ENGLEWOOD, Colo. -- Through the early part of free agency, the Denver Broncos have seen six players who started at least one game for the team in the last two seasons leave and signed a handful of players to try and cover the losses.
They also hope they did the math correctly and that four compensatory draft picks are headed their way on Monday to give the Broncos at least a 10-player draft class. At the moment they have 73 players under contract for the coming season – 34 on offense, 34 on defense and five specialists.
Here's the first of a three-day look at the current depth chart; tracking the departures and the signings to see where work still needs to be done.
Today: offense
Saturday: defense
Quarterback: The Broncos currently have three quarterbacks on the roster -- Peyton Manning, Brock Osweiler and Zac Dysert -- and general manager John Elway usually likes the team to have four by the time the offseason workouts really kick in. But their pursuit of Tyrod Taylor -- Taylor eventually signed in Buffalo because of the chance to start for the Bills -- shows they do have interest in adding depth and are willing to spend at least some money to do it.
The Broncos offered Taylor a typical contract for a potential backup -- just more than $1 million for the 2015 season. This doesn't mean they don't like Osweiler's progress -- they do. It does show they want to push the backup as they decide what to do next since Osweiler is an unrestricted free agent at the end of the 2015 season.
Tight end: The Broncos also lost two tight ends in free agency -- Julius Thomas and Jacob Tamme. They re-signed Virgil Green and signed Owen Daniels.
Given Elway has said he likes the tight ends in this draft class, especially at the top of what is a fairly shallow group, the Broncos figure to take a long look at the position during the first or second day of the draft.
Offensive line: Overall, the Broncos are also still a little shallow on the depth chart in the middle of the offensive line. Matt Paradis, who was on the practice squad last year, is in line to compete at center -- Elway said it again just after free agency had opened -- but at the moment the only other centers are center/guard combo players in Shelley Smith and Manny Ramirez.
The Broncos moved Ramirez from center to right guard this past season because they didn't like how things were going in the middle of the formation. Smith has not started more than six games in any of his NFL seasons.
The Broncos also have just four tackles on the roster. Ryan Clady will start at left tackle while the Broncos want Michael Schofield to show them enough in the offseason work to be the starter at right tackle.
The other two tackles -- Chris Clark and Paul Cornick -- were tried at right tackle last season and eventually taken out of the lineup. Clark will be in the last year of his contract this season and Cornick was just given a one-year tender. So tackle and center figure to be on the Broncos' draft agenda as well.
Wide receiver: The Broncos do have 11 wide receivers on the roster at the moment. Demaryius Thomas and Emmanuel Sanders are the clear starters. Both Elway and coach Gary Kubiak have said Cody Latimer will be in the mix with the expectation he can be productive as a third receiver.
The Broncos also want to see more from Jordan Norwood, who was poised to make the roster out of training camp last season before a season-ending knee injury. Norwood will be a wild card in camp, but the draft class, much like last year, is filled with big-framed receivers with elite speed. The Broncos will look, and could find quality value, into the second and third days of the draft.
Running back: The Broncos have six on the roster with three of those -- C.J. Anderson, Montee Ball and Ronnie Hillman -- having been the primary back at some point last season. Kubiak has said Anderson should arrive at the offseason program "like he's the starter." Anderson fits what the Broncos' run game will be.
But by all accounts Ball is working fiercely to earn back the No. 1 job that had been his. The Broncos are curious also to see how Kapri Bibbs, who spent much of the 2014 season on the practice squad, looks in the new offense as his progress was duly noted by team officials as last season drew to a close. Running backs coach Eric Studesville was also retained by Kubiak from John Fox's former staff so the progress the players at running back made last season will carry over at least some in the evaluation.
Kubiak has also said he'd like a fullback in the offense and a player like Juwan Thompson could get a look. They also could use a tight end from time to time lined up in the backfield.
