Allen Barbre will fill in at left tackle for Denver Broncos
The Denver Broncos made a somewhat surprising move when Garett Bolles suffered an injury. Allen Barbre took over at left tackle, not Donald Stephenson…
In somewhat of a surprising move on Sunday, the Denver Broncos placed Allen Barbre at left tackle when Garett Bolles went down with an ankle injury, not veteran Donald Stephenson.
After Stephenson did much of the backup work this preseason and throughout training camp, it was interesting to see the switch the Broncos made when the need for a backup left tackle had unfortunately come about.
Barbre played some right tackle for the Eagles last season, which on the whole was his best as a professional according to Pro Football Focus metrics.
In one of the games he played at the right tackle position, Barbre earned his highest pass blocking grade of the season.
He allowed just 15 pressures all of last year as a starter for the Eagles at multiple spots, and allowed only three sacks. The Broncos don’t want Trevor Siemian getting hit much at all, and through two games, he’s already been hit far too many times.
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Thankfully, the Broncos are off-setting the pressure Siemian is receiving with a good running game and a quick-strike passing game. The deeper Siemian has to drop on a passing play, the easier it is for opposing defenses to find their way to him.
Perhaps Barbre will play well enough at the left tackle position for the Broncos that they feel confident enough to move him over to the right tackle position, where Menelik Watson has been downright bad in pass protection.
Watson has been fine in the running game for the Broncos, but the team has allowed seven sacks through two games, and he’s a primary reason why.
If Watson doesn’t show improvement and Barbre shows out at left tackle, the Broncos may find they have a new ‘top five’ on the offensive line to work with.