Falcons RT Kaleb McGary Named Broncos' 'Dream' FA Signing
It's quite a laundry list of names the Denver Broncos have trotted out to play right tackle since Orland Franklin departed in 2015: Michael Schofield, Donald Stephenson, Ryan Harris, Ty Sambrailo, Tyler Polumbus, Louis Vasquez, Menelik Watson, Jared Veldheer, Ja’Wuan James, Paul Cornick, Elijah Wilkinson, Jake Rodgers, Demar Dotson, Chris Clark, Bobby Massie, Billy Turner, and Cameron Fleming.
To say the right tackle position in Denver has been a revolving door over the last decade would be an understatement. A revolving door would, unfortunately, provide a similar barrier in stopping a pass rusher from getting to the quarterback as a number of the players listed above.
Right tackle has been a huge issue in Denver for years. Just ask any person who follows this Broncos squad.
Will this year finally be the year Denver finds more than a stop-gap solution for right tackle? That would be a dream scenario for Broncos Country.
Bleacher Report's Alex Ballentine has apparently heard the fanbase’s plea and answered it in his recent article predicting every NFL team’s “dream” signing in free agency. Ballentine tapped former Atlanta Falcons right tackle Kaleb McGary as the ideal acquisition for the Broncos.
Injuries ravaged the (offensive line) unit last season. Garett Bolles tore his ACL and forced Cam Fleming to the left side. Billy Turner, Calvin Anderson and Quinn Bailey all saw action on the right side. None really did enough to make the Broncos feel comfortable with the position moving forward.
The Broncos could try to go the discount route and hope that an aging veteran pans out. Or they could utilize their cap space to bring in a good right tackle who is hitting his prime.
Kaleb McGary is a great run blocker whose pass-blocking has come a long way since entering the league in 2019. McGary gave up 13 sacks as a rookie but limited opposing rushers to six on his way to the fourth-highest grade of any tackle by PFF.
The former first-round pick out of the University of Washington had a rather bumpy start to his career in the NFL. With many in Atlanta calling for him to be replaced prior to the 2022 season, McGary turned it around in his contract year in a very Garett Bolles-esque fashion and, because of last season, will likely receive a large contract.
McGary is a better run blocker than a pass protector, but with his combination of power and movement skills, he projects as a solid fit in either a gap-centric or wide-zone scheme. If Denver is planning on evolving into a more run-oriented offense with Sean Payton going forward, McGary could certainly help add some power to the unit.
McGary does come with some worries, though. Being featured in many offseason articles as a “buyer beware,” McGary’s upswing in his pass blocking in 2022 could be due to one of the most offensive line-friendly situations any tackle had in the NFL last season.
In the Arthur Smith offense, Atlanta protected its edge blockers by unleashing one of the most efficient and highest-volume passing attacks in the NFL. The Falcons were also one of the top teams last year in utilizing 12 or 21 personnel (an extra tight end or a full back with just two wide receivers).
McGary also had the benefit of playing next to Pro Football Focus’ top-graded offensive lineman in the entire NFL (and arguably the most underrated in the league), Chris Lindstrom, at right guard. The overall metrics for McGary look good but watching the tape and analyzing the blocking scheme, he was put in far less difficult drop-back pass-blocking assignments than arguably any full-time starting tackle in the NFL last year.
Any team that signs him might be grabbing him on an upswing entering his Year 5 in the league, but there are reasons the Falcons, with the second most cap space in the NFL, didn’t place the franchise tag on McGary and have yet to sign him to a second contract.
The Broncos do need a right tackle, though, and McGary, along with San Francisco's Mike McGlinchey and former Jacksonville's Jawaan James, appears to be one of the best three options at the position. As Bellentine states in the article: “The Broncos brought in the coach they think can salvage Russell Wilson in Sean Payton. Now it’s time to put an offensive line in front of him that gives him a shot.”
Adding McGary could go a long way in putting a jam in the revolving door of right tackle in Denver over the last decade.
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