How many rosters spots are up for grabs in Broncos preseason finale?

On Tuesday, Vic Fangio surprised people when talking about what was at stake in the Broncos preseason finale. Asked how many roster spots were still up for grabs, the head coach quickly responded with a bigger number than most people expected.

“There are still a good bit,” Fangio said. Definitely in the double digits, for sure.”

Whoa. Heading into the fifth preseason game, more than 10-plus jobs are still ripe for the taking? That seems like a large number, as most would’ve guessed things were down to the last couple of spots.

But with 87 players still competing for 53 roster spots, that was good news for a lot the Broncos who will be playing on Thursday night against the Cardinals. Instead of simply serving as “camp bodies” who are still around to get Denver through the last exhibition game, their efforts actually have a chance pay off.

Is Fangio’s guesstimate an accurate one? Are there really more than 10 spots on the roster still available?

Backward engineering toward the final 53 is good way to figure out the answers. Here’s a look at the players who should be “locks” to make the Broncos roster:

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OFFENSE

QUARTERBACKS (2)
Joe Flacco
Drew Lock

RUNNING BACKS (3)
Phillip Lindsay
Royce Freeman
Theo Riddick

FULLBACKS (1)
Andy Janovich

TIGHT ENDS (3)
Noah Fant
Jeff Heuerman
Troy Fumagalli

WIDE RECEIVERS (4)
Emmanuel Sanders
Courtland Sutton
DaeSean Hamilton
Tim Patrick

OFFENSIVE LINEMEN (6)
Garett Bolles
Dalton Risner
Connor McGovern
Ron Leary
Ja’Wuan James
Elijah Wilkinson

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DEFENSE

DEFENSIVE LINE (4)
Derek Wolfe
Shelby Harris
Adam Gotsis
Dre’Mont Jones

LINEBACKERS (6)
Von Miller
Bradley Chubb
Todd Davis
Josey Jewell
Justin Hollins
Malik Reed

DEFENSIVE BACKS (6)
Chris Harris Jr.
Kareem Jackson
Bryce Callahan
Justin Simmons
Will Parks
Isaac Yiadom

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SPECIAL TEAMS

KICKER (1)
Brandon McManus

PUNTER (1)
Colby Wadman

LONG SNAPPER (1)
Casey Kreiter

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All told, that’s 38 players who are all but assured of being on the roster when Denver travels to Oakland for the season opener on Sept. 9. That being the case, 15 spots are still up for grabs, with any of the other 49 players still in the hunt to earn a job.

That means a lot is at stake in what otherwise appears to be a meaningless preseason game. Nearly 50 guys will be fighting for the football lives when the Broncos take on the Cardinals on Thursday night.