It seems like forever ago since the Denver Broncos were hoisting the Lombardi trophy with Peyton Manning riding off into the sunset in 2015. Fast forward to now and John Elway is hoping Joe Flacco can provide him the same results in the latter part of his NFL career.

Flacco joins the Broncos after spending his first 11 seasons with the Baltimore Ravens. Over the past few seasons, the MVP of Super Bowl XLVII has seen a slight decrease in his production from under center.

Nonetheless, Flacco is hoping that a change of scenery can provide a jolt in the right direction for his career. Around him, Denver is filled with youthful talent at their skill positions.

Entering this season, the Broncos are being counted out of their division but new head coach Vic Fangio may have something to say about it. Fangio comes from the Chicago Bears where he was the team's defensive coordinator from 2015-2018.

This year, the Broncos and the Atlanta Falcons were the two teams who were chosen to be given five preseason games since they faced each other in the Hall of Fame Game to kick off the preseason. After the first four weeks, Denver is 1-3 and have lost their last three games.

This week, Fangio will shift his focus to watching the players who are trying to earn their keep with the team for 2019. All 32 teams in the NFL are required to trim their rosters down to 53 players by August 31st.

On Thursday night, the Broncos will square off against the Arizona Cardinals to complete their preseason schedule. Here are three key players to watch in the Broncos' preseason finale.

3. Juwann Winfree

The Broncos will be deploying a youth-filled receiving corps in 2019—outside of veteran Emmanuel Sanders. Courtland Sutton, DaeSean Hamilton, and Tim Patrick are all entering their second seasons with the franchise this year.

As for Juwann Winfree, he is entering his first year with the team after being selected in the sixth round of this year's draft. Winfree played his college football locally at the University of Colorado.

At 6-foot-3, 215 pounds, Winfree could carve himself a decent role if he can show the team his versatility in the offense. After three weeks have been completed in the preseason, the rookie receiver has been relatively quiet in the box score.

Winfree has only caught four passes for 58 yards as a wide receiver for the Broncos. The rookie out of Colorado will need to have a memorable performance against the Cardinals on Thursday night to increase his chances of seeing the field during the regular season.

2. Khalfani Muhammad

The Tennessee Titans selected Khalfani Muhammad in the seventh round of the 2017 NFL Draft. Despite being in the NFL for two seasons, the running back out of California has yet to be activated for game day on any roster.

This year, Muhammad is competing for a depth role on the Broncos in a crowded backfield. Of course, Phillip Lindsay, Royce Freeman, and Theo Riddick will have prominent roles in the offense.

That leaves Devontae Booker, Muhammad, Devontae Jackson, and David Williams to compete for roster spots in the final preseason game. One way to earn your keep as a depth running back is to contribute on special teams.

Aside from special teams, the third-year running back has carried it 20 times for 80 yards and a touchdown. The 24-year old running back has also shown his receiving ability with eight catches for 49 yards.

The Broncos running back situation will be interesting to watch as the deadline to trim rosters to 53 players looms.

1. Kevin Hogan

Due to the injury of rookie Drew Lock—that might land him on injured reserve—Kevin Hogan seems to have a clear-cut shot to winning the backup job. The fourth-year quarterback will likely handle the first half of Thursday's game while undrafted rookie Brett Rypien finishes it.

Before arriving with the Broncos, Hogan spent two seasons with the Cleveland Browns from 2016-2017. Then, Cleveland traded the Stanford product to the Washington Redskins in 2018.

Unfortunately, before the 2018 season got underway, Washington released Hogan and he remained out of a job for 2018. During training camp and preseason, the 26-year signal-caller has carved himself a role as the team's second or third-string quarterback.

So far, through four preseason games, Hogan has been less than stellar with 173 yards and one interception. Hogan's lone touchdown came on a 24-yard scamper against the San Francisco 49ers in Week 2 of the preseason.

Again, Hogan has the backup job secured but the team will want to see better play from under center from him this week to improve their confidence at the quarterback position.