There were plenty of concerns surrounding the Denver Broncos offensive line entering the 2023 season. Left tackle Garett Bolles was coming off a broken leg injury, left guard Ben Powers and right tackle Mike McGlinchey arrived on big, new contracts, and center Lloyd Cushenberry III entered Year 4 having failed to launch.
Despite that, the Broncos' O-line has been a top-10 unit in the NFL this season. Bolles is having the second-best season of his career, Cushenberry has been one of the best centers in the NFL, and right guard Quinn Meinerz looks like an All-Pro candidate. Powers and McGlinchey have had rough moments, but both have done well consistently as run blockers, and it seems like the worst is behind them.
The Broncos' O-line has helped the run game average 4.4 yards per rush, which is tied for eighth-highest in the NFL. The Broncos rank No. 12 in rush yards per game and sixth in explosive run rate (runs of 10-plus yards). It isn't always perfect, but they're doing quite well.
As for pass protection, the Broncos rank No. 6 in pass-blocking efficiency, per Pro Football Focus. Denver is tied for the eighth-fewest sacks allowed (on sacks attributed to the OL), tied for seventh-fewest in QB hits, and sixth-fewest in hurries. There have been rough spots for the Broncos up front, especially at right tackle, but overall, the unit has done a great job.
This creates a problem for the Broncos' brass, but it's a good one to have. Denver faces a massive financial issue due to the contracts handed out to Powers and McGlinchey, the money Bolles is making, and the fact that Meinerz is poised to be a free agent after 2024, while Cushenberry is in the final year of his deal.
It's a problem the Broncos have to start examining how to resolve, as the team is among the lowest in the NFL in available cap space, and is projected to be over the salary cap for 2024.
Cushenberry is the immediate problem. The Broncos don't have the space to keep him around, and while they can create cap space, it won't be easy to fit Cushenberry in their O-line budget. At the level he's been playing at, Over The Cap's valuation of Cushenberry is over $10 million, and with Powers, Bolles, and McGlinchey on big contracts already, the Broncos can't afford that due to NFL strictures on the salary cap.
If the Broncos want to keep Cushenberry around, he'd have to be willing to take a massive hometown discount from OTC's $10M valuation. A $10M cap number would give him the seventh-highest cap hit in 2024 among centers.
Unfortunately, the solution isn't as simple as backloading a Cushenberry contract extension because of the status of Meinerz and Bolles. Denver could move on from Powers after the 2024 season and save about $8.6M against the cap, which could help. The problem is Denver would have to turn around and give a massive extension to Meinerz because he's far more valuable than Cushenberry.
Meanwhile, Bolles will need to be extended or replaced in the not-too-distant future. If the Broncos look at an offensive tackle early in the 2024 NFL draft, it would help to reset the left tackle cost with a rookie contract instead of having to extend Bolles on an expensive deal.
McGlinchey's situation doesn't offer Denver much of an option, outside of a trade. The Broncos can't move on from him until after the 2025 season because of when his base salary that year becomes guaranteed. It's looking like a bad deal for Denver, and this fact makes it appear even less fortuitous.
Sean Payton was behind drafting center Alex Forsyth in the seventh round. The expectation is Forsyth and Luke Wattenberg will compete for the starting center job in 2024, with the Broncos having three and two years of cost control on each player, respectively. That would mean allowing Cushenberry to walk and aim for a compensatory pick in the 2025 draft.
The Broncos' O-line has been a boon to the team's success. Broncos OL coach Zach Strief deserves a hat tip for what he's been able to accomplish.
However, trials and tribulations will come for the young coach. Strief has to get Wattenberg or Forsyth ready, or whoever else the Broncos may bring in, to start at center for 2024, barring some major financial paring of the salary cap.
Between now and the start of the 2025 season, the Broncos are probably looking at three new starters on the offensive line. Meinerz should get extended, but if he isn't, Denver is staring down the barrel of potentially four new starters from its current unit. The only safe one is McGlinchey due to his contract.
Powers is under contract, but again, the Broncos can get out of that deal after 2024 to help afford Meinerz. Bolles is a free agent after 2024 and could be replaced by someone not currently on the team, like a 2024 or 2025 draft pick.
What the Broncos are facing speaks to past troubles the team has had drafting offensive linemen and its lack of draft investment in tackles. It also speaks to how hard sustaining a dominant offensive line is, even if you have a great coach.
The finances don't always work out, so you have to keep drafting and hope you hit so you can reset costs with cheaper rookie contracts. It'll be interesting to see what Payton and Strief do about the future changes coming to the offensive line.
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