Denver Post Broncos writer Parker Gabriel posts his Broncos Mailbag weekly during the season and periodically during the offseason. Click here to submit a question.
What’s the biggest battle going into training camp? I know everyone’s talking RB2, but WR3 is going to be interesting after the Jaylen Waddle trade. Between Troy Franklin, Marvin Mims Jr. and Pat Bryant, we’re not going to have enough touches going around.
— Marshall, Parker
Hey Marshall, thanks for writing in and getting this midsummer edition of the mailbag going. We can all enjoy July for a few more weeks, but three weeks from now, the Broncos will be gathered for training camp — boarding the aircraft carrier for a multi-month tour, as head coach Sean Payton likes to say.
The two battles you mentioned should be interesting, and they get at a broader sense I have as camp approaches. There will be jobs up for grabs on the roster bubble, but most of the interesting battles in training camp will be among players who are sure bets (or at least strong candidates) for the 53-man roster. Thatap a sign of a deep, talented team.
This group doesn’t have a ton of roster spots up for grabs, but there are a pretty decent number of snaps up for grabs.
We’ll start with the normal summer caveat that injuries happen during training camp and we haven’t yet seen this rendition of the Broncos in pads. A lot will happen between now and Sept. 14 at Arrowhead Stadium.
This year in particular, perhaps itap also worth pointing out something interesting that offensive coordinator and playcaller Davis Webb brought up this summer: He noted that the Los Angeles Rams didn’t start leaning into their three-tight-end personnel groupings until about six weeks into last year. Then it became, in many ways, their offensive identity.
So, just remember that, particularly with a new playcaller, the early part of the regular season often brings more shifting and role changes as teams, like Payton always harps on, race to improve over the first quarter of the season.
All of that being said, the receiver group is among the most interesting in terms of how playing time will shake out. Assuming good health, Jaylen Waddle and Courtland Sutton will be on the field together. A lot. So thatap two spots occupied by nearly every-down players.
Last year, the Broncos were No. 11 in the NFL in 11-personnel (three receivers, one running back, one tight end) at 63%. They have not been dynamic at tight end in recent seasons and have the same personnel, plus rookies Justin Joly and Dallen Bentley back this fall. From here, that looks like a recipe to play a ton of 11 personnel and maybe even a healthy dose of four receivers. Interesting for a team that wants to pride itself on running the football, but outside of a stretch early last year, really has not been able to forge that identity under Payton.
Maybe Denver can play WR-heavy, force defenses to play light and then run the ball efficiently thanks to blocking work from a guy like Pat Bryant. Thatap a good argument for him being a go-to third receiver. At times, Denver will want to pair Troy Franklin’s speed with Waddle and really threaten secondaries. Payton continues to say that Marvin Mims Jr. doesn’t have to prove he belongs on the field and that the staff just has to do a better job of making sure he is.
Beyond those three contenders, Payton and the Broncos staff clearly trust Lil’Jordan Humphrey and Michael Bandy. They have some interesting undrafted rookies in training camp, too. Overall, though, the question entering camp feels like whether one of Bryant, Franklin, or Mims can separate himself. Can one of them help push the Broncos’ offense toward an identity? Or will the offensive direction shift more broadly and end up dictating which of those three has the biggest role?
Tight end was our weakest position last year. Why did we keep the same guys instead of going out to find an improvement? Jonnu Smith is still out there. Why don’t we bring him in to battle in camp?
— Levi, Los Angeles
Alright, letap keep it going on the offensive side. Thanks for writing, Levi. The answer to your first question has multiple layers.
First, the Broncos didn’t think their tight end play was as bad as perhaps others outside the building did. They value Adam Trautman as not only a blocker but also as a leader, culture-keeper, and Sean Payton playbook encyclopedia, which is helpful to a young quarterback like Bo Nix. Evan Engram made some big plays, even though overall it was an underwhelming first season in Denver. Nate Adkins battled injury and never really got into rhythm. Similar for Lucas Krull.
Teams also tend to value their own players more highly than external options due to familiarity. So, did the Broncos think free agents like Cade Otton or Charlie Kolar could have represented an on-field upgrade over Trautman? Yeah, but not so much as to justify the gap between where Trautman ended up ($5.7 million per year) and where the market went on Otton ($10 million per), Kollar ($8 million) and others. The Broncos had pretty solid thresholds in the free-agent market that they didn’t want to exceed. Ultimately, they mostly opted for retention over swinging in free agency. Not saying thatap right, wrong or otherwise. Itap just the path they chose to take.
As for adding a veteran, never say never, but the more likely option (again assuming good health) is internal competition. Perhaps itap unlikely this summer, but can Bentley or second-year man Caleb Lohner push Trautman for some work? Can Joly show he’s ready to play right away and compete with Engram for snaps? With the depth Denver has elsewhere on the roster, it would have to be counted as a surprise if all of Joly, Bentley and Lohner make the initial 53. Even if two make it, that probably means turnover at the expense of Adkins and Krull. Or Denver could make a big change and jettison Engram, though the more common time to make a move like that would have been this spring.
