Three Things To Watch For As Broncos Battle Vikings Tonight

The Denver Broncos don’t have a lot to play for tonight, save for keeping coach Sean Payton happy, although you could make the argument that’s a full-time job in and of itself. 

Payton has backed off his initial threat to play his starters into the third quarter after the Broncos’ poor showing in their 33-13 loss to the Packers, but there’s still plenty to watch against the Minnesota Vikings, according to a report from Parker Gabriel of the Denver Post.

Tight End

This is probably the position where there’s the most viable intrigue, especially given how much value the tight end supposedly has in a Payton offense. But there’s a lot going on behind Adam Trautman and Evan Engram, and there’s always the possibility that Engram could be a late cut given that he’s been playing a blocking role at times, which definitely isn’t his strength. 

According to Gabriel, rookies Justin Joly and Dallen Bentley have had “relatively quiet” camps, which is somewhat surprising since Joly was seen as a long shot candidate to challenge Engram for a role as a receiver. 

Nate Adkins was hurt a lot last year, but the writer added that teams around the league value players with the kind of versatility he offers. Lucas Krull has been a roster regular, with Caleb Lohner being the wild card, as Payton raved about him back in the spring before he went out with a lower body injury. 

Quarterback

We know Bo Nix won’t see the field, but the battle between Jarrett Stidham and Sam Ehlinger was touted as a big one going into camp. It hasn’t felt like much of a battle so far, though, with Stidham clearly outplaying his challenger. 

Stidham will start, wtih Ehlinger in line to play most of the game. This could be much ado about nothing, but it could get a little interesting if Ehlinger has an especially good game. 

Missing Players and Trade Candidates 

It’s always interesting to see who gets held out of the third game, as  it creates endless opportunities for roster speculation, and sometimes it even means something. 

The Broncos have a lot of depth, which means plenty of teams will be watching their roster cuts. That means trade inquiries, too, so if there’s a semi-prominent name sitting this one out, there’s always the possibility that the Broncos might try to move a body to get a draft pick in return.