The Denver Broncos offensive line is, to say the least, in a state of transition.
John Elway let it be known at the end-of-season presser that this area would be one of emphasis for the Broncos, and it certainly hasn’t been what many expected.
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The Broncos have made one addition via free agency on the offensive line, picking up former Texans, Rams, and Dolphins guard Shelley Smith for a backup’s salary. Smith is expected to be in top contention for the starting left guard position, but the Broncos don’t figure to stop there.
To address the vacancy at center, the Broncos traded a future fourth round pick to the Baltimore Ravens for Gino Gradkowski and a future fifth round selection. This trade signifies — to me, at least — that the Broncos plan on Gradkowski being their starting center this year and moving forward. The investment made wasn’t overly significant, and the Broncos will likely recover that draft pick next year anyway, but it was still an interesting trade that I think makes sense for both sides.
Prior to being put on the bench in favor of Jeremy Zuttah, Gradkowski had graded out as the worst center in the NFL by Pro Football Focus, but that was after a really poor start to the season. He finished much better than he started, and what he showed in practices and limited action last year was obviously enough to entice Gary Kubiak and Rick Dennison to at the very least put in a good word for Gradkowski.
The other big additions made for the Broncos on the offensive line are obviously the aforementioned Kubiak and Dennison, who are two coaches that have had tremendous success in this league at developing big men on the offensive side of the football. Both of those men will be integral to the success of the offensive line this offseason, which features plenty of question marks as well as intrigue from players that were drafted last offseason.
Along with Pro Bowlers and starters Ryan Clady at left tackle and Louis Vasquez at right guard, the Broncos have three open spots on the offensive line that could all be filled from within, or with high picks in the coming NFL Draft. Here’s how the offensive line depth chart looks as of today:
Some of the names on that depth chart can move from position to position. For example, you could put Manny Ramirez at center, Michael Schofield at left guard, or Chris Clark at right tackle. The options are plenty for the Broncos at this point in time, though it seems obvious this team needs to make some upgrades via the draft.
Most significant is the competition happening at the right tackle position and at left guard. Ben Garland is expected to contend for a starting job this offseason, but that will largely depend on what the Broncos do in the draft.
The primary concern for me right now is at right tackle, and as I’ve written before, I don’t think it’s as big an area for emphasis as many believe it to be. Schofield is a player obviously John Elway is very high on, and he used a top 100 pick on him just one year ago. If you draft a right tackle in the first two rounds, you’re saying that the Schofield investment was a waste of time and valuable assets, because he does the Broncos no good at this point as a backup tackle.
The Broncos need to see if he can start, and perhaps that will be at left guard, but his size and length seem to indicate otherwise.
I would presently pencil Schofield in as the starting right tackle, unless the Broncos are able to land someone far superior in the draft. That remains to be seen, as this year’s offensive line class is deep and teams are expected to cash in on that depth early on.
It’s hard to see the Broncos investing a first round pick on a pure center with the addition of Gradkowski, though I certainly wouldn’t discount it. I think their situation at that position looks pretty decent with Paradis as a possible option as well. He spent all of last year on the practice squad (for a reason) but the team is pleased with his development as well.
Left guard is where you have to have some serious concern if you’re John Elway. Shelley Smith and Ben Garland don’t inspire the greatest confidence in terms of potential or what we know based on what we’ve seen, though both could be much better fits in a zone blocking scheme.
The best case scenario for the Broncos in the draft is to find a young starter that can play either left guard or right tackle, and a future starter at center who can also play guard. This leads me to believe they could be in the market to trade up for a player if he should start falling, like Brandon Scherff, Cameron Erving, or La’El Collins.
If the Broncos came away from the first round with one of those players, it would be a nice haul to start off the draft.