Can Denver's Offensive Line Properly Protect Case Keenum?
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Broncos Mailbag: Can Denver’s offensive line properly protect Case Keenum? By Ryan O’Halloran The Denver Post July 25, 2018 Denver Post Broncos writer Ryan O’Halloran posts his Broncos Mailbag weekly during the season. You can pose a Broncos- or NFL-related question for the Broncos Mailbag here. Follow Ryan for more daily updates on Twitter. Hi Ryan, I’m a lifelong Broncos fan. I watched the hit Case Keenum took on the play before he launched the highlight reel pass to Stefan Diggs at the end of the Minnesota-New Orleans game which sent them to the NFC championship game. It indicates to me that his toughness, resilience, experience and smarts will make up for something less than a howitzer arm. It also suggests that much of his success will rely on a rock solid offensive line and our running game. Are we up to the task? — John Macker, Santa Fe, N.M. Ryan: Two good points, John. First, there is no question Keenum has the exhibited the toughness (he’ll stand tall in the pocket), resilience (he’s dealt with every setback by regrouping to sign with another team) and experience/smarts (knows when to leave the pocket to extend the play) during his career. But the important point is your second point. Can the Broncos protect Keenum? Yes, his mobility should lower the sack total from last year’s 52. But there are health questions at left guard (Ron Leary’s knee) and right tackle (Jared Veldheer’s foot) and a personnel issue at right guard (undetermined starter). How the group of five comes together in camp will be something to monitor and ultimately provide clues as to whether they are up to the task. What will the Broncos’ record need to be to allow a return of Vance Joseph after this season, and will that record need to reflect a return to the playoffs? What is your prediction for the Broncos this year? — Max Million, Colorado Springs Ryan: If the Broncos improve from 5-11 to a minimum 8-8, that should allow Joseph to stay for a third year. A .500 record won’t be good enough to make the AFC playoffs, though. If I had a pre-camp lean, I would say 9-7 because their schedule is favorable (they should start a minimum 4-1 if they’re any good) and their defense (I think it will be top-five). Nine wins should be good enough for a wild-card berth and maybe even a division title in the wide open AFC West. Can John Elway sign more offensive linemen before the season starts? I don’t like some of the position coaches and I think the O-line is thin and needs more help. What do you think? Also, if Joseph only wins seven games, will Elway fire him? Bill Kollar or Bill Musgrave would make good head coaches for us. — Gary Peer, Kansas City, Mo. Ryan: At this time of the football calendar, the pickings for offensive linemen are particularly slim. All of the positions have been prioritized to the point that anybody who is healthy and good is on a roster. I would agree the offensive line depth leaves something to be desired, chiefly the replacements behind Veldheer and left tackle Garett Bolles. If the Broncos win only seven games, I would expect major changes and a part of that would not include promoting from within. Hey Ryan! What do the Broncos have in the way of a contingency plan for the O-line when the inevitable injury bug comes? (e.g. who’s blocking for Case Keenum and Royce Freeman when one of our average-at- best first stringers goes down?) This feels like a recipe for disaster that would have, could have, should have been addressed in the draft. — J.E. Aranda, Austin, Texas Ryan: A lot of offensive line questions, and rightly so. Let’s go position-by-position in case of injury: Center, Connor McGovern would slide over from right guard. Right/left guard, if Max Garcia doesn’t win the right guard job, he would become the top backup in case Ron Leary isn’t available or McGovern is hurt or moves to center. Left/right tackle, this will be a camp story line. Who is the backup swing tackle? It might be Billy Turner. And I agree, it was surprising that the Broncos waited until late in Day 3 to take an offensive lineman. Why did the Cardinals trade Jared Veldheer for only a sixth-round pick? Arizona has one of the worst lines in the league so it doesn’t make since that they would trade him for that little unless they had no confidence in him. — Dan, Mesa, Ariz. Ryan: A couple of reasons why the Cardinals traded Veldheer: He ended last year injured (foot); he was going to count $10.1 million on the salary cap; the Cardinals remain committed to D.J. Humphries at left tackle, where Veldheer played last year until his injury; and judging by the return, they would have likely cut Veldheer before the Broncos called. Has anyone on the Broncos staff ever reached out to Paxton Lynch‘s college coach (Justin Fuente, now at Virginia Tech) for suggestions on how to aid his development? Paxton was productive at Memphis and it seems his “QB Whisperer” coach may have some advice if asked. Lynch has certainly hasn’t performed to expectations. — Rob, Seneca, S.C. Ryan: I would be shocked if the Broncos did not have substantial conversations with Fuente in the lead up to the 2016 draft. Lynch was a terrific player at Memphis, but Conference USA or the American Athletic or whatever conference the Tigers play in these days is a different ballgame from the AFC West. Denver Broncos position preview: Many issues for offensive line entering camp By Ryan O’Halloran The Denver Post July 25, 2018 Editor’s: One in a series looking at the position groups for the Broncos heading into training camp. Today: offensive line. Broncos offensive coordinator Bill Musgrave was likely prophetic during last month’s offseason program when he was asked about the importance of establishing a starting offensive line. “An offensive line operates best when they can work together as a unit,” he said. “Right now, we’re not a unit and we’ll look forward to that day late in the summer.” Musgrave is right — it won’t be early in training camp, which begins Friday. But how late in the summer? The Broncos aren’t ready to declare a starting right guard, should have concerns about left guard Ron Leary’s knee issues and will be cautiously optimistic about right tackle Jared Veldheer’s return from last December’s broken foot. Instability at three of the five positions is not ideal, particularly because the Broncos spent only one of their 10 draft picks (sixth-round guard Sam Jones) on a lineman. They’re counting on their top guys to get and stay healthy and have faith in a bunch of backups who finished last year with the team. If Leary and Veldheer make it through the preseason healthy, the Broncos should feel they have improved a group that was mostly to blame for allowing 52 sacks last year. An ideal plan is to have the starting five set by the third preseason game at Washington on Aug. 24, at the latest. “We have to come together,” center Matt Paradis said. “It takes all those reps playing with each other to get that unity and the cohesiveness so you’re not tripping over each other’s feet.” The healthy starters entering camp are Paradis and left tackle Garett Bolles. Paradis, in the final year of his contract, has not missed a snap in three years as a starter. “It’s been an exciting offseason because I haven’t been able to work out (until now) to build strength since (around) my sophomore year of college,” said Paradis, who had dual hip surgeries after the 2016 season. Bolles enters his second year after starting every game in 2017. If he takes a big step forward, the Broncos feel left tackle will be solidified for several seasons. And now for the uncertainty. The Broncos have churned through right tackles since Orlando Franklin concluded his three-year run in 2013. Three starters in 2014, two apiece in 2015-16 and three last year. Enter the 31-year old Veldheer, who started nine games at right tackle and four at left tackle for Arizona last year before sustaining a foot injury that required surgery and months of rehabilitation. He missed the entire offseason program. “Issues or no issues (at right tackle), I want to be that guy no matter what,” Veldheer said. Shortly after he was acquired for a sixth-round pick, Veldheer began mentoring Bolles. “Him watching and telling me what to do and just cheering me on and pushing me (has been beneficial),” Bolles said. “A great mentor. I can learn from him.” Max Garcia lined up at left guard next to Bolles last season and stayed there during the offseason program when Leary (last year’s right guard who has moved to the left side) was held out. Garcia wants a shot to compete at right guard with Connor McGovern and Menelik Watson, but that may be compromised if he has to play left guard if Leary is held out. Of Leary, Bolles said: “I’m counting on him being next to me. I’m grateful I have a vet like that who is very consistent in what he does and is a great leader.