I know what some of you may be thinking. Another hit piece on Luke Wattenberg? And if you’re thinking that then you’d be incorrect, because Luke Wattenberg was a star on Sunday against the Las Vegas Raiders.

I’m not going to bury the lead or keep you in anticipation for when you get to the score, Wattenberg might have had the best game of his career and he easily put up his best score in RGS history, and he has one of the highest scores I’ve ever handed out. I was impressed while watching live, and the film looked that much better.

This was the first time I’ve really enjoyed watching Wattenberg play, so let’s get into it.

The Denver Broncos had 72 offensive snaps. 29 of them were designed rushes and 43 of them were designed passes or an RPO that Nix threw on.

Wattenberg finished with four pancakes, three of which were on the first drive.

He had zero blown blocks, and gave up zero TFLs, pressures, QB hits, or sacks.

Wattenberg had one “Bad” block, two “Meh” blocks, 12 “Alright” blocks, 53 “Good” blocks, and four “Great” blocks for a score of 68 points out of a possible 72, or 94.4%.

In run protection he had 26.75 points (92.2%) and in pass protection he had 41.25 points (95.9%).

Luke Wattenberg was every bit as good as his new contract and the grade said he was. While usually he’s been pretty reliable in pass protection, he has been a liability at times in run protection and has never really been a difference maker. He’s never been that nasty, physical presence up front that you can consistently run behind.

He’s never been any of this, until Sunday.

He was his usual self while going up against these Vegas interior pass rushers, but what really impressed me was just how much different of a run blocker he looked. He was winning his one-on-ones. He was getting underneath the pads of the defensive tackles and driving them. He was finishing blocks like I’ve never seen before. His pancakes were usually just the cherry on top of him driving a dude back three yards.

His hands were exact, his feet were never stagnant, and his demeanor was violent. Just that opening drive alone told me everything I needed to know about how this game was going to go. He might have had the greatest opening drive/ single drive grade I’ve ever given out.

The Broncos ran 14 plays on the opening drive; five runs and 9 passes. He scored 14.5 points on those 14 plays. A 103.5% is unbelievable. And on just the rushes his score would be 110%. He put the defender flat on their back three times that drive.

Mike Munchak might be turning Luke Wattenberg into something special.

Run play – Inside Zone – Great block

This is a textbook example of how to combo block on Inside Zone by Quinn Meinerz and Luke Wattenberg.

Look at how they are conjoined at the hip when taking on the DT. Wide bases and choppy feet with weight on their insteps propels them forward and Wattenberg seamlessly passes off the DT to Meinerz when he goes to pick up the backer. And when he makes contact he instantly wins the pad level and leverage battle. Then after Harvey passes the both of them, Wattenberg puts the finishing touches on this block by absolutely pile-driving the backer into the dirt.

There is nothing better these guys can do on this play besides get a little more movement on the DT. This play is probably a yard of vertical displacement away from getting a perfect score.

Pass play – Drop back – Good block

This is a wild look that the Raiders are giving the Denver offensive line. First you have an unbalanced defensive front that is heavy on the offensive left side, then you have the DT slanting to open up a rushing lane for the MLB to try and take, and then finally the other DT then loops behind the linebacker, revealing himself as the real play that Vegas is attempting to get a free rush for. I don’t remember ever seeing a look like this.

And even though this is incredibly complicated and takes mere seconds for the Raiders to execute, while Wattenberg doesn’t get the cleanest block off, he makes the right read, passing off the first DT to Meinerz, then picking up the backer, and then picking up the other DT. He has great eyes and shows of his instincts on this rep, two things that he’s already proven to have.

The only mistake he makes on this block is when he uses his right hand to shove the LB to Palczewski, as that makes it harder for him to recover back inside, and that’s what allows the DT to nearly get a pressure on Nix. If he keeps his hips squared to the line of scrimmage, then that becomes a much easier block to make.

Run play – Toss Lead – Bad block

This is the only bad block I gave Wattenberg all game.

Denver is running a Toss concept, which gives Wattenberg the responsibility of cutting off the Mike, who they identify as #52, and getting between him and the rushing lane. This should be a fairly easy block to make as well considering the backer is already lined up away from the desired rushing lane.

Where Wattenberg runs into trouble is his angle. He is moving way too vertically for this play concept. He must move laterally up to the linebackers and anticipate them flowing hard to the ball. But he goes straight up field, giving up his leverage that he had over the linebacker, and gets beat over the top.

Adam Prentice is able to clean up the mistake, but if Wattenberg made the block, then that puts Prentice on the safety, meaning that there would not be any unblocked defenders, giving Jaleel McLaughlin an easy TD.

Run play – Dive Lead – Great block

Let’s end with another pancake.

This sort of Dive/ Veer concept is for short-yardage situations. Essentially every blocker is taking a step to their inside gap and forming a wedge for the back to run behind. And the line as a whole does a great job with their individual responsibilities, as made evident by the giant wall of white you see in the middle of the screen.

Wattenberg and Palczewski put an absolute beating on their DT, instantly driving him back. And when Palco leaves to pick up the backer, Wattenberg finishes the block (possibly with some help from Palco’s leg) and puts the DT firmly into the dirt.

This is just a nasty rep of football from Wattenberg and the rest of the line, and it’s a side of him I haven’t seen much of and have been longing for. We finally got that sort of play out of Wattenberg on Sunday.

If Luke Wattenberg is able to make this kind of play what we can expect from him, then we’re looking at one of the better centers in the league, and when the offensive line is already as great as it is, who knows what this offense will turn in to? I’ve never really been sold on Wattenberg being the center of the future, and his extension had me a little confused. But if this is what the coaching staff sees in him, then I am completely on board. I can’t wait until next week to see if he’s able to keep this kind of play up.