Denver Broncos: Where does Lloyd Cushenberry rank among centers?
The Denver Broncos selected LSU center Lloyd Cushenberry with their second (of three) second-round picks in the 2020 NFL Draft. This came after losing Matt Paradis and starting several players at the position. Unfortunately, Cushenberry’s rookie season did not go as planned.
Prior to the season, I had written that the Broncos needed to make Cushenberry the starter at center. They ended up choosing Cushenberry, who started all 16 games for the team. That’s great—being able to play and get experience throughout an entire season without missing a game is great for development.
That being said, according to Pro Football Focus, Cushenberry was the second-worst center in all of football last season. He had an overall grade of 40.5. According to PFF, Cushenberry allowed four sacks and committed three penalties.
The Broncos drafted Wisconsin-Whitewater guard Quinn Meinerz in the third round of the 2021 NFL Draft. Some thought that he would be a backup to Dalton Risner and Graham Glasgow at either guard position, but Meinerz will actually compete with Cushenberry for the starting center job. That will be interesting considering the level of talent Meinerz faced in college. Maybe it won’t matter, though.
At the end of the day, this ranking ultimately will not matter, simply because Cushenberry knows that he has to get better at his game. While being ranked 31 out of 32 starters is horrendous, it is not something that he nor anybody else in the organization should put much focus on. It may help him in feeling like he has a chip on his shoulder, but the goal overall—for every single player in the league—is to get better.
The Denver Broncos have a young offense and with each day, week, and year that they are together, there is that stronger possibility that they improve and be the best players and team they can be. Whether Cushenberry wins the starting center job again or not, hopefully, this is motivation for him.