The Denver Broncos have a slew of good players, but this one in particular has totally flown under the radar for the 2025 season.
Denver has done an amazing job at stacking this roster with legitimate, young talent. It's a testament to the sharp drafting eye that George Paton has, and, like any other GM, it took bringing in the right head coach to unleash the beast.
The Broncos may turn into one of the best teams in football in 2025, as there are some predictions out there that have the team winning the AFC West. This franchise is trending in the right direction in a big way. In 2024, we saw a ton of the team's young players hit their strides and play the best football of their career.
But for the 2025 NFL Season, we could see yet another younger player hit their stride and perhaps even turn into a Pro Bowler.
Future Denver Broncos Pro Bowler... Luke Wattenberg?
Of all the team's starters, Luke Wattenberg is a future Pro Bowler? Well, maybe. In 2024, Wattenberg ranked second among all interior offensive linemen in pass block win rate, according to ESPN. He only trailed Joe Thuney, who is going to end up in the Hall of Fame one day.
His PFF grade lined up with this, as he was second in pass blocking and just 41st in run blocking. It's clear that Wattenberg, a 2022 NFL Draft pick, is as good as they come with pass blocking, but that's only half the battle. A couple reasons why Wattenberg could emerge as a Pro Bowl player is that the 2025 NFL Season should mark his second year as a full-time starter under his belt, so that could bring some growth.
The second reason why the center could become a Pro Bowler is because the Broncos figure to field an efficient running game - the issues with the run game last year was way more due to inadequate RB personnel than anything, as Denver was also quite good along the OL in run blocking. If the Broncos get what they hope to get out of RJ Harvey and perhaps even bring JK Dobbins along for the ride, that could elevate everyone along the OL, but Luke Wattenberg might end up seeing the biggest benefits of them all.