Denver Broncos Roster - Keepers or Pink Slips?

     Not long ago, I wrote an article called "Denver Broncos Talentless? I Think Not." In that article, I suggested that the Broncos might not be quite as devoid of talent as many experts might have us believe. That article was written with two games left. I have since chosen to question my original optimism. This soul searching came, in part, after reading an article by Jeff Legwold --  a regular contributor to the Denver Post.

     Legwold recently wrote an article called "Talent-deprived Broncos facing major makeover" for the Denver Post. In this article, he presented a look at the level of talent (or lack thereof) on the 2010 Broncos. I would urge you to check out his article. It is, IMHO, well written and thoughtful.

     Part of what he presented was the intriguing idea of sorting the players on the roster according to talent level. This led me to think it might be fun to make my own attempt to sort the Broncos players. Legwold shared several players as examples, sorted into four categories. My article will sort all fifty-three players on the active roster -- as posted on denverbroncos.com -- plus the eight players currently listed as being on the practice squad and the nine players on injured reserve.

     Take a moment to read Legwold's article, then take the jump with me, see where I placed players --based mostly on my own subjective "eye test," and then offer your own ideas.

I decided to attempt to rate the current players under contract with the Denver Broncos according to how I viewed their talent level. Although I have -- in many cases -- included 2010 statistics, the sorting is based mostly upon my own impressions from watching the Broncos play in 2010. I divided the roster into six categories:

1)Best of the Best - these are players that I see as being among the best at their position in relation to the entire NFL.
2)Worth Keeping - these are players that I see as being solid starter quality players, though they may not be "elite."
3)Good for Depth/Situational Play - this should be pretty self-explanatory, good backups, but not necessarily every down players.
4)Has the Potential - players who have shown "flashes" but have not played enough to be considered in the higher categories.
5)Worth a Look - these are largely players who have had little or no playing time and/or are on the practice squad
6)Pink Slip - these are the players that I see as needing to be off the team come 2011.

 

 

 

 

 

 

     I think the thing I find disturbing in this look at the roster is the preponderance of players in the "Worth a Look" and "Pink Slip" categories (58% of the current players). By the same token, 51% of the players fall in the Worth a Look/Has the Potential categories. What this suggests is that we have a very young -- and by extension -- very raw group of players on the roster. The worrisome thing is that we do not seem to have a strong set of talented veterans to build around, and we are definitely lacking in top tier talent.

My hope, at this point, is that we will have a strong draft that brings in some players who can make an immediate impact and that the majority of those players in the "Worth a Look" and "Has the Potential" categories prove to be impact players. A lot of that will depend upon what happens with the coaching staff and how quickly the new coaches are able to bring the players up to speed.