ENGLEWOOD, Colo. -- Most of the Denver Broncos rookies spent the summer talking about the difficulty of making the roster of the defending Super Bowl champion.

“You want to come to a team like this, that has had so much success, won a Super Bowl last season," rookie safety Justin Simmons said. "Because that's what you want to be a part of. But you know when you get here they have all these great players and you see why they’ve won."

Turns out the Broncos’ first-year class did as well as the team could have possibly hoped. When the Broncos got their roster to 53 players Saturday afternoon, all eight 2016 draft picks made it, along with undrafted rookie in defensive lineman Kyle Peko. The Broncos could certainly claim a player off waivers and make another adjustment, but the rookies provided just the kind of infusion the Broncos had hoped to have.

"It’s always good when you have young guys making the team," Broncos executive vice president of football operations/general manager John Elway said. "That’s part of the process. You hope when you go through the draft and that process that you pick the right guys that are able to come in and help the football team."

John Elway is counting on just one of his rookies to start, but others are expected to play prominent roles. AP Photo/Ric Tapia

Elway has consistently touted the importance of "stacking those draft classes" when trying to remain successful over the long term. The Broncos have won five consecutive AFC West titles and made two Super Bowl trips in the last three years.

Of the eight draft picks, the only rookie who has been listed as a starter on the team’s depth chart in the preseason has been fullback Andy Janovich. He was the Broncos’ sixth-round pick and his performance throughout the offseason was a big reason why the Broncos waived Juwan Thompson during the latest roster cuts.

"Numbers when it comes down to it," Elway said. "Juwan did a nice job on special teams, but with Janovich coming in and playing so well, and then the three other running backs, it was just a tough fit for us there. We thought that was probably more than we needed at that spot."

Quarterback Paxton Lynch, who was the Broncos’ first-round pick, will open as the Broncos' No. 2 quarterback. Defensive end Adam Gotsis (second round), Simmons (third round) and running back Devontae Booker (fourth round) are all expected to play plenty for the Broncos.

With Simmons and Will Parks (sixth round), the Broncos will have rookies as backups at both safety spots. And guard Connor McGovern (fifth round) will be a reserve in the offensive line and he did play center some in the preseason as well.

“I think you just try to show them you can handle it,’’ Parks said. “You want to earn your spot and if you can do it with a team like this that’s even better.’’

The Broncos also kept punter Riley Dixon (seventh round) as veteran punter Britton Colquitt was released when the Broncos cut the roster to 75 players last week. Colquitt was scheduled to count $4 million against the salary cap.

“We like Riley's upside,’’ Elway said. “Obviously, Britton did a great job for us and really kicked well at the end of last year, but we really like the upside that Riley has. A lot of times those are always tough spots because you know that anytime you have a veteran and you go young, there's always that consistency factor and you're sometimes going to take a step back before you take two ahead. That's what we're planning on, but we think that Riley can step in and be that guy.’’

The Broncos had initially informed Peko, on Friday, he had been released, but had a change of heart before the cuts were turned into the NFL and kept Peko on the roster.

"He was happy,'' Elway said.

It means the Broncos have now had an undrafted rookie make the opening week roster in 12 out of the last 13 seasons.

“We’re fortunate we got a good group this year … and they all fit in very well," Elway said. "We look forward to all of them contributing."

The Broncos also had three players make the roster -- wide receiver Jordan Taylor, running back Kapri Bibbs and linebacker Zaire Anderson -- who were on the team’s practice squad last season. And in Bibbs’ case, he beat out Ronnie Hillman, who was the Broncos’ leading rusher last season.

"Obviously Ronnie was a guy who did a lot of good things for us," Elway said. "We just thought with Kapri we thought we were in a little better shape with what he could do on special teams. They’re all close and that one was really close. Kapri has worked hard and deserved a shot and so we’re going to give Kapri that chance."