Sean Payton Explains Why Broncos Extended C Luke Wattenberg

To some outsiders, it came as a bit of an eyebrow-raiser when the Denver Broncos on Tuesday handed starting center Luke Wattenberg a four-year contract extension worth $48 million, including $27 million guaranteed.

To Broncos head coach Sean Payton, it seemed like a no-brainer move, preventing Wattenberg from reaching the unrestricted free-agent market next year.

“[It’s] good and I think it’s a credit to Luke,” Payton told reporters Wednesday. ”We lost a really good center in free agency a couple years ago. Again, there is a vision. [He’s] a good, young player and it’s important to keep those guys in your building. I’ve been in the position where you are trying to draft a center and it’s one of those unique positions. If you say in the draft, ‘We’re going to draft a center that we feel like can start Year 1,’ that becomes difficult. We are excited for him and of course [K] Wil [Lutz]. All three of those guys.”

A 2022 fifth-round pick drafted by the previous regime, Wattenberg has been Denver’s primary pivot man under Payton dating back to the beginning of last season, appearing in 24 games over that span while succeeding former starter Lloyd Cushenberry, who defected to Tennessee in 2024.

The 6-foot-5, 300-pound blocker is currently grading out asPro Football Focus' No. 20 C among 38 qualifiers, spearheading a Broncos line that’s allowed the fewest sacks in the league (13) entering Week 13.

“His football I.Q. is really sharp. He’s athletic. He does a good job in to the second level. He’s really improved in his protections,” Payton said of Wattenberg. ”All of it, you just see the curve still going upwards. Those are a few things.”

With the ink dry on his deal, the Broncos now have the entirety of their OL — left tackle Garett Bolles, left guard Ben Powers, right guard Quinn Meinerz, right tackle Mike McGlinchey, and Wattenberg — locked down for the foreseeable future.