Broncos Mailbag: Which Denver undrafted free agent signings are most intriguing?

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 Which undrafted free agent intrigues you Ed Helinski Auburn N Y Hey Ed thanks for writing in and getting us going this week Good question and reliably one to consider this time of year After all at least one undrafted rookie has made the Broncos in of the past seasons It s too early to say for sure but you d figure the season won t quite be like when four undrafted rookies made it or even last year when three tackle Frank Crum running back Blake Watson and linebacker Levelle Bailey cracked the initial roster The roster has developed and improved under head coach Sean Payton and general manager George Paton There aren t likely to be as countless spots up for grabs All the same there were specific intriguing guys out there last weekend at rookie minicamp Preponderance of them as it happens played positions where it s not clear how much room there will be by the time training camp ends A bunch of the undrafted receivers flashed including Courtney Jackson and Jerjuan Newton So did Kyrese White the tryout performer out of Utah State who the Broncos signed to the roster after minicamp All three of those guys are on the smaller side White is listed at -foot- while Jackson and Newton are - On the other end of the size spectrum is North Carolina Central receiver Joaquin Davis whom I might pick as the largest part intriguing if you pinned me to one member overall You can t teach -foot- with -second speed in the -yard dash and a -inch vertical He hit those marks this spring between the HBCU Combine and his own pro day He s not a finished product obviously but that s the kind of frame and physical tool kit that is going to get a long look Another name to throw in the mix Offensive lineman Xavier Truss out of Georgia The Broncos brought back every offensive lineman who played an offensive snap in so cracking the -man roster there is going to be a tall task But Truss is huge he s listed at - and pounds making him the biggest participant on the roster and has versatility Over his six years with the Bulldogs Truss started at every spot except center on the offensive line Truss commented he was aware Denver didn t draft an offensive lineman as he his family and his agent weighed free agent opportunities But he communicated The Post There were a insufficient teams that were like that but I was really excited to just get anywhere I m just excited for my opportunity It s a great undertaking they have here and I m just excited to get better every day Now he s in a room coached by Zach Strief and new assistant offensive line coach Chris Morgan It s exciting Truss stated Strief is teaching us real well It s only been two days and we have a lot more to learn under him so I m just excited for going forward Wouldn t it make sense for the Broncos to exchange a pick to try and get Mark Andrews What do you think they would have to give up to get him Brandon Rogers Minn Hey Brandon thanks for writing in There was chosen noise earlier in the offseason about a couple of veteran tight ends including Mark Andrews in Baltimore being available via bargain That certainly could have made sense for Denver but it doesn t seem to be on the table anymore It was Ravens general manager Eric DeCosta who seemed to crack the door open on transaction possibilities in mid-April but then on draft weekend he stated At this point I really expect Mark to be on this association Great performer Love him Competitive tough playmaker I would expect him to be on the association The Broncos kept tinkering at the position this past weekend signing tryout veteran Cole Fotheringham and waiving Thomas Yassmin So now the room features Evan Engram Adam Trautman Nate Adkins Lucas Krull Fotheringham and seventh-round rookie Caleb Lohner Trautman has Payton s full trust and had a big role last year even though his snaps dropped from in to in Adkins is a useful player who can do a bit of several different things But none of the group outside of Engram is expensive on the cap or carry anticipated dead cap numbers that would be prohibitive That means Engram allegedly enters camp this summer as the only stone-cold lock to make the roster There are snaps to be had What challenge are you looking forward to the greater part this year Tim Denver Oh that s a good question Tim and a timely one considering we know the placements for two games on the Broncos schedule and the rest will be out at p m Wednesday The easy answer is the London challenge The trip there was my first time in London in more than a decade and it s an incredible city It s also good to spice up that matchup with the New York Jets particular This is the sixth straight year Denver s played against the Jets and the teams are on the docket to face off again at MetLife Stadium in So the encounter itself feels a little stale Nothing a trip across the Atlantic can t solve In terms of actual matchups though it s hard to go against the meeting at Washington We ll see where that lands on the schedule but that s got the feel of one that should be in prime time Both teams had been in the doldrums for quite a while and then both made the postseason last year behind rookie quarterbacks Jayden Daniels is a