Assessing the Denver Broncos offensive line pre-draft

Well, as far as experimenting goes, the decision to move Michael Schofield from tackle to right guard was a resounding success.

He wasn’t perfect, but Schofield was infinitely better playing guard in the NFL than he ever has been at playing right tackle. When playing tackle, Schofield is a fish out of water. Sadly, that was plain to see the moment he was drafted in the third round by the Broncos back in 2014.

Now in a contract year, Schofield will be fighting for a roster spot and opportunity to again be the team’s starting right guard and swing tackle. I think right now, this position could have one of the most heated battles in training camp.

Schofield is the incumbent at the position, while last year’s starting left guard, Max Garcia, could be in the team’s plans to possibly move over and start at right guard. Garcia should be a great fit for a power-based blocking scheme, so he’ll definitely be given the chance to start here as well.

One wildcard in this position race is 2016 fifth round pick Connor McGovern, who was basically redshirted as a rookie. McGovern is known for his incredible strength and athletic ability, but can he put it together and play some football?

He was very good at Missouri, starting at a couple of different positions and I don’t think the Broncos will pigeon-hole him into being a right guard only. He lacks great arm length, but his strength and athleticism could make him an ideal fit at tackle, actually.

With Schofield and Garcia likely competing for the starting job at right guard, McGovern could be moved around a bit and perhaps could wind up changing positions entirely. But he’s an interesting name to monitor.