ENGLEWOOD, Colo. -- After quarterback Case Keenum signed with the Denver Broncos this past offseason, he stood at the podium in front of a packed room.
After Bradley Chubb was selected in the first round of April's draft, he arrived with fanfare befitting the No. 5 overall pick.
Fellow rookies such as Courtland Sutton, DaeSean Hamilton and Royce Freeman have each been celebrated for the potential they've flashed. Undrafted rookie running back Phillip Lindsay, a Denver native, has consistently been a headline-worthy topic around the team.
But down in the less glamorous world of foundations and infrastructure, one of the most important arrivals this offseason -- perhaps the most important after Keenum -- has been about as quiet as a 6-foot-8, 321-pound human can be.
Right tackle Jared Veldheer arrived in a March trade as a possible solution to an offensive line problem that has largely vexed the Broncos since before Peyton Manning retired.
"He's got 101 starts in this league," Broncos coach Vance Joseph said. "That's a special feat. He's helped us having a tackle who has played at a high level with some consistency. He has smarts, he's long, he makes his job look really easy even when it's not."
With center Matt Paradis, who has played every snap on offense the past three seasons, and guard Ron Leary, who was the centerpiece of the Broncos' work in free agency in 2017, Veldheer gives the Broncos the potential to get things right up front.
The Broncos acquired Veldheer by sending a sixth-round pick in this past April's draft to the Arizona Cardinals. Before Veldheer had a jersey or a locker in the team's facility, the team announced him as the starter at right tackle. Since the start of the 2014 season, right tackle has been little more than a turnstile on the depth chart, with 10 Broncos having started at least one game there.
"I've said there's no real 'Open a book up, and here's the exact answer' to how this goes," Veldheer said. "You do the gritty things, on the practice field, in the film room, you take a good look at it and work. That's the approach for me, for all of us, to be as good together as possible."
The Broncos hope Veldheer can keep order in front of Keenum and help left tackle Garett Bolles, the team's 2017 first-round pick, progress from last season's penalty-filled ride. With Veldheer at right tackle, Connor McGovern at right guard, Paradis at center and Leary back at left guard (they moved him to right guard last season to plug a gap in the lineup), the hope is that Bolles can be part of a far more settled, consistent group.
The Broncos struggled in pass protection plenty last season: Their 52 sacks allowed tied them for third in the league. Opposing defensive coordinators privately said right tackle was the spot where they felt their rushers had an advantage, as Menelik Watson, Allen Barbre, Donald Stephenson and Cyrus Kouandjio all started at least one game there. But now?
"[Veldheer] fixes that. He understands angles, he understands pass-rush techniques," Joseph said. "Thank God we've got him. And I think Garett Bolles, moving forward, is going to be a special left tackle for us. He's going to get better and better for us, and Jared's been great for Garett, just from a football I.Q. perspective, a work ethic perspective. He's a guy who gets it."
"When you have those edges taken care of, as a quarterback, there's always going to be a comfort level," Keenum said. "He's that proven guy who's seen it all."
Veldheer was held out of the Broncos' offseason work, given that he finished the 2017 season with the Cardinals on injured reserve with a foot injury. He has worked through much of training camp and has played in all three of the Broncos' preseason games.
"We're working through things. You learn how to do it together because that's kind of how it goes on Sundays," Veldheer said. "You want to have everybody on the same page so you can go out and just play ball."