Later tonight, we will see our Denver Broncos take the field for their preseason opener vs. the San Francisco 49ers. The two teams held a joint practice on Thursday, where the Broncos dominated on both sides of the ball for most of the practice, and will look to do the same tonight.

As we have in the past under Sean Payton, we will see our starters for a little while tonight before handing it over to the second and third team offenses and defenses. This will be our first look at the Broncos on the field since their wildcard loss back in January, and there are certain things I’d like to see from them during this preseason opener.

With all that said, here are the five things I would like to see from the Broncos during their preseason openers vs. the 49ers.

1: Bo Nix and the Broncos offense to look good

Throughout camp, all the talk has been about how good the Denver Broncos’ defense looks, and it has been warranted. However, it is time for the Broncos’ offense to shine, and I hope we see that from Bo Nix and the Broncos’ starting offense.

As Payton noted, the starters will play in this game, while most of the 49ers’ key starters will be on the bench. I want to see Bo Nix and company move the ball, look good while doing it, and put some points on the board. I don’t care if it is against backups; I just want to see this offense look good, move the ball, and find the end zone.

If they do struggle, the talking heads will be loud, and while that’s all noise, it’s not something I wanna deal with. Silence the doubters, score some points, and show the NFL that the Broncos offense looks for real heading into the regular season.

2: A breakout performance from a skill position player

The Broncos roster is full of young players looking to break out this upcoming season, and I hope we see a handful of skill position players do just that tonight vs. the 49ers. You have multiple young running backs, a receiver room full of talented young playmakers, and a high-upside developmental project at tight end who could turn some heads.

The obvious candidates are wide receiver Troy Franklin and Pat Bryant, running back R.J. Harvey, and tight end Caleb Lohner.

Franklin had himself a strong offseason and has carried that over into training camp. He had his best overall practice a few days ago and stood out again in the joint practice vs. the 49ers. I hope we see him dominate again on the field tonight and continue pushing for a larger role in this offense.

Rookie Pat Bryant has been solid throughout camp while being a heavily targeted player by all three quarterbacks. If that continues in this game, we could see Bryant with an impressive stat line and some momentum towards a large role in this offense coming out of this game.

Second-round pick R.J. Harvey is expected to fill the Alvin Kamara role in this offense and has the speed and explosiveness to take it to the house whenever he has the ball in his hands. He is already expected to have a big role in the offense, but a strong performance will build a ton of hype for the exciting rookie.

Tight end Caleb Lohner is still a project, but the big former basketball player could be a weapon in the red zone. I wouldn’t be surprised if we see the Broncos target Lohner in a red zone situation late in the game if they have the opportunity. Showing some promise would build a lot of hype around the Broncos’ rookie tight end.

Then you have players like Tyler Badie, Blake Watson, Courtney Jackson, Joaquin Davis, Jerjuan Newton, and Kyrese Rowan who all could flash in the second half of this game. These guys are playing for their careers, and hopefully, we see them all make a few plays or even have a big game and push for a roster spot either on the active roster or the practice squad.

The Broncos’ pass rush is deep, and they have plenty of talent on their 2nd and even 3rd team units. I want to see Jonah Elliss, Dondrea Tillman, Que Robinson, Jordan Jackson, Sai’vion Jones, Eyioma Uwazurike, and others all get after the quarterback in this one.

Roster spots may not be up for grabs for most of these players, but they’re all expected to be key rotational players or serve as depth on the roster. If they can show some promise, development, and be a disruptor in the run game and pass game, it’ll make this already loaded Broncos defense even deeper.

If they’re able to create pressure and get sacks, that should lead to some turnovers, and everyone loves seeing your defense force some turnovers. A Jahdae Barron interception would be great. Let’s build some hype around the rookie.

Show the NFL that the Broncos’ second and third team defense can be just as disruptive as their starting unit.

4: A breakout performance from a linebacker

Originally, this was just titled “Levelle Bailey”, but I am opening it up to all the Broncos linebackers. I’d really like to see someone step up and push for a roster spot. Bailey has had himself a strong camp and likely will get the start in this game, so hopefully, we see him continue his hot start in the preseason opener.

Maybe another long pick-six? That would be fun.

If at least one of Karene Reid, Jordan Turner, JB Brown, or Garret Wallow can have a strong game, it will make me feel a little bit better about the Broncos’ depth at linebacker.

Both Dre Greenlaw and Alex Singleton come with injury concerns, and we’ll likely see both miss some time during the season. So, the depth will be counted on, and it would be great if Bailey continued his development, and someone from that group of four players joins him. If not, linebacker could be a position the team looks to strengthen during and after final cuts.

5: The rookies to play well

I already touched on most of them, but I want to see most, if not all, of the Broncos’ rookies to play well. Struggles will happen, but I’d like to come out of this game feeling good about the rookie class.

Let’s see Jahdae Barron get a PBU or INT, RB R.J. Harvey show off his speed, Pat Bryant make a big catch, Sai’vion Jones and Que Robinson get after the quarterback, Jeremy Crawshaw show off his strong leg, and hell, even Caleb Lohner to show he’s more than a developmental project.

The same goes for the undrafted rookies. The preseason is basically a showcase for these players, and I’d love to see a handful of them to look good and push for a roster spot. The Broncos have a long history of having success with UDFA’s, and I hope that continues this season.

It might just be a meaningless preseason game, but I still want to see the Broncos win. Start the preseason on a high note with a dominating victory over the 49ers.