Guard Ronald Leary made the jump from the Cowboys to the Broncos as a free agent this offseason, which meant he went from being a part of the top offensive line in the league to joining one that ranked at the bottom during the 2016 season.
Leary is not the only new addition in Denver. They signed tackle Menelik Watson, drafted tackle Garrett Bolles in the first round and hired Jeff Davidson as the new offensive line coach as other parts of their effort to improve in 2017.
He is the only one coming from Dallas, however, and he shared some of his thoughts Tuesday about what needs to happen for the Broncos line to produce different results.
“I just try to lead by example,” Leary said in comments distributed by the team. “I talk a little bit, but I just like to work hard and try to do everything to the best of my ability. I think they see that -- they already had it. It’s not like that this o-line was just missing. Everybody just needs to be pushed more and just work harder and that’s what we’re trying to do as a group. It’s not an individual thing, it’s always as a group on everything with the o-line. We’re just going to try to get that mentality that we’re physical, that we don’t take anything from anybody. I think once we develop that in the offseason, it will carry over to the season.”
No one’s expecting the Broncos to have a group that will rival the one the Cowboys put together, but the improvement doesn’t need to be that dramatic to lift the offense enough to do its part to support the defense in a bid to return to the playoffs.