Broncos Roster 2017: Michael Schofield

You witnessed 2016, you have an informed opinion. What you probably don't know is that Michael Schofield was one of, if not the highest graded offensive players on the Broncos according to ProFootballFocus in at least three games last season: New England Patriots, Tennessee Titans and against the San Diego Chargers.

Schofield was drafted as a right tackle, made Khalil Mack a household name, switched to left tackle where he guarded Peyton Manning’s blindside for Super Bowl 50 and wound up at right guard in 2016 where by all appearances he flourished.

The Denver Broncos premiere signing this offseason was left guard Ron Leary, who was, as you’ve guessed by this point moved to right guard to accommodate career left guard Max Garcia’s tendency to push people to his left.

The Good:

Those of you that study contracts, draft classes or Broncos offensive lineman will have noted this already, but Schofield is in a contract season. He’s also started at three of the five offensive lineman spots for Denver. His value as a backup is extraordinary, but the fact that he is a backup and likely to stay a rotational lineman this season should keep his contract level down if the Broncos are looking to re-sign him for 2018.

Also, he speaks out about the dangers of opioids which is something that we can all pay attention to.

The Bad:

Being drafted by John Elway is never anyone’s fault.

Eight: That’s the number of offensive lineman that have been drafted since 2011 when Elway took over the practice.

Five: That’s the number of offensive lineman that remain on the 2017 roster: Matt Paradis, Max Garcia, Ty Sambrailo, Connor McGovern and Schofield.

The Quotable:

Any fan of Fox’s Prison Break knows what I could include here and it would be amazing. However, Denver employs a different character. However, here is former head coach Gary Kubiak on the moves the Broncos made on the offensive line in 2015 and 2016.

“I think Max [Garcia], a young player, has continued to grow. I think Matt Paradis, a second-year player, continues to grow. Michael Schofield has played a little bit of every position. They’re working their tail off. [Assistant Offensive Line Coach] James [Cregg] and ‘Clance’ [Offensive Line Coach Clancy Barone] are working with them. We can all do better and we all need to do better and be more consistent. They’re working hard.”

Status:

Schofield is not going anywhere this season. He may not be going anywhere for the next three to four seasons. He’ll start when he’s asked to, he will fill in when he’s asked to and he’ll continue making Von Miller, Shane Ray, Shaquil Barrett and Vontarrius Dora sharper in practice.