DENVER — Some of what made Denver Broncos lineman Quinn Meinerz relatively popular as offensive guards go is also what’s helping him handle it as his acclaim grows.
You look at players now coming out of major college football programs with its seven-figure NIL deals, decommitments and transient nature of the heavily populated transfer portals. And you look at Meinerz, a Broncos’ third-round draft pick who came out of Division III Wisconsin-Whitewater, a lower-budget program to the point he had to put together his own NFL audition tape that included knocking down a tree in the woods.
“I think there’s some fun and some self-building I guess you could say when you pick a school and you just grind out that school,’’ Meinerz said this week in an interview with 9NEWS for the Broncos Huddle. “You stay there and stay in that situation. That’s obviously what I decided to do. I picked my school and I’m going to get as good as I can at this school and so it’s definitely been an interesting wrinkle.
“I don’t want to sound like an old man and say, ‘Ah, just pick a school and stick with it.’ With someone who is low-key, not necessarily in the spotlight, hard work pays off. You just need one moment to shine and be ready for it.”
He is a massive light shining bright week after week as part of a Broncos’ offensive line that has featured the same five starters in all 14 games this season. There is so much NFL information out there with the proliferation of NFL-based websites that a few have veered the less-traveled, deeper dive to the line of scrimmage. Once there, Meinerz’ aggressive style pops out from other offensive linemen. He is Wisconsin woods strong at the point of attack – even in the pass block setup, he’ll sometimes punch first before dropping to retreat – and doesn’t just move the linebackers or safeties he meets on the second level, he pancakes them.
Highlights of Meinerz shucking a defender to the ground have begun to circulate.
The aggression, he says, is somewhat natural. But there is a work ethic concentrated on the nuances of the game that has helped, also.
“I think the biggest part of it is how much time and hard work I’ve put into the weight room,’’ said Meinerz, who is 6-foot-3 and has played between 312 to 325 pounds depending on the offensive system. “And also being able to understand the system that I’m playing in. This is my third offense that I’m learning and so I guess you could say I’ve gotten good at learning offenses."
“I’ve just really gotten better, now that I have a base knowledge of understanding the defensive structure. And not just focus on the details of what my job is supposed to be doing. That’s been the biggest thing this year is there’s been a lot less chatter in my brain of what I’m supposed to be doing and so it’s allowed me to play a lot faster and with a lot less going on.”
Meinerz caught some unwanted attention the past two games. Two weeks ago, near halftime of the Broncos’ 24-7 win against the Los Angeles Chargers, he experienced what was diagnosed as a rapid or irregular heartbeat, a concern that sent him to a local hospital by ambulance and an overnight stay. He flew back Monday by team-arranged private plane, was back at practice that Wednesday and played every snap the next game against Detroit.
“Yeah, it was a really weird situation. I was obviously feeling a little weird,’’ Meinerz said. “Before halftime I went up to one of the trainers and I said I think something’s not quite right here. And they took me back and treated me as if the worst-case scenario was going on. And so I medically cleared all the things I needed to clear and had a handful of blood tests and I was on a monitor all night and I was in the hospital.”
Any adjustments he’s had to make since the heart scare?
“There were a couple things I had going on,’’ Meinerz said. “The biggest thing they noticed was that my magnesium was low. It’s an electrolyte. So I make sure I have more magnesium now. I don’t know, it was a weird thing. I normally stay pretty good with my hydration. I don’t know, I think it was just a weird situation.”
One of his snaps in Detroit caught Meinerz lined up with his helmet an inch past the helmet of center Lloyd Cushenberry III, although behind Cushenberry’s grip on the ball. No matter. The side judge flagged Meinerz for lining up offsides, a penalty that wiped out a fourth down and goal touchdown by fullback Michael Burton.
The penalty capped a series of unfortunate events at the goal line that caused coach Sean Payton’s top to pop.
“On a play like that I try to get as close as I can to the line of scrimmage,’’ Meinerz said. “And use the advantage of knowing what the snap count is. That’s the basis of it. And try to get low and keep your feet moving and hopefully the pile will eventually push into the end zone.’’
On to the New England Patriots, the Broncos’ opponent tonight at what will be a frigid Christmas Eve at Empower Field at Mile High. Given the mass of AFC wild-card playoff contenders, the 7-7 Broncos need to no less than win their three remaining games to reach the postseason for the first time since 2015 – when Meinerz was a junior at Hartford Union High School in Hartford, Wis.
Given his humble beginnings, Meinerz’ ascent in his three NFL seasons has been swift. As rookie in 2021, he was inactive during the Broncos’ first two games, dressed as a backup for a few weeks, then replaced the injured Graham Glasgow, ready or not, as the Broncos’ starting right guard the second half of the season.
Meinerz has been there ever since while increasingly gaining attention for his high marks delivered by Pro Football Focus – and what he shows the bloggers and NFL analysts on tape. The most difficult adjustment from Wisconsin-Whitewater to the NFL?
“There were a lot of things,’’ he said. “The most difficult part was just getting into a routine. I’m a routine person. And it was football all day, every day, which was a little bit different to the college lifestyle.
“And, also I came from a really small school so my knowledge of actual football was pretty much zero. So I had a lot of help my rookie year from (former offensive line coach Mike) Munchak.’’
After the game tonight, the Broncos will have Christmas Day off Monday.
“It will be good to have some personal time,’’ Meinerz said. “Some of my wife’s family will be in town. My family goes to the Bahamas during Christmas. I haven’t been able to go on that trip for a couple years now, obviously. So it will be good to unwind and have some family time this year.”
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