Offensive Line: The Future Looks Bright

Greg Eslinger’s recent award is just another example of good things still to come. Photo Courtesy

For years under the Mike Shanahan sytem, the Denver Broncos have had a real knack for finding talented offensive linemen late in the draft. News broke today that second year center Greg Eslinger has been named to the All-NFL Europa Team as the best center in the league. This a year after the recent Broncos draftee was awarded two collegiate awards as the best interior lineman in the nation.

With Tom Nalen possibly singing his swan song after we win Super Bowl XLII this year (yeah you heard me), the future of the Broncos offensive line will be in the hands of someone new – for the first time in over a decade. I’m rooting for Eslinger to take the reigns, but I’m not counting out Chris Myers, our 3rd-year center, or impressive undrafted rookie Mark Fenton, either.

Looking elsewhere, we head into 2007 with serious questions at the tackle position. First, will Matt Lepsis be healthy? A knee injury is a serious concern, and all of Denver knows what happened to Trevor Pryce the year after his knee injury in 2004. Erik Pears filled in admirably, and another offseason will only improve his potential. Meanwhile, on the right side we see Adam Meadows being the likely predecessor to George Foster, but I see this as a temporary band-aid much more than a permanent solution. Third-round pick Ryan Harris is the most likely future of our right tackle spot.

At guard, we still have should-have-been-elected-to-a-Pro-Bowl-years-ago left guard Ben Hamilton, but our right guard position is also a concern. Montrae Holland is a new Bronco, and beefy at that, and will compete with incumbent Chris Kuper, who seems to be really turning heads. I also expect either or both of Myers or Fenton, the previously mentioned backups centers, to compete for the right guard spot. I could even see Myers moving to guard and Kuper moving to tackle this season as we look to find the right fit with the absences of Foster and Cooper Carlisle.

There is a ton of depth on the Broncos O-Line, full of young, competitive players (especially in the interior positions). I’d like to see us add another tackle or two in next year’s draft to push Harris (I doubt Meadows will stay on the team past this season).

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