Broncos RG Quinn Meinerz Lands on NFL's 'All-Underpaid Team'
Denver Broncos starting right guard Quinn Meinerz has received a dubious honor, being named to Bleacher Report's "All-Underpaid Team" for the 2023 NFL season.
BR columnist Brad Gagnon grouped Meinerz with New England Patriots guard Michael Onwenu — both extremely cost-effective relative to their production.
"Onwenu's agent has to start chipping away at the Patriots ahead of his walk year, because the consistently solid guard is criminally underpaid entering the final season of a sixth-round rookie contract," Gagnon wrote on June 30. "He was a second-team Pro Football Focus mid-season All-Pro in '22, but he's been solid for his entire three-year run in New England. Meinerz broke out last year and is in a similar spot on the brink of the final year of his third-round rookie deal."
The 98th overall pick of the 2021 draft, out of Division III Wisconsin-Whitewater, Meinerz has appeared in 28 games for the Broncos, making 22 starts. He finished last season as Pro Football Focus' sixth-highest-rated OG among 77 qualifiers, with the fifth-best run-blocking grade (78.6).
Cemented atop the depth chart, Meinerz is due just $1.095 million in base salary for 2023, his age-25 campaign. This, after Denver handed new left guard Ben Powers a four-year, $51.5 million free-agent deal that includes $27 million fully guaranteed.
Should Meinerz continue to flourish, he likely can expect his second contract to fall in Powers' ballpark — be it from the Broncos or another organization.
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