Before the draft, the Broncos were planning to have Patrick Morris and Austin Schlottmann compete for the starting center job this summer.
After selecting LSU center Lloyd Cushenberry in the third round of the draft, Denver still plans to have Morris and Schlottmann compete for the job.
“He [Cushenberry] is going to go in there and compete with Austin and Pat,” Broncos coach Vic Fangio said during a Zoom conference call with reporters on April 24. “Again, he has the license to go in there and compete and win the job if he can.
“We’ll see how he develops, but we do like his ability, his potential and the play he put on tape at LSU. He’ll go in there with those other two guys and compete for the job.”
It’s smart for Denver to have an open competition because that should motivate all three players to perform at a high level this summer.
From the outside looking in, it certainly appears that Cushenberry will be the clear favorite — the job won’t be handed to him, though, and that’s a good thing. Competition should only make the Broncos’ o-line better.
