It's that time of the year again. Mile High Report begins our annual 90 players in 90 days roster breakdown. Last year went fairly well, but now through August, we'll break down every player on the Denver Broncos roster.
Name: Kyle Roberts
Position: Offensive Tackle
Height: 6'6" Weight: 305
Age: 24 Experience: 1
College: Nevada
Offensive tackle Kyle Roberts was an undrafted player out of Nevada in 2015 who was able to secure a spot on the Denver Broncos practice squad. He spent the entire year there under Gary Kubiak’s system, which should help him in his fight for a roster spot in 2016.
The good
Roberts has good size and proved he could stay square with defenders in front of him. He displayed quick hands and a violent punch at the point of action. Overall, it will be his ability to fit the zone scheme that will determine whether he’ll find himself on the roster for a second straight year.
The bad
He came into the NFL with poor footwork as MHR noted last year, but a year under the system could have helped fix that. He also struggled in college adjusting to blitzes and speed edge rushers. Roberts also lacked the athleticism necessary to block while in motion.
Quotable
Another positive is that Roberts has a fiery mother who kept him in line after making some seriously bad choices early in his college career that nearly led him to being kicked off the team.
Roberts, a Reed High alum, got that icy stare two springs ago. The talented tackle was working his way off Nevada's roster. He was hanging out with the wrong people. He was missing class. He was making too many bad decisions. He was suspended from the team's 2012 spring camp and already in the doghouse with Nevada's new coaching staff. He was one mistake from never playing football again.
"She sat me down and said, 'OK, Kyle. If you want to live your life the way you're doing it right now, this is where you're going,'" he recalled. "She said, 'You have the potential to be great. Do you really love football? Or do you want to be a college dropout and go on with your life and make minimum wage?'"
That was the watershed moment in Kyle Roberts' life. His mom had laid out two routes. He could keep making bad mistakes, lose his scholarship, get kicked out of college, never play football again and get a job that barely pays the rent. Or he could stay focused, try and reach his potential and make something of himself. Roberts chose route two.
Roster status
Roberts has a tough task ahead of him as there are some new faces on the offensive line in 2016 that appear to be good fits for the practice squad. He will need to show the coaches that he is far enough ahead of these new guys to secure another year under this system.
It is hard to project what will happen before training camp as none of us have seen Roberts in pads since last summer.