Most commentators agree that the Broncos need some new talent on the offensive line and at running back. A solid argument could also be made that John Elway should continue his practice of drafting a defensive player in the first round.
With the 2016 NFL Combine officially underway, the Broncos have already confirmed our suspicions by scheduling meetings with two lineman and a running back. San Jose State running back Tyler Ervin and Texas Christian University offensive lineman Halapoulivaati Vaitai told the Denver Post and DenverBroncos.com, respectively, that they’ve already held meetings with the Broncos, formal or otherwise. The Broncos also scheduled to meet with Stanford guard Joshua Garnett on Thursday.
Garnett was a team captain at Stanford, earned Pac-12 lineman of the year and won the school’s first ever Outland Trophy Award, which goes to the top interior lineman in the country. Halapoulivaati Vaitai is a big man and, standing 6-foot-6 and weighing 315 pounds, he could become a valuable asset to the Broncos’ sieve of an offensive line if they decided to do more than meet with him.
Vaitai is a consistent presence on the line and has played in all but one game in the past three seasons for TCU, starting in the vast majority of them. His presence helped TCU produce both a 1,000-yard rusher and receiver last season for only the second time in school history.
Tyler Ervin is an unconventional player. At 5-foot-9 and weighing 192 pounds he is a small running back who would rely primarily on his speed and would probably serve as a change-of-pace back.
It does seem that, so far, Kubiak is doing the obvious thing and looking to plug the many holes at offensive line and protect whoever may be at quarterback next season. It seems obvious, but with all the trouble the offensive line gave the Broncos last season, who could blame him?
