Mike McGlinchey: ‘I really don’t care where we’re ranked’

What Mike McGlinchey cares about is how they play and that there is always room to grow.

The Denver Broncos are gearing up for training camp this week and we got a first taste of media days yesterday. One of the players interviewed was right tackle Mike McGlinchey and one of the questions he was asked piqued my interest.

Throughout the offseason, we’ve been seeing offensive line rankings that have shown the Broncos line being one of the top rated units heading into 2025. A former NFL scout ranked the Broncos second-best offensive line and so did Pro Football Focus in their league-wide rankings.

However, when asked about the offensive line rankings, McGlinchey doesn’t care about all that. Rankings really do mean nothing. What matters is how the unit plays in games. Sometimes the two align, but sometimes not.

“I really don’t care where we’re ranked, I care about how we play,” McGlinchey said. “I think we played well, but at the same time, there’s a ton of room to grow, and we all know that. I think it’s the first time in my career—and I am sure a lot of the other [offensive] linemen can speak to the same—that we really didn’t touch anything … I think we have a long way to go in terms of improving that area of our offense and we’re excited for that opportunity because we know if we can accomplish that, we’re going to have a lot of success this year.”

There are a lot of new faces in the running back room and that is key. Last season, the running back group was abysmal. I will always be fond of Javonte Williams, but he was never the same after that knee injury. No one else was able to create any kind of sustained presence in games. It all fell on the shoulders of one rookie quarterback.

And that brings us to the next line of questioning, because it really was Bo Nix who lifted the entire offense to a level that carried them to their first playoff berth in almost a decade. In year two, quarterbacks often regress, but there are a lot of signs that suggest there will be no such regression from Nix in 2025.

“I don’t think it really affected anybody’s confidence a year ago, but I think it kind of became the expectation midway through,” he said of Nix. “Then the way that he looked in the spring, and the way that he came back and the energy that he came back with, it certainly gives… His confidence is going to radiate through the whole team. Bo has done a great job of that. He’s a pro’s pro in the way that he approaches the game and the way that he treats his teammates. He’s going to be a great player for us this year.”

Given that Nix was able to come in as a rookie and win the respect and confidence in his teammates is just the first step of a young quarterbacks rise to franchise leader. This is the year where he’ll build upon that. McGlinchey went on to note how different he is coming into the offseason this year. The competitive fire is there and hunger. That attitude can be infectious in a locker room.

“Certainly the experience of playing football games in this league is very, very valuable,” McGlinchey said of the difference between Nix now and Week 1 last year. “Now he knows what it feels like. He knows what it looks like. He knows, obviously, that he is very good at it, and I think that just gives him the hunger for more. I think that’s what’s really impressive about Bo is his competitive nature of just trying to get the most out of himself every single day. That ability to stack those days is why he improved so vastly and so fast as the season went on last year. I only expect the same things from him this year.”

Nix had a slow start to his rookie campaign, but by mid to late season he was slinging blow for blow in some of the biggest games of the year.

That fourth down and end of regulation throw to Marvin Mims Jr. against the Cincinnati Bengals is still one of the most disgusting throws of the year. I already felt like we had a dude, but that throw confirmed in my mind that we definitely had a dude in Bo Nix. 2025 should be a fun one!