Denver Broncos roster: Offensive guard Connor McGovern

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.

Offensive guard Connor McGovern was drafted by the Denver Broncos in the fifth round of the 2016 NFL Draft. The Broncos lost both of their starting guards to free agency in Louis Vasquez and Evan Mathis, which left the position wide open heading into training camp.

So far, the Broncos have looked to fill the holes at guard with Max Garcia, Ty Sambrailo and Darrion Weems. McGovern, being the rookie, hasn’t yet pushed for a starting role during training camp.

The good

McGovern is a smart player who is going to study his tail off. Add that to his tremendous reputation in the weight room and you have yourself a guy who could grow into a solid multi-year contributor on the interior of the offensive line.

He is at his best on the move and that is exactly what Gary Kubiak likes from his offensive linemen. Few offensive linemen are ready to contribute in a starting role right out of college, but with so many question marks inside it could just be a matter of time before McGovern is ready to be thrown to the wolves.

The bad

He is a rookie. The Broncos have huge question marks along the interior of their line and it is unlikely that a rookie will be able to play at a high enough level during a 16-game season. If McGovern starts, he’ll likely face the kind of struggles that Max Garcia did last season.

Experience counts, especially along the offensive line.

McGovern will contribute immediately in the run game, but will need some time to fine-tune his pass protection skills.

Quotable

With Matt Paradis the clear leader of the offensive line, McGovern has a lot of young players who are giving him instruction. Still, McGovern isn’t going to take any of that lightly.

“Yeah they’re not six-, eight-, 10-year vets, but if you’ve been around a year or two and play that many snaps,” McGovern said. “That’s a lot more experience than I have.”

Roster status

Frankly, I don’t see how McGovern isn’t finding his way onto the field in 2016. Maybe not much early on, but by seasons end he will be potentially filling in as a starter.

Whether McGovern plays significantly in 2016 or not, he has the look of an NFL starter. It’s just a matter of when for him.

What a great draft pick by John Elway.