superstar in the making and the Commanders have a talented roster around him The Broncos feel like they re a gang on the rise too behind Bo Nix and what should be one of the best defenses in the NFL There are other captivating angles too The Commanders and Broncos are the two the bulk contemporary teams to sell and their respective ownership groups the Walton-Penner Family Ownership Group in Denver and the group led by Josh Harris in Washington have each made strong early impressions Harris hired Adam Peters as his general manager and Dan Quinn as his coach and now is in the process of trying to build a new stadium on the old RFK Stadium site in the city of Washington D C Then add Daniels to the mix and boom the Daniel Snyder days feel a long time gone The Walton-Penner Family Ownership Group meanwhile has a good thing going with Payton and general manager George Paton landed an apparent long-term answer at quarterback in Nix and is exploring what to do about their own stadium future It s a fun matchup on the field a buzzy one between young QBs and features a pair of franchises that appear to be on the rise Do you think Bo Nix and Troy Franklin will be more effective with the deep ball this year They reliably seemed a step off And do you think Franklin will take a step forward and become a more reliable receiver Or do you think he ll fall behind with the addition of Pat Bryant in the draft Mark Arvada Hey Mark good questions Franklin from the start of training camp looked like a player who was going to need time to adjust to the NFL And that s fine especially from a Day draft selection To his credit Franklin did make strides throughout the season Still it was odd just how hard any semblance of timing or rhythm came for Nix and Franklin given their two years together at Oregon They hit the big play for the early touchdown in the Wild Card round against Buffalo If that s a sign of what s to come in the future Broncos fans will be very happy Franklin s going to have to show continued refinement added strength and just better overall command of the offense in order to guarantee a much bigger role though Courtland Sutton is the No option and then Marvin Mims Jr s late-season surge portends a major role for him this fall You know Engram will command a ton of targets too and Payton would love it if a back hello RJ Harvey proved capable of handling a big workload in the passing challenge too Who s next at receiver Is it Franklin Devaughn Vele or Pat Bryant the rookie That perhaps depends on how training camp unfolds Franklin s got speed that neither Vele nor Bryant possesses but that s just one part of the competition As discussed above one question at the receiver is if any of the undrafted guys can push toward the -man roster Within the group Franklin Vele and Bryant in particular though the fight for roles and snaps should be a good one I heard somewhere that Kareem Jackson was at the rookie mini-camp Do you think he d get picked up in a coaching quota Kevin Castle Rock You heard right Kevin Jackson was out there working with the Broncos staff Former Colorado State safety and minicamp tryout participant Henry Blackburn notified a group of reporters in the locker room about how neat it was to see one of his favorite players on the field in a different role Related Articles Broncos hire ex-Patriots scout Camren Williams in personnel role as restructuring begins Broncos returning to London to face New York Jets this fall Broncos schedule predictions What will Denver s quest to end Kansas City s AFC West supremacy look like Broncos to visit Kansas City Chiefs on Christmas Night Broncos podcast Who stood out at Denver s weekend rookie minicamp What s really cool is Kareem Jackson s been in the locker room and with the coaching staff Blackburn stated Saturday So it s been really cool to see him around and I really liked how he played and how he represented the gang Jackson hasn t made any kind of announcement regarding his playing future at this point He appeared in just two games for Buffalo last year but was also elevated from the practice squad for the AFC Championship Event in late January Jackson s longevity in the NFL is incredible particularly given his position and his play style He s appeared in regular-season games and is now through pro seasons That kind of experience will lead to post-playing opportunities in the meeting too You d think he d have the ability to explore coaching if he needed to Or he could go the personnel trail and try his hand at scouting The Broncos have examples of both in the building presently On the coaching staff they ve got several former players in quarterbacks coach Davis Webb offensive line coach Zach Strief receivers coach Keary Colbert and defensive quality control coach Todd Davis They ve also got former linebacker Roman Phifer as a senior personnel executive in Paton s front office Players who make the transition especially to coaching sometimes take adjusting to the grinding hours Working in a front office is no breeze either Jackson will be able to do whatever he wants when he retires but if he decides to stay in the encounter right away or get back in after a little while he ll supposedly have options Want more Broncos news Sign up for the Broncos Insider to get all our NFL analysis