Training Camp Breakdown – Offensive Line

Football is back, my friends. While we don’t have Broncos games to watch, we have the much-anticipated Training Camp that kicks off this Sunday in Englewood, Colorado. For dates and more information, go here.

Today I’ll take a gander at the first of many battles going on during training camp – the offensive line. With Matt Lepsis, Ben Hamilton, and Tom Nalen filling in left tackle, left guard, and center respectively, it’s really the right side of the line that has the battles to consider.

Right Guard

Chris Kuper

Cooper Carlisle‘s departure to the Raiders has left a hole that needs to be filled, and it looks like the Broncos have found his replacement in Chris Kuper (pictured, left). Kuper has all the athletic tools a fan could hope for – he’s as big, fast, and strong as anyone on this line. His measurables are all there for the Broncos running system – 6-4, 302 lbs., with a 5.18 40-time. He’s been known to be snow plow of a run blocker at the second level. The real question for Kuper, ever since the Broncos drafted him last year in the 5th round, has been his drive and commitment to be great. Heading into the draft last year, his biggest con was his effort and technique – one scouting report even indicated he had the bad habit of stopping his leg movement and leaning against his opponent (a good offensive lineman keeps his legs moving during the push).

But if there’s one thing the Broncos do well, it’s find great offensive linemen late in the draft, and Kuper seems to fit that mold. For any of the marks against him due to his technique/drive, he makes up for it in my book with his willingness to work for the team before himself. Moving from guard to left tackle in his senior season at North Dakota, Kuper showed a willingness to work for the betterment of the team. The move potentially hurt his stock to some scouts, but his team-first mentality only improved it in the Broncos’ eyes.

Montrae Holland

At 6-2, 322 lbs., the early offseason signing of Montrae Holland had many Broncos fans thinking a shift was coming to a bigger, beefier offensive line that would be better suited to protect our more pocket-oriented passer Jay Cutler. I expect Holland to do be a backup in case Kuper can’t cut it – in other words, Holland should be sitting the bench for most of the year. He has a lot of upside – the guy is incredibly strong, with one report claiming he benched 500 lbs. He’s a hell of a run blocker and knows how to work at the point of attack.

Despite this, though, Holland found himself on the outside looking in among the Saints in their breakout year – he failed to win a job competing against the likes of Jamar Nesbit, Jahri Evans and Jermane Newberry. I’ve done a bit of research on the subject… one report claims he played extensively at right tackle for the club, but I can’t find any other evidence of this. From what I’ve seen, he simply lost the job – whether his injury history, or a coach-player dispute, or even his ability on the field is to blame, I don’t know. But he started 30 of 52 career games, giving the Broncos valuable NFL experience that complements Kuper’s lack of experience on the field. Again, I believe Kuper has the inside track for the job, though, due to his quickness and year of experience with the club.

Right Tackle

Erik Pears

The question at right tackle isn’t “Who’s the best” – that has been answered. If the coaches want him to, Erik Pears will be our opening day starter at RT. But that’s the question – what do the coaches want from this young stud? Do they want him to remain Lepsis’ backup on the left side, where he performed admirably last year? With questions with Lepsis’ knee, this logic makes sense, which would open up the RT spot for one of the other players on the team. My guess is that they’ll start Pears at RT and move him over as Lepsis’ backup – it would be a tricky transition to go straight from starting right tackle to starting left tackle, but it’s not unheard of.

Pears is a giant on the squad at 6-8, 304 lbs. While this height can be a concern for some linemen and the need to “get low,” it doesn’t appear that this is a problem in any shape with Pears. He gets the leverage he needs to lay down pass rushers, and he has a big wingspan that doesn’t allow the defender to get past easily. It appears that we’ve found our left tackle of the future in Pears, but I’d still like to see Lepsis anchor the left side for years to come just the same. I’m really looking forward to seeing if Pears will be our starter on the right side, or if they’ll keep him penciled in to back up Lepsis.

Adam Meadows

Another free agent pickup from a more traditional offensive line, Adam Meadows‘ second year with the Broncos gives him the opportunity to follow up his performance at the end of last year when George Foster was benched and ultimately traded. Meadows’ story is an interesting one – shortly after signing a free agent contract with the Panthers in 2004, Meadows shocked the team by announcing his sudden retirement shortly before training camp, citing his recurring shoulder injury. After two years out of football, Meadows made his comeback, and the Panthers let him go to do so. Of course, the rest is history and he is now a backup on the Broncos squad.

At 6-5. 290 lbs, Meadows is actually among the lighter linemen on the squad, which is surprising at first considering he comes from a traditional-style blocking team. He started the majority of his games with the Colts in the first part of his career, and he is the likely winner of the starting job if Pears is kept as the left side backup. Of course the biggest concern with Meadows is his injury history – with the shoulder injury that sent him home for two years, and the hamstring injury in the Chiefs game last year, it appears that he hasn’t been able to get past the “injury prone” label. With that in mind, the Broncos did the wise move to spend a Day 1 pick on a potential future starter…

Ryan Harris

At 6-5, 299 lbs., the Broncos spent a 3rd Round pick in this year’s draft on the offensive lineman from Notre Dame. Once considered a sure-fire first round pick, starting four years against great college competition at tackle for the Irish, Ryan Harris‘ stock fell a bit due to his strength (or lack thereof). But never fear, Broncos fans – his speed and athleticism make him a perfect fit in our system, which values the ability to make blocks at the second level more than to knock defensive linemen on their asses (although that’s always nice too).

It would be difficult for Harris to crack the lineup this year – historically for the Broncos, it nearly always takes a year to get on the field while the rookie learns the nuances of the system. Pears is the obvious exception this rule, having been undrafted and ending up starting for us last year before week 8. But remember that Pears had some experience at NFL Europe, while Harris has yet to be signed by the club and needs to learn as much as he can before he can be expected to make an impact. I could see a situation where Harris sees the field – I mean, if Meadows starts and goes down due to injury, it’s pretty much Harris in there.

Predicted Depth Chart

Left Tackle

1. Matt Lepsis
2. Erik Pears
3. Ryan Harris

Left Guard

1. Ben Hamilton
2. Montrae Holland
3. Chris Myers

Center

1. Tom Nalen
2. Chris Myers
3. Greg Eslinger

Right Guard

1. Chris Kuper
2. Montrae Holland
3. Chris Myers

Right Tackle

1. Erik Pears
2. Adam Meadows
3. Ryan Harris

Possible Shuffle

Chris Myers and Greg Eslinger are solid backups at center, and Myers has a lot of flexibility and could ultimately move over to right guard if the need arose. I like Eslinger’s potential as our future center a little more, and could definitely see this move happening a la Ben Hamilton years ago. With Myers at right guard, Kuper could use his own flexibility to compete for right tackle. These moves actually wouldn’t surprise me at all, and the more I look at it the more possible it seems it could be…

Overall, the offensive line competition is among the best this training camp. Nothing is healthier for a team than solid competition throughout – I expect the Broncos to have a great offensive line this year with all the young talent they’ve accrued, combined with the solid veterans anchoring the left side.

[tags]Denver Broncos, Broncos, Training Camp, NFL, Matt Lepsis, Erik Pears, Ryan Harris, Adam Meadows, Ben Hamilton, Chris Kuper, Montrae Holland, Chris Myers, Tom Nalen, Greg Eslinger, Offensive Line[/tags]