Knights in the Pros REPORT: Chris Muller in Mile High City

Chris Muller is no longer with the Indianapolis Colts, instead he signed with the Denver Broncos, The Denver Post reported. Mike Klis, formerly of the Denver Post, now with KUSA 9News mentioned Muller replaced a fellow rookie lineman, Erik Austell. Austell was a tackle at Charleston Southern, but was projected to be a center at the next level. Perhaps the Broncos felt they needed someone with more experience playing inside or that Muller was simply a better fit at this point.

We discussed the landing spots of Rutgers rookies just a few weeks ago. Indianapolis had a banged up offensive line, but Denver’s unit has been in transition since the final gun of Super Bowl 50. They have attempted to shift to a power running style to protect their young QBs, Trevor Siemian and Paxton Lynch. For that reason, Muller’s four years starting at guard (three in a pro-style offense) may shorten his learning curve, especially since he played under four different offensive coordinators. Though not pressed into service often, he has more experience at center than Austell. For that reason, Denver likely felt comfortable signing Chris even after their OTAs.

I mentioned that Chicago was becoming New Jersey West. We will need to instead call Chicago New Jersey MID-west, since Muller joins Quentin Gause and Kevin Snyder with the Broncos. Gause was signed during the 2016 season where he did appear in a few games down the stretch. Snyder became a member of Denver’s roster when he signed a futures contract on January 2. The team hopes to get back to the Super Bowl after failing to qualify for the playoffs in 2016 as the defending champion. Teams are not required to make any more cuts until the preseason.

Congrats to Chris and good luck to the trio of former Knights in the Rocky Mountains!