Broncos Select IOL Luke Wattenberg with Pick 171 in NFL Draft

A shot across Lloyd Cushenberry's bow...

On the final day of the 2022 NFL draft, Denver Broncos GM George Paton did some more wheeling and dealing from UCHealth Training Center's war room. The Broncos traded their fifth-round pick (No. 179) and seventh-rounder (No. 234) to the Green Bay Packers in exchange for the No. 171 overall selection.

The trade-up to pick No. 171 was to land Washington center Luke Wattenberg with the Broncos’ third fifth-round selection of the day. Originally from Trabuco Canyon, California, the 6-foot-4, 300-pound offensive lineman was heavily recruited out of high school and immediately saw time as starting left tackle as a redshirt freshman at Washington. 

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Wattenberg also played left guard during the 2018 and 2019 seasons before moving to center in 2020. As a first-year collegiate center, he earned All-PAC-12 Honorable Mention in four games of the abbreviated pandemic season. He was additionally named the Pac-12 Offensive Lineman of the Week after a dominant performance against Arizona and was presented with the Iron Husky Award given out at Washington’s team banquet.

In 2021, the aggressive blocker played in all 12 games at center and once again racked up the hardware bringing home multiple linemen of the game awards in addition to Washington’s John P. Angel Lineman of the Year. Wattenberg was also on the Rimington Trophy Watch List and was a preseason All-Pac 12 Honorable Mention designee.

Wattenberg arrives in Denver with extensive experience in the offensive trenches after spending six years at Washington. He has natural athleticism, prototypical size, and an attitude when run blocking that is eerily similar to Broncos' second-year guard Quinn Meinerz. Game film reveals a player in Wattenberg that is consistently looking to climb to the next level of defenders and doesn’t mind scrapping with larger and more powerful defensive linemen. 

Wattenberg also tested well at the Combine, running a 5.2-second 40-yard dash and showcased his agile footwork. Broncos' incumbent center Lloyd Cushenberry III was drafted in the third round back in 2020 and has been somewhat underwhelming as a pro. 

Despite playing every snap of his rookie season as the starting center, the need for improvement at the anchor of the offensive line has been there to say the least. While there’s been speculation that veteran lineman Graham Glasgow may be asked to entertain snapping the football, the drafting of Wattenberg signals a direct shot across Cushenberry's bow. 

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