The Denver Broncos have a battle going on at the center position when training camp kicks off, and we need to pay more attention to it.



The offensive line saw some major changes this offseason, as they were heavily needed. Last season the Broncos allowed Russell Wilson to be sacked 55 times, the most in the league by any one quarterback and the most in franchise history. They allowed Brett Rypien, the backup quarterback, to be sacked six times.



So Sean Payton and George Paton got to work. They brought in offensive guard Ben Powers and offensive tackle Mike McGlinchey. They let Dalton Risner walk and drafted Oregon center Alex Forsyth.

That is where things start getting interesting.



The center position is a huge question mark on this team and really the only question mark on the offensive line. The Broncos didn't use a high pick on the center position, but they did draft someone. They may be looking at making a change. Either way, we can only assume a position battle will occur in training camp. Here are the guys battling for the position:

Lloyd Cushenberry, 2022 Starting Center

Sure, Cushenberry was a starter last season, but that doesn't mean he was good. Cushenberry didn't allow a ton of sacks or pressures, or anything like that, but he also wasn't amazing in that aspect. Instead, the one thing that stands out for him is his discipline. He had six penalties last season, which isn't great. His run blocking grade isn't good either at a 52.7, which is going to end up hurting him in a Sean Payton offense.



Cushenberry has trouble getting to that second level when blocking in the run game. Payton loves to run the ball, and certainly will run it a lot with a ton of 21 personnel. We heard rumblings all offseason about the Broncos maybe wanting to move on from Cushenberry via signing another guy at the position or drafting one.



So the one thing to think about is who he will be battling in camp. And that doesn't mean Cushenberry won't start for the Broncos, because he could have fixed some of his issues, however, we still have to watch things unfold. Cushenberry is entering a contract year after having a season where he missed the last nine games. This is going to be huge for him.

Luke Wattenberg

Wattenbergs’ rookie season was one that didn’t see a ton of action. He played just seven games, and even then he didn’t break 100 total offensive snaps. in his 90 total snaps, he registered a 33.7 overall grade by Pro Football Focus’ standards, and a 20.8 run blocking grade. Wattenberg wasn’t great, and in fact, didn’t really show anything.

To me, he isn't in the battle for the starting spot, he just has to worry about losing the second string job, because he easily could. That is the battle he will have in training cam.

Alex Forsyth

The Broncos took Alex Forsyth with their very last pick in the draft in the seventh round. If they weren't looking for a guy to maybe come in and shake some things up, they wouldn't have wasted a draft pick on him. If they didn't like what they saw out of Forsyth, they wouldn't have wasted a draft pick on him.

To me, Forsyth can challenge Cushenberry for that starting spot. Sure, he was drafted in the seventh round, but good centers tend to fall in the draft because it isn't a coveted position as much as the rest of the offensive line.



Forsyth has the potential to be a good second level blocker. He has the potential to be a good run blocker in the NFL. But, we have to se more. Watch for him in training camp to see how he is doing against NFL talent

The Broncos have a ton of position battles that will be happening at training camp. That is one of the best things about training camp. Watch for this one to be one that could go several different directions.

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