ENGLEWOOD, Colo. — Lloyd Cushenberry played his rookie season like, well, a rookie.
With no established starting center on the roster, the third-round pick was thrown into the fire and given the daunting task of leading the Denver Broncos’ offensive line from the middle.
Unsurprisingly, he struggled.
“Going into [this] offseason, I went straight to work, knowing how I played last year and how unacceptable that was,” Cushenberry stated on Tuesday, during the Broncos’ final week of OTAs. “I had to change a lot of things.”
No rookie excuses here from the 22-year old.
Despite the struggles throughout last season, Vic Fangio and Mike Munchak didn’t waiver in their confidence and belief in Cushenberry. Due to that, his durability and constant improvement as the season progressed, Cushenberry was the only offensive player to play every single snap in 2020.
“Throughout the course of the year, I [became] more confident [while] believing in myself a little more and playing faster. To end the year, it was better. It wasn’t to the standard that I set for myself or what this team expects,” he said, holding nothing back. “Going into this year, obviously, it needs to be better. I look forward to achieving that.”
There’s a saying that the NFL stands for “Not For Long.” Four months after his rookie season wrapped, Cushenberry found out first hand why that saying exists.
Just one year after using a third-round pick to select Cushenberry, Denver turned around in 2021 and used another third-round pick on his potential replacement. With the 98th-overall pick in the 2021 NFL Draft, Denver selected Quinn Meinerz.
But drafting a center wasn’t a surprise to Cushenberry. In fact, he saw it coming.
“[I] expected [it] based on how I played last year,” Cushenberry said, again being brutally honest. “I didn’t really think much of it. Competition is good for everyone. We’re going to push each other and we’re pushing each other already in OTAs. He’s a great guy off the field and he’s a great player.”
Despite playing guard in Division III football at Wisconsin-Whitewater, the Broncos are having Meinerz begin his career at center to push Cushenberry for the job.
“We’re going to make each other better,” Cushenberry said about the competition. “Whoever steps up, that’s who’s going to get the job.”
“We’re pushing each other. We’re working together in the individual drills, making each other better,” Cushenberry added. “He’s a young guy. He’s going to have his ups and downs. Going through what I went through last year and having the experience I have now, I can kind of teach him some things and show him the ropes a little bit like guys did for me last year.”
Cushenberry believes it will be an honest competition between he and Meinerz. Yet, he welcomes it.
“It’s all competition, and at the end of the day, the more competition we have on the offense and on this team, it’s going to make everybody better,” he said. “[Drafting Meinerz] really didn’t affect me at all mentally. I was just looking forward to the challenge of making him better and him making me better.”
An area that Cushenberry is currently working on to better his game is learning the offense at an even deeper level. With Pat Shurmur in his second year as offensive coordinator, the Broncos fortunately don’t have to learn a new offense.
“Continue to master the playbook so I can go out there and play faster and not have to think,” Cushenberry said when asked what he’s working on in OTAs. “That’s a big thing with centers. You have to know the playbook inside and out. If I continue to do that and continue to get communication down with my guards and be able to communicate efficiently and effectively with them, then we can go out there and play fast and confident and do some great things this year.”
Outside of that, Cushenberry just needs to fix up the “little things” in his game, as he said, in order to take the next step as a center.
As the incumbent with a full season in the NFL already under his belt, Cushenberry has begun the offseason with the upper hand. If, however, he’s not able to elevate his game from last year’s rookie level, then another third-round rookie will be waiting to take over.
