Knowshon Moreno showed enough.
After the 2009 first-round pick was listed on the fourth team during training camp coming off a torn right anterior cruciate ligament, Moreno spent the preseason on the camp bubble. But a stellar performance in Thursday's preseason finale -- 7.0 yards per carry on seven rushes -- provided the exclamation point that placed him on the 53-man roster.
"When you looked at the full package, we were excited about where Knowshon was and how he ran the ball and continued to get better throughout camp," said Broncos executive vice president John Elway. "He's carrying more weight and the knee's coming back strong and he's a first- and second-down guy as well as a third-down guy that does well on third down."
Elway and coach John Fox also opted to keep three quarterbacks, with Caleb Hannie and Brock Osweiler behind Peyton Manning. Hanie's starting experience helped him maintain his spot on the roster, even though he struggled in his two preseason stints with the backups at Chicago on Aug. 9 and at Arizona three weeks later. Hanie did lead the first-team offense to a touchdown against San Francisco on Aug. 26; that helped hi seal his spot.
All of the Broncos' seven draft picks survived the final cuts on Friday and made the 53-man roster, and two undrafted rookies also stuck: LB Steven Johnson and long snapper Aaron Brewer. Fifteen of the Broncos' 16 picks since Elway took over football operations are still with the team; 14 are on the 53-man roster and 2011 seventh-round DE Jeremy Beal is on injured reserve after the knee injury he suffered Thursday was more serious than anticipated. LB Mike Mohamed, a sixth-rounder in 2011, is the only one of Elway's picks no longer around.
QB (3) -- Peyton Manning (15th year, Tennessee), Caleb Hanie (5th year, Colorado State), Brock Osweiler (rookie, 2nd round, Arizona State).
RB (4) -- Willis McGahee (10th year, Miami-Fla.), Ronnie Hillman (rookie, 3rd round, San Diego State), Lance Ball (4th year, Maryland), Knowshon Moreno (4th year, Georgia).
FB (1) --Chris Gronkowski (3rd year, Arizona).
WR (5) -- Eric Decker (3rd year, Minnesota), Demaryius Thomas (3rd year, Georgia Tech), Brandon Stokley (14th year, Southwestern Louisiana), Andre Caldwell (5th year, Florida), Matt Willis (5th year, UCLA).
TE (3) -- Joel Dreessen (7th year, Colorado State), Jacob Tamme (5th year, Kentucky), Julius Thomas (2nd year, Portland State).
OL (9) -- Ryan Clady (5th year, Boise State), Zane Beadles (3rd year, Utah), J.D. Walton (3rd year, Baylor), Chris Kuper (7th year, North Dakota), Orlando Franklin (2nd year, Miami-Fla.), Manny Ramirez (6th year, Texas Tech), C.J. Davis (3rd year, Pittsburgh), Chris Clark (3rd year, Southern Mississippi), Philip Blake (rookie, 4th round, Baylor).
DL (8) ---- Elvis Dumervil (7th year, Louisville), Derek Wolfe (rookie, 2nd round, Cincinnati), Ty Warren (10th year, Texas A&M), Justin Bannan (11th year, Colorado), Mitch Unrein (3rd year, Wyoming), Kevin Vickerson (7th year, Michigan State), Robert Ayers (4th year, Tennessee), Malik Jackson (rookie, 5th round, Tennessee).
LB (7) -- Von Miller (2nd year, Texas A&M), Joe Mays (5th year, North Dakota State), Wesley Woodyard (5th year, Kentucky), Keith Brooking (15th year, Georgia Tech), Nate Irving (2nd year, North Carolina State), Danny Trevathan (rookie, 6th round, Kentucky), Steven Johnson (rookie, undrafted, Kansas).
DB (10) -- Champ Bailey (14th year, Georgia), Tracy Porter (5th year, Indiana), Mike Adams (9th year, Delaware), Rahim Moore (2nd year, UCLA), Chris Harris (2nd year, Kansas), Quinton Carter (2nd year, Oklahoma), Jim Leonhard (8th year, Wisconsin), Tony Carter (4th year, Florida State), David Bruton (4th year, Notre Dame), Omar Bolden (rookie, 4th round, Arizona State).
Specialists (3) -- Matt Prater (6th year, Central Florida), Britton Colquitt (4th year, Tennessee), Aaron Brewer (rookie, undrafted, San Diego State).
Suspended (2) -- LB D.J. Wllliams (9th year, Miami-Fla.), six games, TE Virgil Green (2nd year, Nevada), four games.
For up-to-the-minute Broncos updates, follow Andrew Mason on Twitter at @CBSSportsNFLDEN and @MaxBroncos.