ENGLEWOOD, Colo. — Vic Fangio isn’t ready to publicly declare a starting center.
But the Broncos’ actions have indicated they are very close to calling off the three-man race for the starting job. And as the saying goes, actions speak louder than words.
“Right now, [Lloyd] Cushenberry’s taking the bulk of the one snaps there, but we’re still mixing in Austin [Schlottman] and Pat [Morris] there,” Fangio said after Monday’s training camp practice.
For roughly the past week, Denver’s rookie third-round pick has been the one receiving the bulk of the first-team snaps, indicating he’s the leader in the clubhouse as the team enters the final week of training camp. In fact, during Saturday’s scrimmage at Empower Field at Mile High, Cushenberry was Drew Lock’s center.
“I’m really impressed with Lloyd. I was telling the coaches today that I want to keep getting more reps with him, as many reps as we can and we have to get reps after practice. That’s what we need,” starting left guard Dalton Risner said on Monday. “We need to have an understanding of how each other makes certain blocks and what we mean by certain calls. That’s so big for an offensive line. It’s about meshing together and coming together as a unit. I think Lloyd’s done an extremely good job and the offensive line is continuing to jell more and more. He’s got a lot of work to do just like I do, but I’m really happy with where we’re at right now.”
Certainly sounds like Risner has no questions as to who will be starting to the right of him at center. With two weeks before the season kicks off on Monday Night Football, Risner is right in that the starting offensive line needs as many snaps together as possible. This is especially important for Cushenberry, who didn’t receive reps with the starters during the first week of training camp.
“When you ask the question of do I think Lloyd can do what I did last year and step into the fire, most definitely,” Risner said, when asked if Cushenberry can start as a rookie, much like the left guard did last year. “I think he is mature enough. I think he is responsible enough to take control of the offensive line. He knows his stuff. It’s not a mental thing for Lloyd… I think that he definitely can be a guy that can help our team this year. He’s been taking one reps for us.”
Cushenberry’s intelligence and football I.Q. have been praised throughout all of camp, which is especially important for the center position as he is responsible for making the calls at the line of scrimmage.
“It’s just getting used to the speed of the NFL, making calls and being aware of what goes on in the game. He continues to grow with that,” Risner said. “He and I continue to grow every single day as we take more reps with each other. That gives me a lot of confidence going into playing the Titans here in two weeks.”
Cushenberry started 29 games at center for LSU, including every game for the 2019 National Champions. During that season, not only did Cushenberry go undefeated, he was named a Second-Team All-American at center.
“Lloyd is extremely intelligent. He does a great job. He wants to be great,” Risner said, continuing his praise for the rookie. “Lloyd has a passion for the game. He has leadership capabilities that he’s probably not even aware of.”
While Schlottman and Morris both saw significant playing time with the first team, specifically early in camp, it’s clear Lloyd Cushenberry has the job to snap the ball to Drew Lock on lock.
