Report: Broncos sign seventh round center Alex Forsyth to a four-year deal

According to 9NEWS Denver’s Mike Klis, the Denver Broncos have signed rookie center Alex Forsyth to a four-year deal. The former Oregon Ducks center was selected by the Denver Broncos in the seventh round of the 2023 NFL Draft and is the first player from the team's rookie class to officially sign.

All these deals are a formality now and are based on where they were selected, but it is still good to see the Broncos begin to sign their rookie class. The Broncos rookies and try outs will report to the facility on Thursday, so I would expect many of the deals to be hammered out by the start of rookie camp.

Alex Forsyth is a 6’4”, 303-pound center out of Oregon who will now be joining the Denver Broncos offensive line. The Athletic’s Dane Bruler had Forsyth as his fifth-best center in the draft and had a 5th-round grade on him. Based on his rankings, the Broncos got themselves yet another value pick here.

A three-year starter at Oregon, Forsyth was the lynchpin of the line in former offensive coordinator Kenny Dillingham’s scheme. After cross-training between tackle and guard his first three seasons, he moved to center in 2020 and started 28 games there the last three seasons, not allowing a sack in 2022. Forsyth is a skillful player because of the efficiency of his movements and attention to fundamental details. He uses body angles and patient, independent hands to occupy defenders, but will struggle to uproot or create displacement. Overall, Forsyth must rely on his technique to make up for his lack of explosive power, but he stays light and centered in his movements with the intelligence and grit that teams covet at the position. He has NFL reserve potential.

The Broncos desperately need depth along their interior offensive line and get that here with Forsyth. He likely brings the Broncos some versatility to play center and guard for them while also adding competition at the center position. Right now, all signs point to former third-round pick Lloyd Cushenberry to be the Broncos starting center, but with his up-and-down play throughout his career, he is not a lock to start. So, Forsyth has a potential window to go from a late seventh-round selection to being a starter at center for the Denver Broncos.

Now, that is probably a reach, but some analysts had Forsyth graded as their top center in the draft. If they were correct in their evaluation, the Broncos got themselves a steal and potentially an early contributor for them this upcoming season.