Broncos depth being tested early on in 2021

NFL teams are no stranger to the “next man up” philosophy, but it seems as if the Denver Broncos are getting their annual dose in early.

A day after losing wide receiver Jerry Jeudy for four to six weeks with a high ankle sprain, the Broncos reportedly placed cornerback Ronald Darby on injured reserve with a hamstring injury.

Denver could also be without guard Graham Glasgow, who left the stadium in an ambulance with an irregular heartbeat after Sunday’s win over the New York Giants.

“We kept him up there in New York and they examined him totally,” head coach Vic Fangio said of Glasgow on Monday. Glasgow was scheduled to return to Denver on Tuesday, though his status moving forward is still unknown.

Fortunately, the Broncos do have strong depth at those three positions.

Fangio said second-year guard Netane Muti played snaps in the game on Sunday because of Glasgow’s condition, and he would likely be who replaces the veteran if he should miss time.

There’s no doubt Jeudy will miss a significant chunk of time, but Fangio expects the slack to be picked up by Tim Patrick, K.J. Hamler and Courtland Sutton.

Darby will be out at least three weeks and will be week-to-week after that, meaning Broncos top pick Pat Surtain II will likely step into the starting role.

Toward the end of the preseason, Denver had received calls about their defensive backs, as they had a deep room at a premium position in the NFL. And comfortable in their wide receiver depth, the Broncos did trade away Trinity Benson to the Detroit Lions just before the start of the season.

It looks as if Denver has the numbers to weather these early injuries, as they appeared to dodge a bullet by not pulling the trigger on a trade to send away a defensive back.

But there’s no doubt the team’s depth will be tested moving forward.