Denver Broncos draft Alex Forsyth in 7th round of 2023 NFL Draft

The Denver Broncos have drafted former Oregon center Alex Forsyth in the seventh round of the 2023 NFL Draft.

Last season, Forsyth was a finalist for the Jason Witten Collegiate Man of the Year award, given to the player in college football who best demonstrates an outstanding record of leadership by exhibiting exceptional courage, integrity and sportsmanship.

He finished his six-year career at Oregon playing 1,983 offensive snaps across five seasons, including 1,892 at center. His 85.8 pass-blocking grade from Pro Football Focus ranked fourth-best among all FBS centers and tied for 21st among all offensive linemen. In addition, he also allowed just one pressure and zero sacks in 384 pass-blocking opportunities and his efforts earned him All-American honors before declaring for the 2023 NFL Draft.

Forsyth is just one of three Oregon OL that declared for the 2023 NFL Draft, joining TJ Bass and Malaesala Aumavae-Laulu. The three were integral in giving Ducks QB1 Bo Nix the title of the least-sacked FBS quarterback in the country in 2022.

The 6-foot-4, 303-pound Forsyth did not run in the 40-yard-dash at the NFL Combine, but measured a 20.5-inch vertical leap and crushed 29 reps on the bench press.

Before coming to Oregon, Forsyth was a four-star recruit, per the On3 Industry Rankings, a proprietary algorithm that compiles ratings and rankings from all four primary recruiting media services. He was the No. 383 overall player in the class coming out of West Linn (OR).

What NFL Draft analysts are saying about Alex Forsyth

NFL.com‘s Lance Zierlein provided the following analysis of Forsyth:

“A steady center/guard option with good size and length, Forsyth plays with technique and consistency that offensive line coaches will appreciate,” Zierlein wrote. “He wasn’t asked to play with much range from home base but gets into his block with pop and is consistent in his effort to sustain and finish the assignment. He has some issues protecting the A-gaps at times, and the pre-snap penalties are a concern.

“Forsyth’s poor explosiveness testing at the NFL Scouting Combine could cause concerns for teams looking at him late on Day 3 of the draft.”

According to the scouting report, Forsyth’s strengths lie in his hands and hips. He rolls his hips into blocks and runs feet at the point of contact and does well to open his hips up off the opening snap. Still, he is penalty-prone and his quickness post-snap needs some work.