The bottom line in all of that: Denver is banking on the development of young players, a second year in the system for Engram, and potentially some role shake-ups, with Webb calling the plays, as a recipe for better results at tight end.
Do you think the Broncos will re-sign Riley Moss after this year? His rookie contract runs out after this year and we have bit of a dilemma. If he plays great, he’s due for a big payday. If he regresses, would we even want to re-sign him? What do you think?
— Mac, Castle Rock
Yeah, Mac, great question and one that I’m not sure anybody outside the building knows the answer to at this point. I wrote about Moss last week and we’ve covered pretty extensively the fact that he and Ja’Quan McMillian are both entering contract years while 2025 first-rounder Jahdae Barron waits his turn for full-time work.
Surprises are always possible, but it certainly feels like the Broncos will eventually have to choose between Moss and McMillian for a long-term extension. Denver has typically done most of its extensions just ahead of or during training camp, or around the bye week (this year, in the middle of November). So, thatap definitely something to watch as training camp approaches and then gets going.
Payton spoke highly of McMillian in June when asked about him and said emphatically that he’s the kind of player the Broncos want around long-term.
“Absolutely,” Payton said then. “He has all the things you’re looking for.”
To be fair, Payton wasn’t asked about Moss specifically this summer but has consistently referred to him as a high-level player.
Defensive coordinator Vance Joseph likes both players but calls McMillian the heartbeat of the defense. At the same time, Joseph himself could be a head coach somewhere else a year from now.
This all adds up to perhaps the most interesting roster question for the Broncos to answer over the next year. The way this defense under Joseph is currently aligned, there’s a good argument to be made that Moss is a really good player, but McMillian is indispensable. Maybe itap that simple. At the same time, coaches, approaches and personnel change all the time in the NFL and paying your two outside corners and letting your prized first-round pick take over in the slot — his most natural position — would be a more typical resource allocation.
Parker, what happens next with Jonathon Cooper? Do we release him? Surely, he’s not on the roster come Week 1, right?
And how do we fill his spot? Do you see Jonah Elliss or Dondrea Tillman rising up the depth chart to become a starter?
— Mark, Arvada
Hey Mark, there’s a lot left to play out in Cooper’s legal case, but suffice it to say the Broncos and the league have several options for handling the football side as training camp approaches. The Broncos could simply release Cooper. The NFL could decide on a suspension sooner rather than later. Roger Goodell could place Cooper on the commissioner’s exempt list, which would mean Cooper doesn’t count against the 53-man roster but does get paid.
Itap really probably best not to speculate about what might happen on that front. Do I think he’ll play for the Broncos in Week 1? I don’t, but I also can’t categorically say one way or the other. Beyond that, itap best to let the process play out.
As for filling his spot, you nailed it with Elliss and Tillman, but don’t forget about Que Robinson. Joseph said this summer that he thinks Robinson can be a starter for the Broncos, and he’s done nothing but impress when he’s had chances to play. This summer will also be a big opportunity for Drew Sanders to prove he can stay healthy. When he’s been available, he’s shown tantalizing flashes. He just hasn’t been available much the past two years. Add him to the list of interesting players entering contract years.
Do you think Von Miller coming back to Denver is back on the table with this Jonathon Cooper debacle?
— M.K., Aurora
Hey M.K., thanks for writing. Wouldn’t that be a heck of a story? Again, never say never, but there just hasn’t been much movement on the Broncos-Von Reunion Tour front. Cooper missing a chunk of the season or being jettisoned altogether would leave a production gap, but there are few positions where the team seems better-suited to internal solutions.
Miller, though, has certainly put the hard sell on Denver this offseason. Imagine the fervor if he signed the second week of training camp or something like that.
What would be the cap implications for the Broncos if they would trade Jonathon Cooper? Can you even trade a suspended player? Thanks!
— Chieflittleeagle, Little Eagle, Utah
Hey Chief, not sure what the trade value of Cooper would be before his situation is resolved. Once it is, the Broncos would theoretically want him either on the field or off the team. Hard to see a scenario in which Denver decides itap done with Cooper, but other teams are lining up to give up draft capital for him.
Still, the cap implications will come into play if the Broncos release Cooper.
Before any other considerations, if Denver cut Cooper today, they’d take his 2026 cap number of $5.78 million as dead cap this year and an additional $13.02 million dead next year.
Denver, though, could try to avoid paying Cooper $10.275 million in 2026 money, which the team converted to a signing bonus. That could more than cut in half the total dead cap hits the Broncos would face, dropping the numbers to $3.725 million this year and lopping more than $8 million off of the 2027 dead cap hit.
In the most extreme scenario, the Broncos could go after all of the signing bonus money thatap been prorated into the future on Cooper’s deal, meaning they could try to recoup about $17 million thatap already been paid or is due to be paid this year. That would undoubtedly come with a fight, likely in the form of a formal grievance filed by Cooper and the NFLPA.
If the Broncos did that and prevailed, they’d get a salary cap credit for essentially all of their remaining obligations for Cooper.
How it plays out, of course, remains to be seen, but the Broncos will be working through this situation well after they (or the NFL) makes an initial decision on Cooper’s status for the 2026 season.
