Denver Broncos: Lloyd Cushenberry starting right away at center?

Will Lloyd Cushenberry start at center for the Denver Broncos in 2020?

The Denver Broncos had a tremendous 2020 NFL Draft class starting with Alabama wide receiver Jerry Jeudy in the first round, but even with Jeudy falling all the way to the 15th overall pick, it’s hard to argue against LSU center Lloyd Cushenberry as the team’s best value in the entire class.

The Broncos had 10 selections in the 2020 NFL Draft, so they had plenty of picks to choose from, but getting Lloyd Cushenberry with the 83rd overall selection was easily the best bang for their buck.

Throughout the pre-draft process, everyone seemingly became enlightened to the fact that there were very few holes in Cushenberry’s game at the center position.

As one of the captains and voted by his teammates as the MVP of the offense, Cushenberry was in charge of making protection calls at the line of scrimmage while also having to hold down the middle of a line that faced up against NFL talent week after week.

Going up against players like Derrick Brown and Javon Kinlaw, Cushenberry didn’t pitch shutouts every week, but he more than held his own and proved over the course of his redshirt junior season that he was a no-doubt top 100 selection in the NFL Draft, and many felt he was a lock for the second round.

Can Cushenberry start for Denver in 2020?

There were many in Broncos Country who wanted Cushenberry with the team’s 46th overall pick in the 2020 NFL Draft, which they wound up using on wide receiver KJ Hamler out of Penn State.

After the selection of Hamler, fans were clamoring for Cushenberry with Denver’s first of three third-round picks at 77 overall, but they passed on him there as well.

There were rumors floating around that the Broncos had tried to trade up for Temple’s Matt Hennessy, but John Elway actually stayed put with all of his picks and his patience paid off.

While Hennessy is a tremendous prospect in his own right, getting Cushenberry at pick number 83 overall felt like a gift from the football gods for Denver, and it felt like the team had somehow acquired an additional second-round pick.

No matter what game you turn on of Cushenberry’s from 2019, he looks like an NFL starter with excellent functional strength and athleticism, an ideal body type for center, long arms, and a high football IQ.

The Broncos went out in the 2020 offseason and spent big money on Graham Glasgow, who has played a lot of center in the NFL. The Broncos also watched last year’s starting center — Connor McGovern — bolt for the New York Jets in free agency.

Glasgow will pencil in at the right guard position for Denver, a position he also played while he was a member of the Detroit Lions, while the Broncos currently have relatively unknown prospects Patrick Morris and Austin Schlottmann at the center spot.

Morris is a favorite of offensive line coach Mike Munchak, a player the Broncos poached off of waivers when he was let go by the Steelers. He may have a future on the team, as could Schlottmann, a former teammate of Morris’ at TCU.

Even if those guys continue to develop, they will be hard-pressed to beat out the second-team All-American for the starting center job as a rookie.

Just like Dalton Risner a year ago for the Broncos, Lloyd Cushenberry appears to have what it takes to make a relatively seamless transition from the collegiate level to the pros, having played a lot of games in a lot of big situations with very little bad tape.

Like Risner, Cushenberry is known for his physical and mental toughness, his leadership traits, and his ability to do his job — whatever it is — with excellence.

That’s why Cushenberry was one of the LSU players last year to receive the no. 18 jersey, which he wore during practices to symbolize not only the respect his teammates and coaches have for him but that he represents LSU well on and off the field.

Just like Risner, Cushenberry’s combine workout might not turn heads but his tape is solid week in and week out, and what that gives you is a prospect with a very high floor.

The Broncos should feel confident about Cushenberry as the pivot in their offense, even as a rookie.