The Denver Broncos will help kick off NFL preseason Thursday night when they face the Atlanta Falcons in the annual Hall of Fame Game.
The week will be highlighted by profiles of the year’s inductees into the Pro Football Hall of Fame. The game itself will feature a lot of players buried on the bottom of the depth chart.
But hey, it’s still football.
Of course, the Broncos and their fans will have the honor of watching both late owner Pat Bowlen and former cornerback Champ Bailey take their rightful spots in the Pro Football Hall of Fame this Saturday night.
For fans of the Broncos hungry to see their team in action after two dismal seasons, here will be some things to look for when the game kicks off.
1. The quarterbacks
Of course, you always want to see how the quarterback situation stacks up and though Joe Flacco likely won’t see much action, if any, there will still be plenty to watch for.
Will we get our first look at the rookie Drew Lock? Who will be ahead in the competition between Kevin Hogan and Brett Rypien?
2. Young wide receivers
Two undrafted rookies have turned heads for the Broncos in camp thus far in Trinity Benson and Kelvin McKnight. The Broncos have a wide-open battle for several wide receiver spots and these two guys will get their first chance to show what they can do in front of a large audience.
Benson should also get a chance to show what he can do in the return game.
3. How will the offense look?
It’s a preseason game, so the Broncos obviously aren’t going to reveal a lot, but it will be interesting to see some of Rich Scangarello’s offensive sets. What kinds of plays will he call in certain situations?
In an exhibition game, teams will keep things pretty vanilla, but this is Scangarello’s first chance to call plays at the NFL level so it will be something to watch for.
4. Which linebacker will step up?
Todd Davis is going to miss the next several weeks with a calf injury, so in addition to getting our first look at Vic Fangio’s Denver defense, it will also be a chance to see if a guy is ready to make some plays and get noticed.
This is a great opportunity for a guy like Alexander Johnson, Joe Dineen and Malik Reed to put their name on the radar of Denver fans.
