In the second round of the 2016 NFL Draft, the Denver Broncos selected former Georgia Tech defensive lineman Adam Gotsis with their 63rd overall selection. They made this selection after Defensive Line Coach Bill Kollar came knocking at the door of former Broncos Head Coach Gary Kubiak during a six week span leading up to the draft.

“Let me just say this: our defensive line coach Bill Kollar is pretty good. When he comes down over the course of the last six weeks banging on our doors, saying, ‘You guys give me a chance to work with this guy,’ John and I felt really good about that. Bill and the defensive staff, we just wanted to add him to our group. He had a great energy with him in Indianapolis. Very impressive. He is climbing every day as a player. He’s a late starter with the game, but I think he’s going to fit really well with our group right now and I think we’re going to have a heck of a group when it’s all said and done.”

Now Gotsis who is entering his fourth season in the NFL and the final year of his rookie deal with the Broncos, will be looking to have a productive year this year so he can cash in during free agency next winter.

Adam Gotsis Profile

Height: 6’4”

Weight: 287 pounds

Age: 26(turns 27 in September)

Experience: 4th season

Gotsis who was born and spent his time through high school in Australia came to America after he joined the Georgia Tech football program. He would go on to play a total of three seasons there and was a productive player during his time there. He would total 105 tackles, 26 tackles for a loss, 11.5 sacks, 2 interceptions, and 4 pass deflections.

This production in college helped earn him the second round selection the Broncos used on him back during the 2016 NFL Draft.

Since Gotsis played in all 16 games for the past three seasons for the Broncos while start 25 of those 48 games for them. During that span, Gotsis has totaled 93 tackles, 8 tackles for a loss, 15 quarterback hits, 5 sacks, 11 pass deflections, 2 forced fumbles, and 3 fumble recoveries. This past season for the Broncos defense, Gotsis totaled 38 tackles, 4 tackles for a loss, 3 sacks, 7 quarterback hits, 6 pass deflections, 2 forced fumbles, and 1 forced fumble.

Now, Gotsis who is entering the final year of his rookie deal will be looking to have a breakout season in newly hired Head Coach Vic Fangio’s defense. A defense that Gotsis told reporters earlier this offseason that he is “loving it”.

“I’m loving it. We’re still basing out of the 3-4, pretty similar stuff to kind of last year, kind of the same techniques. Then we’re going to be playing a lot of subs, let us get a little more pass rush, a little more pass rush up inside, I think. I think it’s a good fit for a lot of us on the D-Line. I think we’re so versatile. You’ve got guys that can play all three positions, know both ends, and basically everyone in the room can play all of those positions. I’m feeling really comfortable. Defensive Line Coach Bill Kollar is coming back, and you know he’s one of the best D-Line coaches in the league. He’s on top of us, making sure we get it all down. Yeah, just loving it. Just loving the fit.”

Now, as I have continued to mention, Gotsis is entering the final year of his rookie deal this upcoming season. That usually puts a lot of pressure on a player who is looking to cash in during free agency and if they will or won’t be re-signed by their current team. However, Gotsis told reporters that he really hasn’t thought about that too much.

“No, I haven’t really thought about it too much. I mean, I’d love to be here. This is the place that drafted me. They obviously wanted me here. I’ve loved my time here and I just want to keep going out and playing hard for this team and all the guys in this locker room. That’s who it’s for. That’s all going to take care of its self at the end of the year for me. It’s just going out there and playing ball and doing my job. If you take care of what you need to do personally, the rest of it, that’s offseason talk. For me it’s just going out there, playing hard and doing my job.”

If he goes out there and continues doing his job, he should be looking at a pretty good payday coming from either the Broncos or someone else this upcoming offseason. He figures to be your starter at one of the defensive end spots opposite of veteran Derek Wolfe with Shelby Harris playing some nose tackle as well. Add in the addition of Vic Fangio and his defensive scheme with Bill Kollar returning and you should expect some big things from Gotsis in 2019.

The good

Gotsis is arguably the Broncos best run defender on the team. He is a big man who has the strength and power to take on double teams, bull rush offensive lineman, fill running lanes and shed blocks to get after the ball carrier. He is damn good at it and really flourished in that role last season for the Broncos defense.

He was asked if he felt like that Defensive Line coach Bill Kollar trusted him more last season and Gotsis told reporters that he felt like he did.

“Yeah, coming into last year I knew he definitely trusted me a lot more, and he definitely, I feel like, put a lot more on me to do stuff. Just for me personally, I knew that I could contribute more than what I was doing and that’s a good thing about the bye [week]. It’s a little reflection on yourself and what you’ve put out there already. I was just watching this film and I was seeing that I was leaving some plays out there that I feel like I really could have made and stuff, and I just told myself, ‘You’ve got to really step it up and just try to make some more plays,’ and that just kind of started happening for me.”

I would expect his role in the defense and trust from coaches to only grow this upcoming season, especially with Fangio coaching the defense.

Like just about every other defensive player I will do a write up on this summer, I am going to mention Fangio’s impact on them. He puts his players in roles that fit them better, he turns them into better players, and more often than not, these players have career years under him. I believe Gotsis is a candidate for this type of breakout year this season.

Isaiah J. Downing-USA TODAY Sports

As he said in that quote above, things really started to click for him last season and I believe he will carry that into 2019. Fangio asks his lineman to attack the gaps more while also being physical as well. This fits Gotsis skill set very well and why I think he could be in for a big year for the Broncos.

The bad

Gotsis is a bit of a one-trick pony. He is a very good run defender, but he doesn’t give you a ton in the pass rush department. He can bull rush and get in the backfield on occasion, but he has only totaled 5 sacks during the past three seasons. He is coming off a career-high 3.0 sack season for the Broncos, so hopefully, he can continue to improve in that area, but it is something he is not known for.

Finally, you have Gotsis entering the final year of his rookie deal. I think he can have a big year, but will he remain with the Broncos after this season? I think it will be tough. You also have fellow defensive lineman Shelby Harris entering the final year of his deal as well and I would imagine the Broncos will focus on Harris over Gotsis. So it will be interesting to see how this plays out this offseason.

Quotable

Adam Gotsis on what clicked for him last season.

“I think it I was out there playing a lot more snaps and I think after that bye week, I kind of just told myself, ‘You can just go out there and just play hard and try to make one impact play a game or one or more impact plays a game.’ I was fortunate enough that I was able to do that. I think a lot of the other guys on the team, just finding that trust in me and that belief in me gave me a bit more confidence. Now, I really feel like I’m a big part of this defense and this team. So, I’m just ready to go out there this year and help lead these guys and get back into the playoffs.”

Adam Gotsis Highlights

Adam Gotsis’s roster status with the Broncos

His roster spot is safe and he very likely will be one of your starting defensive ends come week one in Vic Fangio’s defense.

His future with the team is the big question here with him entering the final year of his contract. Will he get a nice extension or get re-signed by the Broncos before next season? Or will we be looking to replace Gotsis’s role on the defense during next offseason?