Broncos Stock Up, Stock Down: Week 10 vs. Panthers

The Broncos did it again! After yet another 4th-quarter comeback, the Broncos won their 5th straight game with their victory over the Carolina Panthers and improved to 7-2 on the season. Like every Broncos game, this game was a rollercoaster from the start. They took an early 10-0 lead, but the Panthers came charging back and were on the verge of going up 21-13.

Then it happened.

Devon Key’s incredible interception flipped this game upside down and gave the momentum back to the Broncos, and they never

looked back. Things did get tight there at the end, but Nik Bonitto called game with a clutch strip-sack, and the Broncos went on to celebrate another remarkable win.

Stock up and stock down is a weekly series where I go through the Denver Broncos’ 53-man roster and tell you which Broncos players’ stock is going up, down, or remains unchanged. After yet another 4th-quarter comeback and one-score victory, we have plenty of stocks trending in the right direction, with a few notable stocks going in the wrong direction.

Quarterback

Bo Nix – Stock up slightly: I thought Bo Nix played well overall on Sunday. He made some good throws and was leading the Broncos up and down the field against this Panthers secondary full of backups. However, he did have the interception and the off-target pitch late in the game. This was Nix’s first interception since the one he threw vs. the Rams, where his arm was hit mid-throw, so I am not going to knock him too much for it.

I am going with stock slightly up. He threw for 237 yards and 2 touchdowns, which is a stat line I will take each and every week from Nix. He is beginning to look more and more like the quarterback we saw last season and I believe that will continue as the team emerges from their bye week.

Jarrett Stidham – Unchanged: Remains the Broncos veteran backup.

Sam Ehlinger – Unchanged: Remains the Broncos’ third-string emergency quarterback.

Running Back

Jonah Coleman – Stock up: The takeover has happened. Jonah Coleman played 58 of the 75 snaps on Sunday (77%) and was the unquestioned starter of the Broncos’ backfield. He did not disappoint either. He had 17 carries for 57 yards, which is more of an offensive line problem than a running back problem (more on that later), but did score another touchdown and had an additional 4 receptions for 31 yards.

Altogether, he had 21 touches for 88 yards and a touchdown. A pretty solid showing for the Broncos rookie running back, but we’ll have to see if they add to this running back room prior to the trade deadline this week.

JK Dobbins – Stock down: 4 carries for 18 yards and a 15% snap share.

That right there says it all. Dobbins has clearly fallen out of favor in the Broncos’ backfield, and his time with the team could be coming to an end if they add another back at the deadline. We’ll see what happens, but his role has significantly decreased since Jonah Coleman returned from injury.

Cody Schrader – Unchanged: Schrader was elevated from the practice squad but did not have a major role in Sunday’s game.

Adam Prentice – Unchanged: Played 15 snaps on offense while also being a main contributor on special teams. He has his role on this team and he does it well.

Wide Receiver

Jaylen Waddle – Unchanged: This was going to be a big Jaylen Waddle game, but unfortunately, the Broncos’ explosive wide receiver was knocked out of the game early after he suffered a concussion from a dirty hit by a Panthers defender.

Before he left the game, he had 1 catch for 22 yards and was destined for more.

Courtland Sutton – Stock up: I thought Sutton played solid on Sunday. It wasn’t a huge game for the Broncos veteran wide receiver, but he led the wide receivers with 85% of the snaps and had 5 catches for 45 yards and a touchdown.

He caught everything thrown his way and made multiple big catches on third down for the Broncos. A solid overall showing.

Pat Bryant – Stock up: Welcome back, Pat Bryant! The Broncos’ second-year wide receiver returned from IR before the game and made an immediate impact on the offense. He led the Broncos in receiving yards with 56 and had what ended up being the game-winning 26-yard touchdown late in the 4th quarter.

I think we will continue seeing Bryant make more and more impact plays as the season progresses.

Troy Franklin – Stock up: Like Sutton, I thought Troy played a solid overall game that nearly ended up being a big game. He finished with 3 catches for 31 yards, but had multiple clutch catches on third down late in the game. However, he nearly had a touchdown right before halftime, but a Panthers defender was able to knock the ball away. It was an incredible pass by Nix to Franklin who was open down the seam.

Close, but not cigar.

Marvin Mims – Unchanged: Mims did not do a whole lot on Sunday, but played his role. He saw limited snaps on offense but wasn’t able to do much with them and continued being a kick return specialist for them.

Lil’Jordan Humphrey – Unchanged: He was inactive.

Tight End

Adam Trautman – Stock up: He continues to lead the Broncos tight ends in snaps and has seen his role in the passing game increase a little bit in back-to-back games. He had a 20+ yard reception vs. the Chiefs and vs. the Panthers, he had 2 receptions for 15 yards.

Nothing to write home about, but the bar is low.

Evan Engram – Stock down: The stock down has little to do with his performance on Sunday, but more to do with the reports that the Broncos are looking to trade for a tight end. If they acquire a tight end, it will be a pass-catcher in all likelihood, which would negatively impact Engram’s role and potentially even his roster spot. Now, nothing has happened, but the fact that they are looking isn’t great for Engram.

On Sunday, Engram did have 4 catches for 33 yards, which is one of his better performances this season, so we’ll see if anything changes here in the coming days.

Nate Adkins – Unchanged: Played 24% of the snaps on offense, but primarily played special teams and made a nice tackle on a return late in the game. He has his role, and he fills it well.

