Initial expectations and projections for McTelvin Agim with the Broncos in 2020

DENVER — For a second-straight year, John Elway used a third-round pick to bolster his defensive line. With the last of their three third-round picks in 2020, the Broncos selected defensive lineman McTelvin Agim with the 95th-overall pick.

While being a third-round pick is certainly impressive, Agim hasn’t always been near the bottom of top-100 rankings. In fact, coming out of high school, the 6-foot-3, 309-pound lineman was a five-star recruit, the No. 1 rated prospect coming out of Arkansas and the reigning Gatorade Player of the Year in Arkansas.

Talent, clearly, has never been an issue for Denver’s newest defensive lineman. Instead, inconsistent play during college brought Agim’s draft stock down to the third round.

Here’s what to expect from the talented, yet inconsistent, McTelvin Agim during his rookie season with the Broncos.

Projections for 2020: 2 sacks; 20 tackles; 2 tackles for a loss; 3 quarterback hits; 20 percent of defensive snaps played

The toughest part of Agim’s rookie season could very well be getting on the field.

Agim will likely play less than the desired amount of a third-round pick, but that will be by design from the get-go and won’t necessarily reflect that he’s a disappointing draft pick.

He will truly get his opportunity next season, after Shelby Harris and Christian Covington’s deals expire following the 2020 season.

If Agim has a season anywhere close to what Dre’Mont Jones did as a rookie last year, it would be a great success. As a rookie, Jones played in 14 games, had one start, racked up 3.5 sacks to go along with six quarterback hits and three tackles for a loss. In Week 16, Jones was named the AFC Defensive Player of the Week after dominating the Lions with 2.5 sacks to go along with three quarterback hits.

But even getting 26 percent of the defensive snaps, like Jones did, will be tough for Agim to get barring an injury to one of the linemen ahead of him on the depth chart.

Instead, realistic expectations for the third-round pick should be similar to what DeMarcus Walker did last year. As the sixth defensive lineman, much like Agim is projected to be, Walker played in 20 percent of the defensive snaps, but wasn’t always active on game days, appearing in just 10 games.

For Agim to be in more of a Dre’Mont Jones role, he’ll need to jump Covington on the depth chart. That’s certainly not an impossible job for Agim as he’s immensely talented. The key will be consistency.

This year will be about learning how to be a pro and developing his game on the sideline and practice field. Drafting Agim in the third round was more so about the long-term plan and potential force he could develop into instead of what he’ll do in 2020 — a drastically different plan than fellow third-round pick Lloyd Cushenberry is expected to have.

Don’t judge Agim on what he does on the field his rookie year. The Broncos won’t be.