Mark Schlereth explains why Broncos cut Albert Okwuegbunam

*** This story has been updated below ***

Most who watched the Denver Broncos hammering of the Los Angeles Rams in the final preseason game saw Albert Okwuegbunam as one of the game’s stars. The big pass-catching tight end had more yardage Saturday night—109—than he had in all of the 2022 season when found himself regularly inactive.

New head coach Sean Payton agrees with Nathaniel Hackett, the Broncos are better without Albert O than with him. The 25-year-old was cut earlier Tuesday, becoming the latest in a long line of 2020 draftees to fail. Still the move was surprising given Albert O’s raw physical ability and how he shined just days ago.

But it’s key to point out, the tight end got a lot of that work done against a group of Rams who were also largely cut on Tuesday. And Denver Sports Mark Schlereth, who hosts the morning show on 104.3 The Fan, keyed in on something in Okwuegbunam’s game most of us overlooked when we were distracted by pass catching.

There is more to making a football team, then just catching passes. #broncos pic.twitter.com/cIh4huVlFq

— Mark Schlereth (@markschlereth) August 29, 2023

“This is Sean Payton building culture,” Stink said while pointing out a play in 13 personal where Okwuegbunam was destroyed in an easy blocking situation. “He got put 12 feet beyond where he was supposed to make the cut off. It’s garbage, that’s why he’s looking for work.”

Okwuegbunam was reported to have made strives as a blocker in recent weeks but that didn’t pay off enough. But could Okwuegbunam catch on in the future as a more Mike Gesicki-like tight end that actually just plays a lot of receiver? Certainly, the league will take a look at Okwuegbunam, even if they weren’t willing to cut a trade with the Broncos, something the team clearly wanted to do after showcasing him so late into the preseason.

Denver’s tight end grouping will be led by the more versatile Adam Trautman and second-year pass catcher Greg Dulcich.

(Update – 4:28 p.m.)

The Broncos ended up finding a last-minute trade partner for Okwuegbunam, sending him to the Eagles for a small amount of draft compensation.

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