Denver Broncos: Calvin Anderson has starter upside at OT

The Denver Broncos poached Calvin Anderson off of the New York Jets’ practice squad, and he could be a developmental piece worth monitoring.

The Denver Broncos made a couple of roster moves on Tuesday including poaching rookie offensive tackle Calvin Anderson off of the New York Jets’ practice squad.

Anderson played three years at Rice before transferring to Texas his final collegiate season, making him the second former Longhorns player the Broncos have gotten from an AFC East team in the last month (Andrew Beck, FB/TE, Patriots).

As a matter of fact, Anderson was initially signed by the Patriots as an undrafted free agent.

Watching some of Anderson’s plays at Texas, it’s clear he has some potential to play in the NFL with a little bit of seasoning and coaching.

He has excellent athletic ability to make blocks on the move, get to the second level, and he does a good job of recovering if he’s beat initially by speed rushers and using his length to keep rushers at bay.

One area where Anderson may struggle some is against pure power. He is barely 300 pounds, so his core strength is not fully developed yet. He has to get better at widening his sets, but overall, the potential is very clearly there for this kid, who was one of the most highly sought after grad transfers last year in college football.

Kyle Crabbs at The Draft Network had some good things to say about Anderson despite being somewhat raw at the position.

"Calvin Anderson has the potential to be an effective power tackle in the NFL. His limitations in hip mobility will hinder his ceiling as a pass protector but Anderson has ample length to mask these issues if he’s able to optimize his pass set and get better depth in his deep sets. Anderson is a plus drive blocker with enough functional athleticism to warrant consideration as a potential starter in the long term. Will require a strong OL coach to draw out his abilities, however.Kyle Crabbs, The Draft Network"

The last line there from Crabbs is great news for the Broncos because Denver has one the best offensive line coaches in the entire NFL in Mike Munchak.

Munchak’s specialty is developing young players, and if Anderson flashed enough potential to warrant the Broncos going and signing him off the Jets’ practice squad, they obviously believe he has the tools to become something in this offense.

It may take all the way through next offseason, but there are clearly some tools there.

Texas offensive line coach Herb Hand said Anderson is one of the smartest players he’s ever coached, and he’s certainly experienced having started 50 games between his three seasons with Rice and one season at Texas.

The Broncos are sorely lacking for offensive line depth. The addition of Anderson gives them another developmental tackle to go along with Elijah Wilkinson, another former undrafted player who has proven his worth as a starting-caliber player in the NFL.