Dallen Bentley – Unchanged: Remained inactive.

Offensive Line

Garett Bolles – Unchanged: Continues to be one of the better blindside protectors in the NFL.

Ben Powers – Stock down: The middle of the Broncos’ line struggled on Sunday, and Powers was 50% of the problem. It’s hard to get a run game going when you’re allowing immediate pressure.

Luke Wattenberg – Stock down: Here is the other 50% of the problem. Wattenberg is praised for his intelligence, but he was knocked back a bit on Sunday and allowed immediate interior pressure. Both need to play better or it doesn’t matter who our running back is.

Quinn Meinerz – Stock up: Stud.

Mike McGlinchey – Unchanged: Can’t say I really noticed him positively or negatively on Sunday, which usually is a good thing.

Alex Palczewski – Unchanged: Played 5% of the snaps on Sunday, but maybe should see some time at left guard moving forward.

Matt Peart – Unchanged: Played on special teams.

Alex Forsyth – Unchanged: Played on special teams.

Kage Casey – Unchanged: The rookie remained inactive, but maybe should see time at left guard?

Defensive Line

Zach Allen – Unchanged: I expected the defensive line to dominate a struggling Panthers offensive line, and that did not happen.

DJ Jones – Unchanged: Has been solid for the Broncos this season, but the Panthers had success on the ground vs. them.

Malcolm Roach – Unchanged: Has been a very underrated part of the Broncos’ defensive line this season, but the unit struggled throughout most of the game.

Sai’vion Jones – Unchanged: Played 35% of the snaps and saw a minor boost in snaps with Uwazurike now on the IR.

Jordan Jackson – Unchanged: Was active and played 20% of the snaps.

Tyler Onyedim – Stock up: The Broncos’ first selection of the 2026 NFL Draft was active for the first time this season and played 15% of the snaps.

Edge Rusher

Nik Bonitto – Stock up: The pass rush was frustratingly non-existent vs. the Panthers for most of the game, but Bonitto had a clutch strip-sack very reminiscent of Von Miller to end the game. A clutch game-winning and game-ending play.

Jonathon Cooper – Stock up: Cooper had a sack on Sunday and made life miserable for the Panthers rookie right tackle at times on Sunday. Still, the pass rush wasn’t effective for most of the game, but his late-game play was nice to see.

Que Robinson – Stock up: He continues to make plays and flash his potential each and every week.

Dondrea Tillman – Unchanged: Plays his role and helps set the edge in the run game.

Linebacker

Alex Singleton – Stock down: After winning AFC Defensive Player of the Month this week, Broncos linebacker Alex Singleton had a tough showing vs. the Panthers. The missed tackles returned; he had issues in coverage and did not play as well as he did in the previous weeks.

Justin Strnad – Unchanged: I didn’t notice Strnad much on Sunday, but the entire defense struggled at times vs. the Panthers, which was frustrating.

Jordan Turner – Unchanged: Played on special teams.

Karene Reid – Unchanged: Played on special teams.

Cornerback

Pat Surtain II – Unchanged: He did not let McMillian take over the game, but did give up a few plays throughout. Overall, the entire defense had issues on Sunday, but I am not concerned about PS2.

Riley Moss – Stock down: Moss suffered a scary concussion vs. the Panthers. It looked like he was knocked out after being kneed in the head, but thankfully he was able to get up and walk slowly to the locker room. Moss has dealt with multiple injuries this season and will have time to rest due to the much-needed bye week.

Ja’Quan McMillian – Unchanged: He had some issues in coverage too, but did have yet another clutch sack in the 4th quarter. Vance Joseph loves to blitz J-Mac in big moments, and he continues to come up big for them (PAY THAT MAN).

Jahdae Barron – Stock down: I have been a Barron supporter and thought he played well at times while Surtain was sidelined, but he had a bad showing vs. the Panthers. They targeted him in the passing game and continued to do so. The former first-round pick did not escape the whispers that he is a bust on Sunday after that showing.

Kris Abrams-Draine – Unchanged: Is dealing with an injury and was inactive.

Sean Fresch Jr. – Unchanged: Fresch was added to the 53-man roster and provided depth at corner and at returner. He had a nice return to open the game but, outside of that, did not play much.

Safety

Talanoa Hufanga – Unchanged: Was inactive but should be good to go after the bye week.

Brandon Jones – Unchanged: Was inactive, and we’ll have to see how he’s doing after the bye week.

Devon Key – Stock up: Key played just 36% of the defensive snaps on Sunday, but he had one of the biggest plays of the season thus far for the Broncos. He caught a deflected pass that was inches from touching the ground in the end zone in what ended up being a game-changing, momentum-swinging INT that helped the Broncos win that game. It’ll be a play that will make the end-of-year highlights.

JL Skinner – Stock way up: After his big play vs. the Chiefs, I wondered if he would see more playing time, and boy, did he. Skinner got the start and played 91% of the defensive snaps. With Hufanga and Jones sidelined, this may have been an audition for Skinner.

Taylor Rapp – Unchanged: Rapp was released by the Broncos late in the week, but was signed back to the practice squad a day later. He has been elevated a max of three times now, so if the Broncos want to use him again this season, he will need to be re-added to the 53-man roster.

Tycen Anderson – Unchanged: Played on special teams.