Denver Broncos: Starting center position is there for the taking

The Denver Broncos are doing their due diligence to find the best option at center this summer.

Connor McGovern served as the team’s center in 2019, but when he left as a free agent, the team was forced to turn the page. As training camp continues, the team has three different players vying for the starting center spot.

It was assumed by many that rookie Lloyd Cushenberry would be given the starting job after the Broncos used a third-round pick to obtain him back in April. But it’s clear that after a handful of practices, he is just another guy in the running.

Cushenberry will be the long-term answer at that spot, at least that is what the team hopes, but at least as things stand going into the upcoming season, he will have to outperform both Patrick Morris and Austin Schlottmann.

Morris is a guy who some thought would have a chance to still figure into the mix this year and that appears to be the case. Despite limited playing time during his young career, the team definitely sees something in him.

Then there’s Schlottmann, a player no one really tabbed as a center this offseason.  But as Ryan O’Halloran of The Denver Post writes, he may have the edge in the competition.

Undrafted out of TCU in 2018, Schlottman, a college teammate of Morris, made the active roster last year and made four starts at guard for the team. He may be in the right position to be the team’s starting center this year.

Though Cushenberry is a third-round pick, remember that the team’s last two starting centers — Matt Paradis and McGovern — did not play at all as rookies.

Though Schlottmann would be considered a long shot by most to win the job, there’s actually a really good chance that he does just that.