Shane Ray may have been the Denver Broncos’ top pick in the 2015 NFL Draft, but it’s 2nd round pick Ty Sambrailo who will be under the brightest and hottest spotlight after the injury to left tackle Ryan Clady.
According to 9News Broncos reporter Mike Klis, the rookie is expected to take over at left tackle and open up the competition at right tackle to Chris Clark, Michael Schofield, and recently signed Ryan Harris.
“ Kubiak said the initial plan was to move Ty Sambrailo, the team’s second-round rookie from Colorado State, from right tackle to left and leave veteran Chris Clark at right tackle.”
The growth process will speed up for Sambrailo, who is now tasked with replacing the third highest paid offensive tackle in the NFL.
(Side note: Clady’s $10 million this season is fully guaranteed. Ouch.)
Coming out of Colorado State, we all knew Sambrailo was a really good athlete. As a former tight end, he moves well. He’s got good toughness and a good punch, but is he functionally strong enough? That was the main question about him coming out, but many felt throughout most of the college season that he’d be in contention to be a first round pick, or at worst, a second round pick.
And that’s what he ended up being when all the dust settled.
The Broncos got their guy, and with Clady in the fold they planned on giving Sambrailo every chance to win the right tackle job. That would have been ideal, but with Clady going down with a freak injury, the plan has changed, and it’s probably better that it happened in May than any other time.
John Elway was not only able to address the tackle position in the draft, but this early in the offseason program, they were able to get Ryan Harris back in the fold and will have ample time to get him up to speed in the offense with the rest of his line mates.
Clady’s absence hurts, but this could be beneficial for the Broncos’ future which might not include the Pro Bowl tackle. Last season, coming off of a Lisfranc injury, Clady was not himself and ranked 41st among tackles in the NFL graded by Pro Football Focus last season. That’s three spots lower than Harris, who was a 15 game starter for the Kansas City Chiefs at right tackle.
The 2016 and 2017 cap numbers for Clady aren’t guaranteed, but he will only be 30 at the start of the 2016 season. If the Broncos are going to keep him, it’s not going to be at his current pay rate, so they’ll either save money by re-structuring his deal, releasing him, or trading him.
I expect one of those three to happen rather than standing pat.
This will give the team a chance to really see what it’s got in Sambrailo. Can he play left tackle in the NFL after most projected him to right tackle or guard in the NFL? It’s a tall task, especially blocking for the blind side of Peyton Manning, but after the draft, the Broncos’ brass lauded his ability to learn things quickly.
We’ll see just how quickly.