Denver Native (Carol)
04-06-2010, 09:22 AM
http://www.denverpost.com/premium/broncos/ci_14824756
The Broncos wouldn't use a pen to fill in the center spot on their depth chart right now. Coach Josh McDaniels has said in recent weeks he's not worried about that, at least publicly.
He has said Seth Olsen has practiced there some and that it's still early. Asked at the league meetings about a depth chart in the offensive line, McDaniels simply said: "It's March. We don't have a depth chart," then added, "Jeepers creepers" with a smile.
Olsen, whom the Broncos brought in with McDaniels' first draft class last April, played left guard, right guard and right tackle in his career at Iowa, but not center. That's not always an indication of how things will go at the position in college or the pros, because many eventual centers have converted to the position at some point in their careers.
And if the Broncos choose to use a pick on a center in this year's draft, they likely will do it with the idea of getting a rookie poised and skilled enough to come in and at least compete for the position immediately.
Leading that job description is the best center on the board — Florida's Maurkice Pouncey. Most teams would say they have a difficult time putting a first-round grade on an interior offensive lineman; just two centers were taken in the first round last year, and none before Alex Mack with the 21st pick overall. But Pouncey is certainly deserving of such a grade.
Pouncey is big (6-feet-4-1/2, 304 pounds), athletic and smart, so whichever team takes him off the board will do so with the idea he plays this season. He was the first Florida lineman to be awarded the Rimington Trophy, which goes to the nation's best center.
Pouncey also was not a center — had never played it before in his football life — until the Florida coaches made him one before his sophomore season. He's also just 20 years old, having played as a true freshman for the Gators and having entered the draft after his junior season.
He's one of the youngest players on the board — he won't be 21 until July — so the upside is still plenty big. It's just a matter of whether the Broncos would want to use the 11th pick of the draft on a center, even one of Pouncey's skill level.
To that end, with picks like Richard Quinn in the second round and trading a first-round pick to secure Alphonso Smith in the second round last April, McDaniels has shown if he wants a player, he takes one when he thinks it's appropriate.
Also down the board some is Notre Dame's Eric Olsen. At 6-3 and 306 pounds, Olsen is a powerful and aggressive player who would fit McDaniels' desire to get bigger up front.
Olsen also played in Charlie Weis' offense with the Irish, which means he could move fairly smoothly into McDaniels' offense. Olsen is a former prep lacrosse player whose footwork shows the ensuing benefits.
Olsen is another player who was not a center when he started college. Weis made him one before Olsen's junior year. Weis, now the offensive coordinator of the Chiefs, has already had Olsen in for a visit to Kansas City.
Two other players also worth a look at the position for the Broncos are North Carolina State's Ted Larsen (6-2, 304) and New Mexico's Erik Cook. Larsen spent his first two years with the Wolfpack as a defensive tackle — he was good enough to have played 23 games there, starting five — until he was moved to center before his junior year by coach Tom O'Brien.
If O'Brien sees something in a player to be an offensive linemen, the NFL usually takes notice, since O'Brien sent nine offensive linemen to the NFL in his tenure at Boston College.
Larsen plays with that defender's edge to his game, has a big upside and doesn't rattle easily. He sailed two shotgun snaps over the quarterback's head in his first career start at center in 2008 and simply kept right on playing in the game without losing his composure.
Cook (6-6, 318) played all five offensive line spots for the Lobos and is tough enough that when he fractured his right wrist in a preseason camp at one point in his career, he simply taught himself to snap left-handed and didn't miss a game.
The Broncos wouldn't use a pen to fill in the center spot on their depth chart right now. Coach Josh McDaniels has said in recent weeks he's not worried about that, at least publicly.
He has said Seth Olsen has practiced there some and that it's still early. Asked at the league meetings about a depth chart in the offensive line, McDaniels simply said: "It's March. We don't have a depth chart," then added, "Jeepers creepers" with a smile.
Olsen, whom the Broncos brought in with McDaniels' first draft class last April, played left guard, right guard and right tackle in his career at Iowa, but not center. That's not always an indication of how things will go at the position in college or the pros, because many eventual centers have converted to the position at some point in their careers.
And if the Broncos choose to use a pick on a center in this year's draft, they likely will do it with the idea of getting a rookie poised and skilled enough to come in and at least compete for the position immediately.
Leading that job description is the best center on the board — Florida's Maurkice Pouncey. Most teams would say they have a difficult time putting a first-round grade on an interior offensive lineman; just two centers were taken in the first round last year, and none before Alex Mack with the 21st pick overall. But Pouncey is certainly deserving of such a grade.
Pouncey is big (6-feet-4-1/2, 304 pounds), athletic and smart, so whichever team takes him off the board will do so with the idea he plays this season. He was the first Florida lineman to be awarded the Rimington Trophy, which goes to the nation's best center.
Pouncey also was not a center — had never played it before in his football life — until the Florida coaches made him one before his sophomore season. He's also just 20 years old, having played as a true freshman for the Gators and having entered the draft after his junior season.
He's one of the youngest players on the board — he won't be 21 until July — so the upside is still plenty big. It's just a matter of whether the Broncos would want to use the 11th pick of the draft on a center, even one of Pouncey's skill level.
To that end, with picks like Richard Quinn in the second round and trading a first-round pick to secure Alphonso Smith in the second round last April, McDaniels has shown if he wants a player, he takes one when he thinks it's appropriate.
Also down the board some is Notre Dame's Eric Olsen. At 6-3 and 306 pounds, Olsen is a powerful and aggressive player who would fit McDaniels' desire to get bigger up front.
Olsen also played in Charlie Weis' offense with the Irish, which means he could move fairly smoothly into McDaniels' offense. Olsen is a former prep lacrosse player whose footwork shows the ensuing benefits.
Olsen is another player who was not a center when he started college. Weis made him one before Olsen's junior year. Weis, now the offensive coordinator of the Chiefs, has already had Olsen in for a visit to Kansas City.
Two other players also worth a look at the position for the Broncos are North Carolina State's Ted Larsen (6-2, 304) and New Mexico's Erik Cook. Larsen spent his first two years with the Wolfpack as a defensive tackle — he was good enough to have played 23 games there, starting five — until he was moved to center before his junior year by coach Tom O'Brien.
If O'Brien sees something in a player to be an offensive linemen, the NFL usually takes notice, since O'Brien sent nine offensive linemen to the NFL in his tenure at Boston College.
Larsen plays with that defender's edge to his game, has a big upside and doesn't rattle easily. He sailed two shotgun snaps over the quarterback's head in his first career start at center in 2008 and simply kept right on playing in the game without losing his composure.
Cook (6-6, 318) played all five offensive line spots for the Lobos and is tough enough that when he fractured his right wrist in a preseason camp at one point in his career, he simply taught himself to snap left-handed and didn't miss a game.