The Denver Broncos have done an outstanding job of locking up their young players on the offensive and defensive lines. On Wednesday after practice, head coach Sean Payton spoke about the recent developments after the long-term deals of offensive lineman Luke Wattenberg and defensive lineman Malcolm Roach.
“When we left for the bye, [general manager] George [Paton] and I talked,” Payton said when asked about Roach’s extension. “There were a handful of opportunities to at least visit with these guys. Speaking on Malcolm, his versatility and there are a lot of things — his flexibility position-wise and all the other things he brings to the team, it was a good fit.”
Roach touched on his emotions as an undrafted player finally getting a big, long-term deal. “Just praise to God, for real,” said Roach. “Coming to this league undrafted, it’s something you’re kind of hunting, and I’ve been hunting it for six years, I want to say. When the opportunity presented itself, and you know we were getting kind of close and things like that. It was just a blessing, man. [I’m] just happy knowing that I’m going to be here, knowing that I’m going to be put for at least two to three years. It’s just a blessing, and [I] just want to make sure we keep everything going the right way.”
Payton also talked about the continuity of the offensive line when speaking about Wattenberg. “[It’s] good and I think it’s a credit to Luke,” Payton said. “We lost a really good center in free agency a couple years ago. Again, there is a vision. [He’s] a good, young player and it’s important to keep those guys in your building.
“His football I.Q. is really sharp. He’s athletic. He does a good job in to the second level. He’s really improved in his protections. All of it, you just see the curve still going upwards.”
Wattenberg didn’t want to think about going anywhere else in free agency. “It means a lot,” he said. “I wanted to be a Bronco so bad. I didn’t want to go anywhere else. I wanted to be in that new building with this new team, and so I couldn’t be happier.”
The Broncos are doing the hard work of keeping their own players before the free agency wave washes over the NFL in March. Not every team can say that, and it is a massive credit to the front office and coaching staff, who want to build a culture and contend for years to come.
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This article originally appeared on Broncos Wire: Denver Broncos: Sean Payton comments on Wattenberg, Roach extensions
