has not gone as planned.
Langley is incredibly athletic and that is immediately evident when watching him on the practice field. He can move with speed and not lose much speed when asked to change direction. Sounds like a good combination for a receiver, right?
Well, Langley is struggling at his new position because he cannot consistently catch the football. Throughout training camp, Langley has dropped multiple passes almost every day. He can run by defenders, but Langley cannot finish the play consistently. He also has to improve his field awareness, as Langley will too often look down at the ground when he’s near the sideline to make sure he gets two feet down. That causes him to take his eye off the ball and will lead to bobbled or dropped passes.
Langley is also not standing out as a return man. He’s muffed punts in practice and preseason games, so much so that other players like River Cracraft or Kelvin McKnight get much more work in the return game now. When training camp began, I felt Langley would have to be near-flawless as a receiver and returner to make the 53-man roster. Now, he might not even be kept on the practice squad.
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Stock Up: DeShawn Williams
With the release of veteran defensive lineman Zach Kerr on Monday, it means that DeShawn Williams is closer to making the 53-man roster. Undrafted out of Clemson in 2015, Williams has bounced around to a few teams in the NFL since he came into the league. In fact, this is his second stint with the Broncos – one that he wants to make work this time.
Williams is stout in the middle and tough to move at nearly 300 pounds. He’s stalky and stout which makes him a player that opponents can’t just shove to the linebacker level. Instead, Williams can stand his ground and even get some penetration from time to time.
He is incredibly appreciative of his opportunity with this new Broncos coaching staff. Speaking after practice on Monday, Williams noted how much this second stint with the Broncos meant to him.
“I just want to make sure I just play hard for Vic (Fangio) because he brought me in. He didn’t know me from a can of paint and brought me in. I just want to do everything I can for him and Bill (Kollar) because those are the two guys that brought me in and told me to be me. I appreciate them just giving me the opportunity.” Williams said.
He has one more week of practice left and one more preseason game to show that he belongs on the 53-man roster.
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Stock Down: Kevin Hogan
The Broncos need to find their backup quarterback to Joe Flacco with the regular season less than two weeks away. That player (at the start of the regular season) may not be on the roster right now.
Many expect the Broncos to closely watch the waiver wire to see if any veteran quarterbacks are released so they can be added to the roster. Denver may need to add another quarterback because of two reasons; the thumb injury to rookie Drew Lock and the poor play of Kevin Hogan in the preseason.
Hogan began training camp as the primary backup to Flacco and he got a majority of the second-team reps. That changed as the preseason went on and we saw Lock get more second-team reps as he moved up the depth chart. In the preseason game against 49ers, the Broncos third preseason game and as close to a dress rehearsal for the regular season as you can get, Lock was playing as the second-team quarterback.
In that game, the rookie suffered a thumb injury. That opened the door for Hogan to perhaps regain his spot as the No. 2 quarterback.
Instead of grasping the sword from the stone (so to speak), Hogan has struggled as a passer. In the last game against the Rams, there were many times when Hogan was not reading the full field and pulling the ball down to run too soon. When he did go to pass, Hogan was off the mark on more than a few throws. In fact, you could make the case that undrafted rookie Brett Rypien played better against the Rams.
Hogan only has a bit of starting experience and that’s not enough to just keep him around as the second-string quarterback. He hasn’t played well in the preseason and may not be able to do enough in this final preseason game to win a spot on the roster.
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