By my count, the Broncos currently have 80+ players on their "roster", including all the CFA and the 09 Draft Class.  Somehow this has to get down to 53 and 47 on game days.  I thought it would be interesting to take a stab at putting together the roster and figuring out a basic depth chart.

The plan is to keep this chart up to date over the off season as more information becomes available as to who is on the bubble and who is sliding.

The makeup of my roster

This was absolutely the hardest part of doing this and the one part I'd like feedback on.  I took a look around the web and there is not a nice easy template to slide 53 players in.  No set numbers of how many players to keep at how many positions.  So I mixed some of the numbers on the Madden 08 roster with a similarly ridiculously early 53-man roster posted by Stampede Blue

I don't think I'm going to keep these numbers but this is what I was aiming for.

P, K, LS - 3

Defense

CB & S - 9 DL -10 LB -6

Offense

RB - 4 G&C - 6 T - 4 QB -2 WR & TE -9

The easy ones at the moment

K - Matt Prater

P - Brett Kern

LS - Lonnie Paxton

Three down 50 to go!  Its a bit of a surprise that neither has any competition coming into training camp.  Although Britton Colquitt has been signed as a CFA, I can't see him pushing Kern and there are some character issues too.  The Broncos have already spent too long over the past few years worrying about their Punter and the Police.  I personally would hope for a veteran kicker to be present in camp just to keep everyone honest.

There are 15 more players, that are being issued with my golden lock of the day, including the top 5 of this seasons draft class and the entire offensive line.

So there's a need for 35 more players.

The problem areas before I get any further

4 running backs!!!  Yikes. May have to review that number.

I think part of the reason why people are so confused around the front 7 at the moment with the Broncos is that no-one quite knows what is going on.  There will be 15 or 16 players in the mix but I don't think anyone can say for sure that they know where everyone will line up.  Even Coach McDaniels has stated that they have the defense lined up in different ways with different formations.  I will endeavour to cover every aspect but there may be some DLs that end up playing OLB.  Also I'm not entirely sure I understand the concept of 3-4 OLBs.  Back to MHR Uni before the next version comes out.

So here we go

I have tried to temper this roster into something that matches what I would want and what I think will happen.  There were a couple of tough calls but hopefully I'll explain them as we go along.

Cornerbacks and Safeties

In the battle of the Joshes, Josh Barrett gets in over Josh Bell.  This is a tough call and could go either way.  I like Barrett's potential as a Safety and also his ability on Special Teams so he gets the nod.  I'm also assuming that Jack Williams will stop playing like a deer caught in the headlights of an on coming truck and make the move to becoming a solid NFL player.  A bad camp could see him and Josh Bell fighting it out for the last spot.

I don't want to give away the starting line ups - which are further on but I think there's a chance of a mini-surprise here.

Inside Linebackers

• DJ Williams - ILB
• Andra Davis - ILB
  
• Wesley Woodyard - ILB
• Boss Bailey - ILB
• Spencer Larsen - ILB

Spencer Larsen will be a fine back up to both ILB positions with Wesley Woodyard seeing some time on the field in the Nickel package behind the anointed starters Davis and Williams.  Where does Boss fit in?  I'm not sure but I know that if he can get through camp healthy, he has to be good enough for a spot on the roster, doesn't he?

Defensive Line

• Robert Ayres - LB / DE
• Elvis Dumerville - LB / DE
• Darrel Reid - LB / DE
• Jarvis Moss - LB / DE
• Kenny Peterson - DT
• Nic Clemons - DT
• Ronald Fields - DT
• J'Vonne Parker - DT
• Carlton Powell - DT
• Marcus Thomas - DT
• Chris Baker - DT

Jarvis Moss.  Yep, he's not been cut.  But Tim Crowder has.  Chris Baker, the Nose Tackle, has made the roster.  Having done my research and read the hype, I expect his ability to play anywhere across the line to give him a roster spot. He's probably not even stepped foot in the training facility but he seems to be the new Chosen One.

I had to make a judgement call between Clemons, Parker and Askew, none of which I knew much about but I'm taking Parker and Clemons.  I will admit this is a complete stab in the dark - Clemons stays mainly because of his experience.

This whole group is a very grey area at the moment.  The hybrid scheme means that versatility is going to save some players just as not being able to adjust will cost others.

Quaterbacks

• Kyle Orton - QB
• Chris Simms - QB

Yep 2 QBs and lets hope our newly acquired draft pick will clear waivers and can sit on the practice squad.

Tackles

• Ryan Clady - T
• Ryan Harris - T
• Tyler Polumbus - T
• Brandon Gorin - T

The tackles not named Ryan are completely unknown to me.  I saw some pre-season footage of Ploumbus and heard he was highly rated and since Gorin spent 4 years in New England, we can safely assume he has the inside track to the 4th tackle spot.

Guards and Centres

• Chris Kuper - G
• Ben Hamilton - G / C
• Seth Olsen - G
• Blake Schlueter - C
• Kory Lichtensteiger - C
• Casey Wiegmann - C
  

Can we sign some centres with easy to spell names?

Tight Ends & Wide Recievers

• Daniel Graham - TE
• Tony Scheffler - TE
• Richard Quinn - TE
• Brandon Marshall - WR
• Eddie Royal - WR / PR
  
• Jabar Gaffney - WR
• Kenny McKinley - WR
  
• Brandon Stokely - WR

Brandon Stokely may have signed a new contract that meant he was a pre-season cap casualty but he could be in danger here.  McKinley, Royle, Marshall, Gaffney are safe as are the three tight ends - providing Tony Scheffler turns up for work.  Chad Jackson is cut.  He was cut by New England in 08 and you have to assume that while the New England connection works for some, this may work against him.  Although his ability to stand in and return kicks may keep him floating around.

Runningbacks

• Knowshon Moreno - RB
• Peyton Hillis - FB
• JJ Arrington - RB / KR
  
• Correll Buckhalter - RB
• LaMont Jordan - RB
• Ryan Torrain - RB
  

It was tough trying to make a case for Ryan Torrain.  In the end the last roster spot was between him and Chad Jackson and I went with my gut that said you can never have enough running backs so keep Torrain.  If he could show some skills in camp at returning kicks and punts then that versatility will seal it.  And for the love of God, get healthy and stay healthy.

If the season started today

(I may have my weak and strong sides mixed up - its getting late and I'm tired!)

So there you have it - a look at how I think the Broncos roster will shake down over the next 5 months. I'll try and keep updating this every month or so with feedback and as news comes out as to who is playing well.