ENGLEWOOD, Colo. — Eric Saubert is only 27 years old and just starting his fifth NFL season yet he is already extremely well-traveled.
He started with the Atlanta Falcons as a draft pick in 2017. Then it was New England, the Oakland Raiders, Chicago and Jacksonville. He has been traded, cut twice, and signed to three practice squads before finally finding his fit, or so it seems, as the No. 3 tight end with the Denver Broncos.
“It’s not an easy or forgiving league,’’ Saubert said in a sit-down interview this week with 9NEWS. “A lot of times it takes a couple teams for people. I’m hoping this is it. But thankful for that journey because it’s made me who I am.’’
Each NFL franchise is unique. They all have their strengths and inconveniences. Asked what made the Broncos unique from the others, Saubert didn’t instantly mention the fine facilities or tasty cafeteria food or majestic Rocky Mountain range background, but their culture.
“The feeling in the building just feels different,’’ he said. “It’s a cool, winning environment. All the guys are really close. Especially in our tight end room. We hang out with each other outside the building. We love being here working together. The coaches, everyone, it’s so amicable and it’s loose. Which is cool. They allow you to be yourself here. I’m back to having fun with football. When you’re doing that it allows you to play free.”
Mom delays football
Born in Chicago and raised in the suburb city of Hoffman Estates, Saubert had a sports-filled childhood although not with the game he wound up getting paid to play.
“My first love was baseball. I wasn’t allowed to play football until high school,’’ he said. “Picked up football and basketball both in high school and they turned out to be my favorite and best sports. So, yeah, sports were definitely – all my friends played sports. It was my life for sure.
“I loved my time there. Chicago is where I’ve been training the past couple years. I love it there in the summer. In the winter, not so great.’’
Saubert is 6-foot-5, 253 pounds of muscle. No football until high school?
“It was a rule my mom had,’’ he said. “Worked out OK, though. Saved my head a little bit.”
Harmon helps Saubert find his place
After his zigzag, up-and-down journey left him with 10 catches for 85 yards with five teams after four seasons, Saubert found a friend in Broncos’ tight end coach Wade Harmon. They went back to Saubert’s beginning with Atlanta, where Harmon was his first NFL position coach.
“He drafted me in Atlanta,’’ said Saubert, who played his college ball at Drake. “Hooked back up with him this offseason. I stayed in touch with him quite a bit. We’re pretty close. The reunion has been great. There’s such a familiarity, comfortability being with him. So I thought that was cool.”
The Broncos were set with their top two tight end spots as Noah Fant and Albert Okwuegbunam were drafted in back-to-back years. Both are highly skilled receivers who are also large enough to block outside linebackers. The Broncos had released their veteran No. 3 tight end from last season, Nick Vannett, and when general manager George Paton didn’t find his block-first, catch-second replacement in the draft, Saubert was signed the day after. At Harmon’s recommendation.
“Wade liked him when he was coming out,’’ said Broncos head coach Vic Fangio. “Coached him in Atlanta, went to bat for him, and Wade was right. Obviously, we liked him, and it’s good job by Wade—both in his evaluation process and to go to bat for him.’’
A tight end, whether a starter or backup, has to be nimble enough to beat a corner, tough enough to block an edge rusher. And in the case of blocking an edge rusher like Von Miller, you better be both quick and strong.
“Versatility is key,’’ Saubert said. “It’s a real special position and takes a special skill set. A lot of times we’re slept on or forgotten about but we have a lot of responsibility on offense and we take pride in performing in the run game and pass game. Either way we’ll beat you.”
Virtually no one knew of Saubert when the Broncos commenced OTAs in late spring and then training camp in mid-summer. But gradually he started to shine, both as the second tight end blocker along the line of scrimmage in the run game and, in what was most pleasantly surprising, catching the ball when there wasn’t much of that on his resume.
In short, Saubert showed he was a much better player than his previous teams gave him credit for.
“One of the coolest things about being here is I kind of got back to having fun with the game,’’ Saubert said. “Put a lot of work to get to this point to be able to perform like that at a high level the way I want to. I’m proud of that but never content. Always looking for more. Not surprised to answer that. I put the work in for a reason and it was not to go out there and not perform.’’
Return to Jacksonville
Saubert played for Jacksonville last year where he spent most of his time as a No. 3 tight end working for special teams coordinator Joe DeCamillis, the former Arvada wrestling star who had two previous coordinator roles with the Broncos.
“Appreciative of Joe De,’’ Saubert said. “Working with him last year was real cool. He taught me a lot, I learned a lot from him. And now working with coach McMahon has been great. It’s a huge importance for a third tight end to be able to play special teams, I take a lot of pride in that. I want to be one of the best tight ends on special teams in the league.”
The Broncos play the Jaguars on Sunday in muggy, possibly rainy Jacksonville, and while that team is much different with a new coach in Urban Meyer and new offense built around No. 1 overall pick quarterback Trevor Lawrence, there are some tips Saubert can offer his current team.
“A lot of the guys that I played with are still there,’’ he said. “When we’re scheming guys I know a little ins and outs about some of their guys that I played with. So I’m able to help them out in that respect.’’
In the Broncos’ 27-13 season-opening win last week against the New York Giants, Saubert caught a 7-yard pass from Teddy Bridgewater and dropped another. It might have been his first drop of the summer. The difference was Bridgewater, who converted 10 third and fourth downs into first downs.
“Poise is definitely key in those critical situations. He really brings that to the huddle.’’ Saubert said. “That guy’s a pro. Working with him is awesome. He brings a calm to the huddle. He gets everybody feeling confident about the way they play. I’m thankful for being here and working with him.”
Saubert knows his lane. He can help mentor Fant and Okwuegbunam, help protect Bridgewater while they’re out running routes. But he is their complement. They are the playmakers.
“Those guys are really special,’’ Saubert said. “I love working with them. The sky's the limit for those guys. I’m really excited just from one game you’ve seen what those guys can do. And I don’t think they’ve tapped their potential yet.’’
It’s been a while since the Broncos have nitpicked a win. But that’s what they did this week after decisively defeating the Giants. The Broncos were strong in all phases last week, although it took them a while to successfully run the ball. They goal this week is to handle the Jaguars from the jump.
“We talked about getting on guys early,’’ Saubert said. “Being greedy. That’s been our focus. We don’t want to take 'til the second, third quarter to run the ball well. We want to hit guys early and jump them early and break their spirit in a way.”
SUGGESTED VIDEOS: Sports