On the night of Aug. 19, Sean Payton knew undrafted rookie running back Jaleel McLaughlin would make the Broncos’ 53-man roster.

McLaughlin had just carried seven times for 45 yards and a touchdown, caught a touchdown pass and returned a kickoff 44 yards in the second preseason game at San Francisco. If the Broncos had any plans before then to waive McLaughlin and try to sneak him onto the practice squad, the secret was out.

“When the game ended, I knew he was on track to be on our team or someone else’s if we chose not to put him on our roster,’’ Payton, Denver’s first-year head coach, said Tuesday. “I think that was a big game for him. (The media) watched the practices. It wasn’t anything that surprised us. We had seen it. To his credit, it was pretty consistent.”

With NFL teams Tuesday having to trim from the 90-man offseason roster to the 53-man regular-season roster, the 5-foot-7, 187-pound McLaughlin made the Broncos as the third running back behind starter Javonte Williams and Samaje Perine. Denver waived running backs Tony Jones Jr. and Tyler Badie while also keeping fullback Michael Burton.

“(McLaughlin) passed every test,’’ said general manager George Paton. “From the minute he showed up in rookie minicamp, it wasn’t too big. Then he’s working out with the big boys on varsity. It wasn’t too big. Then we get the pads on, and he makes plays every day.”

Paton said the Broncos, who had just five draft picks last April, had followed McLaughlin closely in college and were hoping he wouldn’t be drafted. Playing at Notre Dame College of Ohio and then at Youngstown State, McLaughlin became the leading rusher in college history with 8,166 yards.

McLaughlin was one of a team-record four undrafted free agents to earn a spot on Denver’s initial 53-man roster. Also making it were tight end Nate Adkins, outside linebacker Thomas Incoom and tackle Alex Palczewski.

“He’s pretty consistent each day,’’ Payton said of Adkins. “You know what you’re getting. … He was just one of those guys who day in and day out got his job done. He’s got some position versatility. You see him playing some fullback. … He was someone we considered drafting, and he was someone that was very sought after, after the draft (as a free agent). We felt it would be hard to get him to a practice-squad spot.”

Payton and new rule

Payton isn’t enthralled with the new NFL rule about how a team’s third quarterback is handled on game day.

The rule allows for a team that has a third quarterback on the 53-man roster to dress that player and it won’t count against the number of active players allowed. But the player only can be used if the two other quarterbacks get hurt.

“I think there were a lot of people that felt like if the new rule said, ‘Hey, you could bring a third (quarterback) off your practice squad on game day,’ that would have possibly been a good solution,’’ Payton said.

With the prospect of a third quarterback taking up a spot on the 53-man roster, the Broncos elected to waive Ben DiNucci. They hope he clears waivers and can be signed to the practice squad.

Payton said he will be “anxious” to see how many teams end up keeping a third quarterback on the 53-man roster.

“Let’s call it a week from now,’’ he said. “How many teams have three on their 53? I’m sure there will be a few, but we will have a third in the building.”

After all of Tuesday’s moves, 13 of the NFL’s 32 teams had three quarterbacks on their 53-man roster.

Garcia makes the 53

Defensive lineman Elijah Garcia spent the last month of last season on the Broncos’ 53-man roster. Now he’s on it to start this season.

Garcia, in his second year, made the roster based on his strong play in training camp and the preseason. He had two sacks at Arizona, an interception at San Francisco and a fumble recovery in the finale against the Los Angeles Rams.

“Elijah has all the traits you’re looking for — size, length, plays hard, tough,’’ Paton said.

Paton said the Broncos were intrigued by Garcia when he played at the University of Houston before he was undrafted. He spent much of last season on the Rams’ practice squad before Denver signed him to the active roster in December.

“We liked him coming out (of college),’’ Paton said. “We thought he had traits, which were raw. We watched the preseason when he was with the Rams, and we saw those traits.’

Briefly

Paton is unconcerned about how many players the Broncos have at various positions because he said they will continue to tweak the roster as well as add players to the practice squad. “We’re going to be light at some numbers (initially), but it’s just roster management,’’ he said. “It’s going to fluctuate in the next 48 hours.” The Broncos, for instance, have 13 defensive backs and just four wide receivers on the initial 53-man roster. Defensive backs K’Waun Williams, Riley Moss and P. J. Locke are battling injuries as well as receiver Jerry Jeudy. ... Although tackle Quinn Bailey was released Tuesday, a source said he will be re-signed by the Broncos. “He had a really good camp, so we’re excited for him,’’ Payton said of Bailey, who spent a good bit of the past four seasons on Denver’s practice squad. … The Broncos were the last NFL team to announce cuts. They did so at 6:02 p.m. Tuesday, more than four hours after the 2 p.m. deadline to submit roster moves to the league.