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Denver Broncos: An Offensive Line In Flux

By Will Reeve

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Denver Broncos head coach Gary Kubiak made it known via depth chart adjustments Thursday that this offensive line is in a state of flux.

ALSO ON SPIN ZONE: Expectations for Peyton Manning in 2015

From left tackle to the center position, the Broncos had either zero NFL snaps or zero playing time protecting the 39 year-old QB Peyton Manning during team drills. That, in itself, is enough to make most fans cringe.

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The two most notable players that were bumped up on the depth chart were 2014 practice squad G/C Matt Paradis and the fourth-round rookie from Florida Max Garcia. Ben Garland was the man supplanted by Garcia at LG, while Gino Gradkowski was bumped down at C in favor of Paradis.

After a day off where coaches break down tape from the first five days of training camp, the Garcia and Paradis moves were unlikely to be Kubiak attempting to save the bodies of Gradkowski and Garland.

“Believe me, those two guys (Garcia and Paradis) are in the mix to be [in] our best five,” Kubiak told Colorado’s 9 News. “They’re playing well, so we’ll see.”

“We’re going to be young, we know that,” Kubiak expounded.

Young might be an understatement.

“If we’re the best five that are up there, then, so be it,” Garcia told 9 News. “I think today the coaches wanted to see what we could do running with the ones and we’ll go back to the film to see how we did.”

The right side of the line looks in order however with veterans Louis Vasquez and Ryan Harris standing firm at RG and RT respectively. Kubiak spoke highly of Harris and Vasquez is the stalwart of this baby-faced, and apparently, malleable offensive line. Neither are likely to be bumped on the depth chart unless due to injury.

With a new zone blocking and running scheme in the process of being implemented, any moves on the offensive line should come early in camp. Thus, Kubiak not wasting any time to figure out his best five to protect his Hall of Fame QB is something to be applauded — not feared — right?

Will Reeve is a contributing writer to NFL Spin Zone, you can follow him on Twitter@WillReeveJr or connect with him on Facebook here.

Next: Denver Broncos 2015 Defensive Ends Breakdown

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