State of the Broncos: What’s going to happen along the offensive line?

The Broncos finished the 2021 season with a 7-10 record. It was the team’s fifth-straight losing season. It also marked the sixth-consecutive year in which the franchise failed to make the playoffs.

As a result, Vic Fangio was shown the door. The head coach was 19-30 during his three seasons in Denver. A coaching change is on the way.

What will the new head coach inherit? What will his new staff have to work with in Denver?

The “State of the Broncos” series is a position-by-position look at what went well in 2021, what didn’t and what needs to change for ’22 and beyond. In this installment, it’s time to take a look at a position that has been a mixed bag in recent years – offensive line.

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Pro Football Focus Grades
Garett Bolles – 76.6
Bobby Massie – 71.0
Dalton Risner – 68.4
Quinn Meinerz – 67.4
Graham Glasgow – 65.1
Lloyd Cushenberry – 64.1
Netane Muti – 59.0

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2021 Review

It was a good news, bad news situation along the offensive line for the Broncos in 2021. It wasn’t a disaster, but it also wasn’t much of a strength.

By the end of the season, the Broncos had rotated a lot of players through the trenches. Due to injuries and COVID protocols, a lot of different linemen were called upon. In the end, however, there were eight who played significant snaps.

That group was largely mediocre. According to Pro Football Focus grades, none of them were in the top-20 at their position. By the same token, none of them were a train wreck either. They were fine.

That’s okay if it’s Bobby Massie. Right tackle has been a revolving door for the Broncos in recent seasons, with the team seemingly trying a different high-priced free agent in that spot every year. When Ja’Wuan James was lost during the offseason to a torn Achilles tendon, George Paton was left scrambling for a solution. He found Massie, who performed admirably.

The other end of the line wasn’t as encouraging, however. Yes, Garett Bolles was the Broncos high-graded offensive lineman. But after signing a four-year, $68-million deal, he’s supposed to play at a Pro Bowl level. He didn’t. He regressed, as “Holding, offense, No. 72” once again became a Sunday refrain.

At guard, Dalton Risner was the Broncos best player, at least according to the numbers. But he’s been a bit of a disappointment. In year three, many expected him to be playing at a higher level. He seems to have plateaued a bit.

Graham Glasgow was disappointing before being lost for the season with an injury. His replacements, Quinn Meinerz and Netane Muti were a mixed bag. Meinerz was just a rookie, however, so his performance was a promising start.

At center, Lloyd Cushenberry continues to be below average. He finished 24th among centers, putting him at the top of the bottom-third of the league. That’s not good enough.

All in all, it was a disappointing year in the trenches for the Broncos. There were a couple of surprises and signs of encouragement, but overall an average performance.

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A Look Ahead

In 2022, the biggest change for the Broncos along the offensive line could be the person coaching the group. Mike Munchak was brought in with Vic Fangio and has filled that role for three seasons. He’s considered one of the best in the business, so a new head coach would seemingly want to keep him around, but that’s not set in stone.

Who Munchak or a new o-line coach will have to work with is pretty much set in place. Massie is an unrestricted free agent, so the Broncos will be looking for a new right tackle. Again. But everyone else returns.

Bolles will be the key. He needs to return to his 2020 form at left tackle. If he does, that helps a lot of things, including whoever ends up playing quarterback in Denver next season.

Along the interior of the offensive line, look for five players to compete for three jobs. They’re all interchangeable at both guard spots and center, so it could be any combination by the time Week 1 rolls around.

Risner is a fan favorite, but the local-boy-made-good needs to play better. Cushenberry was a third-round pick, but he also needs to step up his game. Glasgow reworked his contract to stay in Denver, a sign that the one-time, big-ticket free agent has underperformed.

Those three starters could be replaced. Don’t be surprised if Meinerz or Muti wins out at either guard spot. Meinerz could also play center, as could Glasgow or Risner.

The Broncos have a lot fo flexibility, which is good news. But they have to find the right trio in the middle to be effective.

Then, they have to solve the right tackle position once and for all. Last year, they passed on Rashawn Slater in the first round. He looks like a player who could’ve manned that spot, or the left side, for a decade. Perhaps it’s time to finally spend the draft capital to fortify that position.

The free-agent route hasn’t worked. And this year, Massie is among the best right tackles on the market.

Do the Broncos invest the No. 9 overall pick on a tackle if Evan Neal or Charles Cross fall? Do they hope Trevor Penning or Daniel Faalele is available in round two?

Somewhere, somehow, they have to solve that position.

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