Broncos: McTelvin Agim is not a lock for a roster spot
Denver Broncos defensive lineman McTelvin Agim is getting ready to enter year two in the NFL.
The 2020 third-round pick is also going to have to prove he belongs this summer. Despite his high draft status a year ago, the 23-year old does not have a roster spot locked up.
That is not something that you often say for a player who was drafted in the top 100 entering their second year in the league, but McTelvin Agim is in that situation. To this point, it’s hard to remember that he is even on the team.
The Broncos seem to have their three starting defensive linemen in place. Shelby Harris, Mike Purcell, and Dre’Mont Jones will most likely open the season as the starters.
Free-agent signing Shamar Stephen figures to push for playing time meaning that Agim will be in competition with the likes of DeShawn Williams, Jonathan Harris, Isaiah Mack, Deyon Sizer, and seventh-round pick Marquiss Spence.
Of those last six names, the Broncos will likely keep two or three of them. That means that Agim is going to have to show much more than he has to this point.
As a rookie, Agim saw the field on less than 13 percent of the team’s defensive snaps. When Purcell went down with an injury, the team went out and signed free agents Sylvester Williams and Timmy Jernigan rather than turning to Agim.
That may not be as much of a concern as the fact that when the team recently held mini-camp, Agim did not work with the first team despite Harris and Jones not participating.
It’s hard to move on so quickly from a high draft pick and because of that, Agim will likely have the leg up on a few of these players. At the same time, the fact that he was a third-round pick just one year ago will not be enough to be on the 53-man roster.
Will McTelvin Agim make the 53-man roster?
It seemed obvious from the start of Agim’s career that he was likely more of a project player than the team initially thought. He could very well develop into the kind of player that makes an impact, but do the Broncos have the time to wait for that?
If the team wanted to place him on the practice squad, he would almost certainly be plucked off of there because of his high draft status. He would also have to first be waived for that to happen and he likely would not even clear waivers as a team with the kind of time to stash him on the roster could scoop him up.
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Agim’s situation will be an interesting one to follow this summer. What do the Broncos do with him? Will he show enough of a jump from his rookie year until now to make it an easy decision, or will he be outplayed by guys further down the depth chart, making it a difficult choice for the organization?