If you thought the Denver Broncos offensive line looked improved on Thursday night, that’s because it was, and Matt Paradis played a major role.
According to Pro Football Focus, in fact, Matt Paradis was the highest-graded offensive lineman in Week 1, with a 89.6 grade.
“One of the most monstrous performances we have seen from a center,” PFF wrote. “Paradis had a perfect game in pass protection for Denver against a tough Carolina front, and was also dominant in the run game.”
Alongside Paradis, Michael Schofield and Donald Stephenson also fared well, earning average grades from PFF, while Russell Okung (67.7) and Max Garcia (48.3) had below-average to poor performances.
The only two other Broncos to earn above-average scores from PFF were Von Miller (81.9) and Chris Harris Jr. (88.7), who was their No. 2 rated cornerback overall and the No. 1 slot corner in Week 1.
“Harris did give up a touchdown to Carolina WR Kelvin Benjamin, but he was in close coverage at the time and just lost the battle at the catch point,” PFF wrote. “Outside of that negative, he intercepted a pass, broke up another key one late in the game, and allowed a total of just 14 yards to the Panthers, all of which came on the touchdown score.”
On the other end of the spectrum, Bradley Roby (31.1), T.J. Ward (36.0) and Derek Wolfe (40.9) finished with the Broncos’ lowest grades of the week.
In terms of quarterback play, Trevor Siemian did exactly what they needed him to do: be average.
With a grade of 75.3, Siemian was the No. 16 quarterback in the NFL for Week 1, outplaying guys like Andy Dalton, Philip Rivers and Carson Palmer. Brock Osweiler (84.5) had an impressive week, finishing at No. 6.
Of all the quarterbacks making their first career starts this week — Siemian, Carson Wentz, Jimmy Garoppolo and Dak Prescott — Siemian graded out as the second best, only trailing Wentz (86.6), who finished No. 3 amongst all quarterbacks.
