For the past several seasons, the Denver Broncos have hit up the free agent market in order to solidify their offensive line. Many of those moves haven’t panned out (Donald Stephenson, Menelik Watson, etc.), but the franchise made a big splash early on in last year’s free agency period when they signed Ronald Leary to a lucrative four-year deal. With his addition, the team finally had a big man on the interior who could help fortify their offensive line for years to come.
"Every time [the #Broncos] open the season, the goal is to win a championship. I’m glad I could be a part of that.” - @RonLeary75 pic.twitter.com/1QrIbZSbF2
— Denver Broncos (@Broncos) March 10, 2017
Unfortunately, lingering back issues caused the Broncos to place him on injured reserve and his first season with the squad ended prematurely. However, in the eleven games Leary did start in for the franchise, he made a tremendous impact for the team and was unquestionably the best player on Denver’s offensive line. Leary has always been a talented player, but concerns regarding his durability and ability to remain healthy have surrounded him since his collegiate football years. Here is to hoping that Leary can come back better than ever and help the Broncos pave their way back to contender status in 2018.
Ronald Leary’s 2017 PFF Grade
According to Pro Football Focus, Leary was the Broncos’ highest graded lineman in 2017 and one of their top graded players on the entire roster. His overall grade of 81.2 lands him in the “above-average” category. His pass block grade of 81.6 was slightly higher than his run block grade of 80.3, but the combination of those numbers were good enough to earn him the ninth best guard ranking in the league last season.
Ronald Leary’s Contract Outlook
Last offseason, Leary signed a four-year deal that could pay him as much as $36 million over its duration. His contract is the fourth highest contract for a right guard in the league. Leary is scheduled to make roughly $8.8 million in 2018. Overall, his contract appears to be team-friendly, and if the Broncos felt the need to move on from him down the road, they could do so without incurring a lot of dead money.
Ronald Leary’s 2018 Status
Leary is an absolute lock to be a starter for the team, but the real question is what position will he end up playing in 2018. To appease Max Garcia because “he felt more comfortable” at left guard, Leary was moved to right guard for the Broncos in his first season with the team. Some argue that having him play out of position was a bad idea and that it would be best for Denver to move him back to left guard, which is where he excelled with the Dallas Cowboys.
That’s certainly something I would welcome — but he played very well at right guard last season and it might be wise to keep him there, especially if the team enters next year with a rookie right tackle. Nevertheless, I would expect the Broncos to attempt to upgrade the other starting guard position through this year’s NFL Draft and decide which combination is best once all the dusts and ambiguity surrounding the roster is settled.