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After the 2019 NFL Draft, the Denver Broncos were quite aggressive in the undrafted free agent pool when it came to offensive tackles. They picked up four that year, with one being today’s roster review in Quinn Bailey.
#75 Quinn Bailey
Age 24. 6’6”, 323 lbs.
College: Arizona State
Bailey was activated late in the season due to a slew of injuries along the offensive line, but never saw the field on offense. He played six snaps on special teams in the season finale against the Raiders.
The good
Out of those four offensive tackles, it was Bailey who pushed for an active roster spot late in the season as a rookie. Scotty Payne last year had Bailey pegged as guy who could be the Broncos next UDFA star with the work he puts in under Mike Munchak’s coaching. He’s not quite there just yet, but that left tackle position is definitely up in the air in Denver.
It could be a situation where a guy like Bailey could come from nowhere to steal the show from the two guys supposedly competing for it in Garett Bolles and Elijah Wilkinson.
The bad
The Broncos are loading up with competitive talent around the offensive line. That room got crowded in 2020. The surefire contributors will be Bolles, Wilkinson, Ja’Wuan James, Graham Glasgow, Lloyd Cushenberry, and Dalton Risner. That leaves a few extra spots on the active roster for any up and comers.
If Bailey is going to be that guy, this is the year we’ll know if he’s going to take the next step. That bad is that its hard to get opportunities in the NFL and this offseason might be it in terms of pushing for playing time.
Final word
I think Bailey has a shot to make the active roster this season. He’ll certainly be a practice squad candidate. But I look back to the fact that when injuries mounted up, Vic Fangio and Mike Munchak turned to Quinn Bailey to help shore up the depleted offensive line down the stretch. He may not have been ready to start as a rookie, but they trusted him enough to be available if they needed him.
We’ll have to see how it goes for him leading up to Week 1.