Why did Frank Crum make the Broncos' 53-man roster?

When the Denver Broncos set their 53-man roster earlier this week, many fans were surprised to see undrafted free agent Frank Crum made the cut.

Crum, an offensive tackle out of Wyoming, seemingly struggled in preseason, allowing three sacks. Denver’s staff watched film of his entire summer, though, and they knew he was unlikely to clear waivers if the team attempted to drop him down to the practice squad.

“His tape has been really good,” Broncos coach Sean Payton said Wednesday. “We all saw two or three sacks, but it’s interesting when you sit up in that room and you just watch every snap from training camp and then the game, which we do. Not only of our own guys. Last night I think we finished at 1:30 in the morning and we were watching this player from another team, this player from another team, this player from another team and this player from our team.

“It gives you a better grasp as to where this guy is at. Certainly, he was a guy that we had to really battle in free agency on, but man his size and upside — he wasn’t one that we were considering [waiving]. We felt like he made this team. Then all week, we go through the process of who do we think can make it through waivers and it’s not a science.”

As Payton noted, Crum (6-8, 315 pounds) was one of the top college free agents available after the draft, and Denver had to beat out other clubs to sign him. The Broncos closed the deal by giving the offensive tackle $250,000 in guaranteed salary and a $25,000 signing bonus.

Crum had some growing pains in preseason, but Denver likes his long-term upside. Fans don’t have access to practice film and even if they did, one still has to know what to look for. Payton and Co. believe they’ve found a gem in Crum and while he still needs time to develop, he was not a cut candidate.