ENGLEWOOD, Colorado— Before the start of rookie minicamp, the Broncos added 15 college free agents to their roster.
Denver signed South Carolina tight end Nate Adkins, Iowa inside linebacker Seth Benson, Princeton guard Henry Byrd, Jackson State wide receiver Dallas Daniels, Western Colorado cornerback Darrious Gaines, Houston cornerback Art Green, Incarnate word wide receiver Taylor Grimes and Old Dominion outside linebacker Marcus Haynes, Central Michigan outside linebacker Thomas Incoom, South Florida tackle Demontrey Jacobs, Kent State tight end Kris Leach, Youngstown State RB Jaleel McLaughlin, Penn State nose tackle PJ Mustipher, Illinois tackle Alex Palczewski and Fort Valley State running back Emmanuel Wilson.
Denver also officially signed defensive lineman Haggai Chisom Ndubuisi, who joined the Broncos as part of the International Player Pathway Program.
Adkins transferred from East Tennessee State to South Carolina before his senior season and recorded 13 receptions for 168 yards in nine games. Prior to his move, Adkins was selected for the FCS-level Buccaneers on three All-Southern Conference teams.
Benson recorded 196 tackles in his last two seasons for the Hawkeyes and also had three sacks, two interceptions and ten tackles by loss during that span. In 2022, he received second-team All-Big Ten honors.
Byrd was selected to the All-Ivy League first team in both 2021 and 2022 and started 29 games as a left tackle in his last three seasons. The Tennessee native is a 6’1″ and 310-pound player.
Daniels played for several schools, including Jackson State, during his senior season in college. As the team’s second-best receiver, Jackson caught 63 passes for 692 yards and six touchdowns.
Gaines spent six years with Western Colorado, playing cornerback for his last three seasons. In 2022, he recorded three interceptions, eight passes defended, and five tackles for losses.
Green is a 6’2, 200 pound player who earned second-team honors at the All-American Athletic Conference as a senior. He recorded 49 tackles, eight passes defended, three loss tackles and two interceptions in 11 starts for the Cougars.
Grimes was named a third-team All-American after recording 83 catches for 1,221 yards and 15 touchdowns for Incarnate Word in 2022. Previously in 2021, he had 16 touchdowns and more than 1,100 receiving yards.
Haynes is a 6’1, 250 lb player who started 12 games on the defensive end in 2022 and recorded four sacks, 7.5 tackles for losses and 47 tackles for Old Dominion. He played in all 49 games and had 13 sacks and four forced fumbles in his four seasons.
Incoom was a 2022 All-Mid-American Conference first-team player and had 56 tackles, 18.5 tackles for loss, 11.5 sacks and a forced fumble in the 2022 season. He transferred from Valdosta State to central Michigan ahead of the 2021 season.
Jacobs started 24 games – split into right tackle and left tackle – in his last two seasons in South Florida. Jacobs, a 6’1″ and 300 pound player, previously started 22 games for Grambling.
Leach recorded eight catches for 94 yards for Kent State in 2022 and joined the Golden Flashes ahead of the 2019 season. The 1.80 meter tall and 110 kilogram player comes from Virginia.
McLaughlin recorded at least 1,100 rushing yards and double-digit touchdowns for the Penguins in consecutive seasons. He finished his career in 2022 with 227 throws for 1,588 yards and 13 touchdowns.
Mustipher was part of the second-team All-Big Ten selection and team captain for two consecutive seasons to end his career. In the last three seasons of his tenure at Penn State, he recorded 90+ tackles and 5.5 tackles for losses in 28 starts.
Palczewski set a Big Ten record with 65 starts and was selected to the third-team All-American in 2022 as a right tackle. During his career with the Illini, he started 49 games as a right tackle, nine as a right guard and seven as a left guard.
Wilson carried the ball 209 times for 1,371 yards and 17 touchdowns in 2022. In a game against Tuskegee, he rushed for a season-high 262 rushing yards.