2017 Broncos roster: Defensive end, Adam Gotsis

The Denver Broncos entered the 2016 NFL Draft looking for a replacement for defensive end Malik Jackson who signed a mega-deal during free agency with the Jacksonville Jaguars. They passed on finding his replacement in the first round when they traded up for quarterback Paxton Lynch but nabbed his replacement in the second round when they selected Adam Gotsis with the 63rd overall pick in the 2016 NFL Draft.

This pick was practically hand picked by Broncos Defensive Line coach Bill Kollar who was “adamant” that the Broncos draft the Australian-born Gotsis. Gary Kubiak who was the Head Coach at the time of Gotsis’s selection said that Kollar was bugging he and General Manager John Elway for six weeks about Gotsis.

“Our defensive line coach Bill Kollar is pretty good, and when he comes down the hall the course of the last six weeks banging on the door saying ‘you guys give me a chance to work with this guy’…John Elway and I felt really good about that,”

So the expectations for Gotsis were pretty high, but his rehab from an ACL injury really hurt his rookie year. He spent the entire offseason rehabbing and was never really 100% his rookie year and struggled at times because of it. However, he did show promise as a run stopper his rookie year according to Pro Football Focus.

Now Gotsis entered the offseason for the first time in his NFL career healthy and returned to the Broncos much bigger and stronger than he was when last season. Broncos Defensive Coordinator Joe Woods said that Gotsis looks like an “action figure”.

“The biggest thing with Adam was coming off of his rookie season, he had the injury in college. They say when you have that type of knee injury, it really takes you a year to recover and be 100 percent. I think last year when he was playing, he really wasn’t himself. When you look at him now, that dude is—he looks like an action figure. That dude is put together. Right now, he’s doing some impressive things and he has to continue to grow.”

Now Gotsis has a chance to earn an important role on the Broncos defensive line, and could potentially push for a starting spot opposite of Derek Wolfe. He has to earn that job of course, but so far the reviews of Gotsis this offseason have been impressive but he will need to show it once the pads come on and continue it through the preseason.

The good:

After a sluggish rookie year from Adam Gotsis, the Broncos were hoping that the former second-round pick would make some strides his second year, and so far so good.

Teammate Derek Wolfe told the media that Gotsis has been getting praised from Defensive Line coach Bill Kollar which is always a good thing.

Now while Gotsis’s listed weight is 287lbs, that listed weight is a bit outdated. Gotsis returned to the Broncos a healthy 20 pounds heavier than he was last season and it looks like it was an extra 20 pounds of muscle too. So he figures to be a much bigger force for the Broncos than he was last season.

As I said above, he has been impressing so far this spring, and this note from DenverBroncos.com’s Andrew Mason sums ups Gotsis’s dominance this spring.

DE Adam Gotsis personally wreaked havoc on the No. 2 offense during its move-the-ball two-minute drill period. The offense failed to advance the ball, going four downs and out, and Gotsis directly contributed to a pair of the incompletions, deflecting one pass at the line of scrimmage and generating pressure that forced another hurried throw.

This sort of playmaking has defined Gotsis' work in recent OTAs, allowing him to earn more opportunities -- and even praise from the most demanding (and important) observer: Defensive Line Coach Bill Kollar.

If Gotsis can continue this dominance into Training Camp, into the Preseason and eventually into the regular season then the Broncos already dominant defense will be even better in 2017.

The bad:

There really isn’t a lot of bad to go on here. All the “bad” from his rookie year could be chalked up to the ACL injury/rehab, not having a full offseason of training, and being a little undersized. Now he has his first fully healthy offseason, he’s healthy and much bigger and stronger. So he’s honestly more of an unknown than anything.

He will likely continue to be a big unknown for the Broncos until they have their first few padded practices. If he continues to dominate then we can all jump on the Adam Gotsis hype train. Dominating practice in shorts and no pads is one thing, but doing with pads and actually blocking is another.

Quotable:

Broncos Defensive Line Coach Bill Kollar on what Adam Gotsis had to do this offseason to take that next step.

“I told him, ‘Dude, this next offseason is the most important time of your life,’ ” Kollar said. “‘It’s going to tell if you’re going to be able to play in the NFL or not. You’ve got to get bigger, stronger and faster.’ He was just outmatched last year. ‘If you come in and have the same strength you had last year, you’re in bad shape. I know you’re coming off the torn ACL, so it’s tough, but dude, that’s just tough sh*t. You’ve got to show up and play now or you’ll find yourself out of the league.’”

Roster Status:

Gotsis is a lock for a roster spot, but his role on this defense is the big question. Will earn a starting role? Will just be a rotational guy? Will he show enough pass rush ability to play in sub-packages, or is he a run defender all the way for the Broncos? That is something we will get our answers to this summer.