Broncos’ 2025 Initial 53-man Roster: Camp darling is waived moments before deadline and UDFA makes the team after surprising cut

Tight end (4)

In: Evan Engram, Adam Trautman, Lucas Krull, Nate Adkins
Out: Caleb Lohner*, Caden Prieskorn**

The skinny: Lohner was just too raw and became the first and only 2025 draft pick for the Broncos to be waived. Krull made the cut after an impressive preseason performance, with Engram and Trautman being locks from day one.

Offensive line (9)

In: Garrett Bolles, Ben Powers, Quinn Meinerz, Luke Wattenberg, Mike McGlinchey, Matt Peart, Alex Palczewski, Alex Forsyth, Frank Crum
Out: Will Sherman, Xavier Truss**, Joe Michalski**, Clay Webb**, Calvin Throckmorton, Marques Cox**

The skinny: Crum rounds out the room, and the Denver Broncos have key depth across the offensive line. They have one of the most talented and deep rooms in the entire NFL, and will look to continue their dominance heading into the regular season. In our prediction, we had Throckmorton making it over Crum.

Defensive line (7)

In: Zach Allen, John Franklin-Myers, D.J. Jones, Malcom Roach, Sai'Vion Jones*, Jordan Jackson, Enyi Uwazurike
Out:  Kristian Williams**, Jordan Miller, Michael Dwumfour

The skinny: Denver elected to keep seven defensive linemen. Our initial prediction had them keeping six, with Uwazurike being the odd man out. Denver loads up on an already impressive unit, ready to get after the quarterback and hopefully once again lead the league in sacks. Denver is poised to have a great defense this season, and the defensive line is a big part of it.

Linebacker (4)

IN: Alex Singleton, Dre Greenlaw, Justin Strnad, Karene Reid**
OUT: Jordan Turner**, Garret Wallow, Levelle Bailey
IR-DFR: Drew Sanders

The skinny: Sanders has been placed on IR with the designated for return tag. Something that we had in our predictions post. In a surprising move, the team moved on from Levelle Bailey. Bailey had a strong preseason after injuries to both Greenlaw and Singleton and will now look for a new home. Instead, Reid, an undrafted rookie, has made the team. Denver has had massive success with their undrafted rookies, as in 20 of the past 21 seasons, an undrafted rookie has made the team.

Edge defender (5)

IN: Nik Bonitto, Jonathon Cooper, Jonah Elliss, Dondrea Tillman, Que Robinson*
OUT: Andrew Farmer, Garrett Nelson

The skinny: No real surprises here. Our prediction was spot on. The only thing of note is that Bonitto is about to get paid... A whole lot of money.

Cornerback (5)

In: Pat Surtain II, Riley Moss, Ja'Quan McMillian, Jahdae Barron*, Kris Abrams-Draine
Out: Damarri Mathis, Jaden Robinson**, Reese Taylor, Quinton Newsome, Micah Abraham, Joshua Pickett**

The skinny: Our prediction was spot on here. Denver has a stacked cornerback room with Barron hoping to make an immediate impact during his rookie season.

Safety (5)

In: Talanoa Hufanga, P.J. Locke, JL Skinner, Brandon Jones, Devon Key
Out: Delarrin Turner-Yell, Keidron Smith, Sam Franklin Jr.

The skinny: Perhaps the most surprising cut here would be that of Sam Franklin Jr., who had looked good during camp and the preseason. Outside of the Key for Franklin swap above, no real surprises here. There were rumblings about Skinner potentially not making the cut.

Specialists (3)

In: Will Lutz, Jeremy Crawshaw*, Mitchell Fraboni
Out: N/A

The skinny: Once again, no real surprises.

Final Word

All that's left to do is play some football. There could be additional moves made in the coming days as a plethora of players across all positions have immediately become available. The team may not be done building, but their roster as of today looks set.