{"id":986291,"date":"2026-08-29T10:24:24","date_gmt":"2026-08-29T10:24:24","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/986291\/"},"modified":"2026-08-29T10:24:24","modified_gmt":"2026-08-29T10:24:24","slug":"denver-broncos-final-53-man-roster-prediction-see-whos-in-and-whos-out-following-the-preseason-finale-against-minnesota","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/986291\/","title":{"rendered":"Denver Broncos Final 53-man Roster Prediction: See who’s in and who’s out following the preseason finale against Minnesota"},"content":{"rendered":"

\t\t\t\t\t\tHome<\/a><\/p>\n

\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\/<\/p>\n

\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\tNFL<\/a><\/p>\n

\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\/<\/p>\n

\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\tDenver Broncos<\/a><\/p>\n

The Denver Broncos have put a bow on their 2026 preseason, but now the real work begins. The regular season is just days away but first, George Paton and Sean Payton have to bring the roster from 90 to 53 men. Here is a final prediction on how things will look. <\/p>\n

\t\t\t\t\"Aug
\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\tAug 28, 2026; Denver, Colorado, USA; Denver Broncos quarterback Sam Ehlinger (4) celebrates the touchdown of running back Cody Schrader (25) in the fourth quarter against the Minnesota Vikings at Empower Field at Mile High.
\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\tIsaiah J. Downing-Imagn Images<\/p>\n

The Denver Broncos<\/a> preseason is officially over. We have been projecting what the final roster would look like<\/a> after the last few weeks, but today, we are going to predict how the final 53-man unit will look when the ball is spotted in Week 1. <\/p>\n

Training camp and the preseason were full of quotes and storylines surrounding Sean Payton<\/a>, Bo Nix<\/a>, and Jaylen Waddle<\/a>, but what about the unsung heroes and bubble players? Here\u2019s a look at who will make it in our opinion. <\/p>\n

Broncos 2026 preseason<\/p>\n

Week 1 @ Atlanta Falcons (W, 27-7).<\/p>\n

Week 2 @ Green Bay Packers (13-33, L)<\/p>\n

Week 3 vs. Minnesota Vikings (34-6 win).<\/p>\n

Denver Broncos final 53-man roster prediction<\/p>\n

Offense (25)<\/p>\n

Quarterback<\/p>\n

In (3): Bo Nix, Jarrett Stidham, Sam Ehlinger
Out: \u2014<\/p>\n

Ehlinger\u2019s finale (15-of-20, 233 yards, 3 TDs) makes it hard to risk losing a vested veteran who has already turned down outside offers.<\/p>\n

Running back \/ fullback<\/p>\n

In (4): J.K. Dobbins, RJ Harvey, Jonah Coleman, Jaleel McLaughlin
Out: Tyler Badie, Cody Schrader, Adam Prentice<\/p>\n

Prentice is a strong practice-squad candidate as a veteran who does not have to clear waivers. McLaughlin\u2019s TD and body of work beat Badie\/Schrader for the fourth back spot.<\/p>\n

Wide receiver<\/p>\n

In (5): Courtland Sutton, Jaylen Waddle, Pat Bryant, Marvin Mims Jr., Troy Franklin
Out: Lil\u2019Jordan Humphrey, Michael Bandy, Joseph Manjack, Dane Key, Cam Ross, Kolbe Katsis, Kyrese Rowan<\/p>\n

Mims\u2019 foot injury is a watch item but he remains a core piece if he can practice. Humphrey is the prime veteran PS candidate.<\/p>\n

Tight end<\/p>\n

In (4): Evan Engram, Adam Trautman, Nate Adkins, Justin Joly
Out: Lucas Krull, Dallen Bentley, Caleb Lohner<\/p>\n

Joly\u2019s 88-yard TD in the finale locked the rookie\u2019s spot. Lohner is expected to start the year on injured reserve.<\/p>\n

Offensive line<\/p>\n

In (9): Garett Bolles, Mike McGlinchey, Quinn Meinerz, Ben Powers, Luke Wattenberg, Alex Palczewski, Kage Casey, Frank Crum, Calvin Throckmorton
Out: Alex Forsyth, Matt Peart, Nick Gargiulo, Tyler Miller, Gavin Ortega, Lecitus Smith, Reid Holskey, Foster Sarell<\/p>\n

Forsyth and Gargiulo are the leading IR\/PUP candidates. Throckmorton is the extra veteran interior piece; Peart is a typical PS veteran.<\/p>\n

Defense (25)<\/p>\n

Defensive line<\/p>\n

In (7): Zach Allen, D.J. Jones, Malcolm Roach, Eyioma Uwazurike, Tyler Onyedim, Sai\u2019vion Jones, Jordan Jackson
Out: Jordan Miller, Kristian Williams, Israel Antwine<\/p>\n

Denver kept seven last year; Jackson has again done enough to hold the last spot over the other late-camp additions.<\/p>\n

Outside linebacker\/edge<\/p>\n

In (5): Nik Bonitto, Jonathon Cooper, Jonah Elliss, Dondrea Tillman, Que Robinson
Out: Drew Sanders, Johnny Walker, Dasan McCullough, Ron Stone Jr.<\/p>\n

Sanders is the leading IR candidate in this group. Cooper\u2019s off-field situation remains a background variable.<\/p>\n

Inside linebacker<\/p>\n

In (4): Alex Singleton, Justin Strnad, Karene Reid, Red Murdock
Out: Jordan Turner, Taurean York<\/p>\n

Murdock (draft pick) and Reid edge Turner\/York for the last two spots.<\/p>\n

Cornerback<\/p>\n

In (5): Pat Surtain II, Riley Moss, Ja\u2019Quan McMillian, Jahdae Barron, Kris Abrams-Draine
Out: Reese Taylor, Brent Austin, Sean Fresch, Ricardo Hallman<\/p>\n

Taylor is the most likely of the outs to return via practice squad.<\/p>\n

Safety<\/p>\n

In (4): Talanoa Hufanga, Brandon Jones, Devon Key, JL Skinner
Out: Tycen Anderson, Miles Scott, Parker Robertson<\/p>\n

Key\u2019s special-teams value and Skinner\u2019s coverage work keep them ahead of the rest after Rapp\u2019s midweek release.<\/p>\n

Specialists<\/p>\n

In (3): K Wil Lutz, P Jeremy Crawshaw, LS Mitchell Fraboni
Out: LS Luke Basso<\/p>\n

\"Play<\/a><\/p>\n

\t\t\t\"Denver\t\t<\/p>\n

Denver Broncos News<\/p>\n

\t\t\t\t\t\t\t
\n\t\t\t\t\t\tSean Payton got sassy while coming to the defense of QB Bo Nix and Broncos fans are loving it\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/a><\/p>\n

Denver Broncos head coach Sean Payton had to get a little sassy this week when a media figure tried to badmouth quarterback Bo Nix. <\/p>\n

Broncos News<\/a> Denver Broncos<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Home \/ NFL \/ Denver Broncos The Denver Broncos have put a bow on their 2026 preseason, but…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":986292,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[2062],"tags":[232,20795,231,258,2426,7,6],"class_list":["post-986291","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-denver-broncos","tag-broncos","tag-broncos-news","tag-denver","tag-denver-broncos","tag-denverbroncos","tag-football","tag-nfl"],"share_on_mastodon":{"url":"https:\/\/channels.im\/@nfl\/117178313634416420","error":""},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/986291","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=986291"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/986291\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/986292"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=986291"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=986291"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=986291"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}