With the news that he’d be faced with replacing his All-Pro left tackle, Ryan Clady, who is lost to a torn ACL, head coach Gary Kubiak wasted no time inserting his 2015 second round draft pick, Ty Sambrailo into first team reps last week.
Protecting Peyton Manning’s blind side may be one of the most important – and certainly most scrutinized – jobs in the NFL. Kubiak, and his ultimate choice to replace Clady, clearly understand that fact, which is why the coach is being generally positive about Sambrailo’s early efforts during OTAs.
However, after he addressed the media on Monday, one comment Kubiak offered up about his rookie tackle made us take pause.
Kubiak: “He’s kind of going through a process right now. I sat [OLBs] Von [Miller] and DeMarcus [Ware] for a day—one day out of the three. I think he feels pretty good about himself that day, and all of a sudden here they come. Well, that’s the real deal. But that’s what I told him: ‘Not many guys get to work against two Pro Bowl players on a daily basis and you will.’ He’s had no problem mentally. Physically, it’s just going to be a continuous deal. He’s a worker. I think the players respect how he’s going about his business. Like I said, he’s got to do it really fast. I think also that [T Michael] Schofield has really improved. I’ve been impressed with how he’s practiced.”
Our assessment?
Kubiak is impressed with the effort, but not the results in the early going. Yes, Sambrailo is matching up against two All-Pros in Miller and Ware, but it seems that the rookie might not yet have the physical strength skill Kubiak needs in the person protecting his most valuable commodity.
The head coach was asked about Sambrailo, but he opened up the door for Schofield – last year’s third round pick who didn’t play a single round under John Fox and Adam Gase.
Kubiak is known to work his young players in much faster than Fox, a seeming necessity at left tackle at this point, so Schofield and Sambrailo could be in for a dogfight for the position – at least initially.
Perhaps the most telling move in this saga? The same day that Clady’s injury was announced, Denver signed former Bronco and Texan Ryan Harris.
Kubiak has plenty of time to determine whether Sambrailo or Schofield are up to the task against the likes of Miller and Ware – a good test if they ever hope to keep Seattle in check – but the coach’s words on Monday seem to indicate that he’ll go in another direction if they are routinely getting beat.
Protecting his draft picks is not nearly as important as protecting his quarterback. Kubiak will play whoever does that best.