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No, Hester is pretty much a lock. Gase has already talked about all the packages the Broncos have him in, and he serves four useful purposes: a) he's a very good ST player, so that makes it easier to cut bait with Lance Ball, b) he allows the Broncos to keep the FB in the offense, and with Fox as a traditionalist, that has value to him, c) as a former 1100 yard rusher at LSU, and at 240 lbs, he can provide a bigger, power runner when needed, and d) he is an outstanding receiver that can be another dimension for Manning to exploit in the passing game.
Hester is just a good all around, versatile football player, he makes the team
he hasn't really done very well as runner in the league. He hasn't had a lot of carries but it's not like he is a proven threat. If any of the young RB prove to be a better option running the ball, Hester very well might be gone. As far as power runner...he may not be that much bigger than CJ or Lance....taller, but not as stout. In this pic he doesn't look any bigger, that's him in the back with Montee, Hillma, CJ, and JJ. As far as being a receiving threat, all of the remaining RBs are pretty good catching the ball with Lance probably being on the lower end of the receiving pool.
I understand the seem to like him but it's a long way to the end August right now and all it takes is for one player to outshine him and could be gone.
Vinston Painter is not going to outplay Chris Clark, period
We are speaking of the future which is inherently subjunctive. You need to watch out for those subordinating conjunctions like if, when, since, unless, which introduce a clause in the subjunctive mood.
John Elway has taken the draft very seriously. His scouts have done a great job. The result is that of the sixteen players selected in his first two drafts, fifteen are still with the team. They select guys to make the team, and then commit to developing them even if they are drafted in the later rounds. That group includes Virgil Green, Jeremy Beal, Malik Jackson, Danny Trevathan and Vinston Painter.
Offensive line coaches number their players from #1 to however many they have. They start their top five. They shuffle them around to make sure each guy is in his best spot. When one of the starting five goes down, #6 comes in and they reshuffle, if necessary. Guys who can play more than one spot are coveted. Dave Diehl, for example, has played every position on the OL except C, including Super Bowl appearances at LT and LG.
There was discussion about moving Orlando Franklin to Guard. I think that issue was visited by the coaching staff last year. It may have been tried in practice. Manny started the season at RG. They waived CJ Davis to sign Dan Koppen. JD Walton went to IR and CJ Davis returned to the roster from the PS. Kuper returned to the starting lineup in week five, but was replaced by Manny in weeks ten, eleven, fourteen, fifteen and sixteen due to a nagging injury.
I'm sure the coaches considered putting Franklin at RG and having Clark play RT. In the end, they didn't do that. That says several things germane to this conversation. With Walton on IR and Kuper hurting, Manny was actually #7. That makes Chris Clark #8. Manny was ahead of Clark, so he played.
Louis Vasquez is now presumably part of the starting five along with Clady, Beadles, Koppen and Franklin. It isn't clear exactly what Walton's status will be when the season begins whether on the roster, IR or PUP. For the sake of discussion, let's assume he is out of roster consideration.
Outside of the top five we have: Kuper, Ramirez, Clark, Blake, Painter, Foketi, Davis, Boren, Garland, Saulsberry and Cornick. That seems to me to be more or less the pecking order going into TC. Blake, Davis and Ramirez are listed as G/C or C/G. Painter is listed as OL. Everyone else is listed with one OL position.
Kuper has injury question marks and may have contract issues with the FO in the event he can't crack the starting lineup. Manny is at the ceiling of his capability. The coaches know him well and at thirty with his second team, he will probably never start except to fill in for an injured starter. Chris Clark came into the league in 2008 as an UDFA with Tampa Bay and spent two years on Minnesota's PS before being picked up by the Broncos when the Vikings waived him in 2010. Blake is an unknown after being on IR as a rookie last year. The coaches may have formed an opinion of his upside, or not ... yet.
That's what is between Painter, Foketi, et al and a roster spot. To say that Chris Clark is a lock to make the roster is premature. No OL coach will keep a player if he is being outplayed by another. This will be determined in TC and preseason in full pads and hats with full contact. Let the games begin. May the best men make the roster.
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