Denver Broncos: Spencer Brown an option as the RT of the future
If the Denver Broncos could live in an ideal world, 2019 free agent acquisition Ja’Wuan James would be the final piece of an offensive line that made great strides during the 2020 season.
The Broncos had a bunch of guys starting at right tackle in both the 2019 and 2020 seasons, primarily Elijah Wilkinson and Demar Dotson.
Wilkinson and Dotson are both free agents heading into the 2021 offseason, and it remains to be seen if either guy will be back.
Because he opted out of the 2020 season (due to COVID-19), Ja’Wuan James’ contract will toll a full year, which means that what he was due in 2020 will now be due in 2021, and so forth through the life of the contract.
Because of that fact, the Broncos have no choice but to plan for James to be in the fold in 2021. His contract is virtually impossible to cut or even trade.
The projected starting five offensive line looks good on paper, especially after Garett Bolles’ breakthrough 2020 campaign and subsequent contract extension:
- LT Garett Bolles
- LG Dalton Risner
- C Lloyd Cushenberry
- RG Graham Glasgow
- RT Ja’Wuan James
The Broncos also look like they might have a couple of gems on the roster already in backup guard Netane Muti and backup tackle Calvin Anderson. Those players both shined when given opportunities this past season.
Depending on how high the team is on Anderson for the future, we could see the Broncos use one of their nine picks in the 2021 NFL Draft on a developmental offensive tackle to potentially take James’ spot if/when his contract allows for the Broncos to get out of it.
The 2021 NFL Draft has a bunch of tackle prospects who would be very intriguing, but one small-school player could really pique the Denver Broncos’ interest on day two selection process.
That player is Northern Iowa’s Spencer Brown.
Brown is nearly 6-foot-9, weighs 314 pounds, and has 34-inch arms.
He is a behemoth of a prospect whose movement skills are so much more fluid than you might expect of a player with that kind of size.
Spencer Brown 👀 pic.twitter.com/RxHT8QqPjo
— Ben Glassmire (@BenGlassmireNFL) January 29, 2021
With Mike Munchak as an offensive line coach, the Denver Broncos have an opportunity to really believe the best of their evaluations with prospects up front. That’s undoubtedly part of the reason why a team took a risk on the oft-injured Netane Muti in the 2020 NFL Draft.
That risk could pay off down the line, as could having a player as athletic, massive, and talented as Spencer Brown.
One of Spencer Brown’s concerns coming in were how he could leverage with his large frame. I’d say he does quite a great job here. pic.twitter.com/essycLJUJA
— Cory (@realcorykinnan) January 28, 2021
Brown didn’t get to play in 2020 due to the COVID-19 pandemic but he has a chance to be a really great developmental prospect with his combination of skills and athletic talent.
The Broncos will have flexibility in the 2021 NFL Draft to pick and choose where they go after guys with those nine picks, and even though a selection of a player like Brown might be a bit “boring” because of the lack of instant gratification or ability to insert him into projected starting lineups, when is the last time a right tackle played a full season for the Broncos?
It’s been a while.
Having someone you could develop there for a year with Garett Bolles locked up on the left side and the interior spots solidified would be absolutely huge.