The Denver Broncos released the first preseason depth chart ahead of Thursday's preseason opener against the Chicago Bears. There are no real surprises to be found here. Peyton Manning is the starting quarterback; Willis McGahee is the starting running back; and Eric Decker and Demaryius Thomas are the starting wide receiver.
On defense, Elvis Dumervil is the starting right defensive end and Jason Hunter, as noted over the weekend, has moved ahead of Robert Ayers on the other side of the line. D.J. Williams is listed as the starting weakside linebacker, but with a six-game suspension in the offing he won't be there when the regular season starts.
Other notes: Derek Wolfe is running second-team defensive end behind Hunter while Ayers is Dumervil's backup. Guard Chris Kuper is still making his way back from a nasty leg injury, but he is first at right guard. Lance Ball is behind McGahee at running back while rookie Ronnie Hillman is third-string for now. Caleb Hanie is Peyton Manning's backup, which is just incredibly scary for plenty of fans.
Check out the depth chart below:
| POS | First | Second | Third | Other | ||
| WR | Demaryius Thomas | Matthew Willis | Jason Hill | Greg Orton | Tyler Grisham | Cameron Kenney |
| LT | Ryan Clady | Chris Clark | Mike Remmers | |||
| LG | Zane Beadles | Adam Grant | Austin Wuebbels | |||
| C | J.D. Walton | C.J. Davis | Philip Blake | |||
| RG | Chris Kuper | Manny Ramirez | Tony Hills | Wayne Tribue | ||
| RT | Orlando Franklin | Ryan Harris | ||||
| TE | Joel Dreessen | Jacob Tamme | Virgil Green | Julius Thomas | Anthony Miller | Cornelius Ingram |
| WR | Eric Decker | Andre Caldwell | Brandon Stokley | Mark Dell | Gerell Robinson | |
| QB | Peyton Manning | Caleb Hanie | Brock Osweiler | Adam Weber | ||
| FB | Chris Gronkowski | Austin Sylvester | ||||
| RB | Willis McGahee | Lance Ball | Ronnie Hillman | Knowshon Moreno | Jeremiah Johnson | Xavier Omon |
| POS | First | Second | Third | Other | |
| LDE | Jason Hunter | Derek Wolfe | Jeremy Beal | ||
| DT | Ty Warren | Kevin Vickerson | Malik Jackson | Ben Garland | |
| NT | Justin Bannan | Mitch Unrein | Sealver Siliga | ||
| RDE | Elvis Dumervil | Robert Ayers | Cyril Obiozor | Jamie Blatnick | |
| SLB | Von Miller | Nate Irving | Jerry Franklin | ||
| MLB | Joe Mays | Mike Mohamed | Steven Johnson | ||
| WLB | D.J. Williams | Wesley Woodyard | Danny Trevathan | Elliot Coffey | |
| LCB | Champ Bailey | Chris Harris | Tony Carter | Joshua Moore | Ramzee Robinson |
| RCB | Tracy Porter | Drayton Florence | Omar Bolden | Syd'Quan Thompson | |
| SS | Quinton Carter | Mike Adams | David Bruton | Duke Ihenacho | |
| FS | Rahim Moore | Rafael Bush | Jim Leonhard | Anthony Perkins |
| POS | First | Second |
| K | Matt Prater | Britton Colquitt |
| P | Britton Colquitt | Matt Prater |
| H | Britton Colquitt | |
| LS | Lonie Paxton | Aaron Brewer |
| PR | Eric Decker | Syd'Quan Thompson |
| KR | Lance Ball | Matthew Willis |
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