FOXBOROUGH — LaAdrian Waddle has spent a lot of time watching his Patriots teammates over the last two-plus seasons.
The sturdy swing tackle often has been the odd man out — caught in a depth-chart numbers game behind established veterans Nate Solder, Sebastian Vollmer, and Marcus Cannon — and winding up on the game-day inactive list.
That won’t be the case Sunday night in Denver when the 6-foot-6-inch, 315-pounder figures to be among the more active Patriots as he steps in at right tackle for Cannon, who is out with an ankle injury.
Waddle will be butting heads with Broncos pass rusher extraordinaire Von Miller in what the fifth-year veteran last week called a “hell of a challenge.’’
Waddle got on the field for just one offensive snap and a few more on special teams in 2016 as Solder and Cannon were entrenched as the starters with Cam Fleming holding the top backup job.
The pecking order was the same throughout camp and early this season, though Waddle continued to improve and slowly but surely leapfrogged Fleming on the depth chart.
He got the start for an injured Cannon in Week 3 and subbed in when Cannon hurt the ankle against the Chargers Oct. 29 and held his own against the a formidable Los Angeles pass rush that included Joey Bosa and Melvin Ingram.
Waddle’s ascent has impressed Bill Belichick, who plucked him off the waiver wire in December 2015 after he was released by the Lions. Waddle had torn his ACL in 2014 and was still working his way back.
“He looks and plays kind of like what we saw in Detroit before the injury,’’ Belichick said. “He had a really good offseason, good spring, and I think he’s improved his overall strength [and] his mobility. He’s in good condition.’’
One of the keys to Waddle’s progress has been his refusal to look back or dwell on last season and concentrate on the present.
“I didn’t really get that opportunity last year, for whatever reason that was,’’ said Waddle, who acknowledged Miller’s ability but also said Denver has no “slacks’’ on their defensive front. “Now I’ve got the opportunity and I want to make the most of it and keep showing that I can perform — just to get the trust of my teammates and my coaches and use that and roll with it. I’m going to try to keep doing what I’m doing and keep getting better.’’
Waddle used last season almost like a redshirt year, observing, absorbing, and learning from offensive line coach Dante Scarnecchia so that when the time came for him to be called upon, he’d be good to go.
“I definitely think I’m better this year than last year,’’ he said. “It’s another year of experience, just another year in the system, another year to grow as a player. It’s being in good shape, working my technique hard. Scar pushes all of us up front to be better, so just taking his coaching, taking his opportunities that I’ve been blessed to have and just kind of rolling with them and making the most of them.’’
Jelks on road back
Another offensive lineman, rookie Andrew Jelks, has been the new guy participating in practice over the past week, joining his teammates as he works his way back from the reserve/non-football injury list.
Jelks was signed as an undrafted free agent out of Vanderbilt, where he hadn’t seen game action since 2014 when he was a sophomore. Jelks, who earned SEC All-Freshman honors and has played both right and left tackle, missed the next two seasons with torn ACLs.
Jelks worked out during the Commodores’ pro day (with fellow rookie Adam Butler) and caught the eye of Belichick, who was on hand that day.
“He hasn’t played football in over two years, so he’s obviously been excited to get back out there and to be able to start playing,’’ the coach said last week. “He’s done a lot of rehabbing, but really, I think we’re past that. It’s really just training, and due to the rules that are in place, his opportunity to come back and play, that window just recently opened. We felt like this was the best time to take advantage of that . . . so, it’s good to have him out there. He’s worked extremely hard.’’
While Belichick said it’s obvious “he hasn’t played football in a couple of years’’ he also said the potential is there for the 6-6, 307-pounder.
“He’s got talent and he works hard and he’s done all the drills that he can do — bags and shields and sled and cones and all that,’’ said the coach. “Now it’s actually football. I mean, there are live bodies out there. It’s a lot different than hitting a pad. So, he’s adjusting to those things, but he’s going to work hard, he’s going to get better, and we’ll see where it goes.’’
Grissom re-signed
Two days after they released defensive lineman Geneo Grissom, the Patriots re-signed him to the practice squad while releasing offensive lineman Anthony Fabiano. Grissom, 25, was a third-round pick of the Patriots in 2015 and has appeared in 29 games for them as a reserve. Fabiano, 24, a Wakefield native who played at Harvard, was signed to the practice squad the same day the Patriots released Grissom . . . The Patriots are 27-18 overall on “Sunday Night Football’’ and are 8-2 in their last 10. They lost their last “SNF’’ game in Denver in 2015, 30-24, in the snow in overtime.
Tom Brady is 18-10 on SNF, including a 23-7 victory over the Falcons in the Fog Bowl last month . . . Since 1984 the Patriots lead the NFL with 359 overall victories with the Broncos right behind with 346 . . . The Broncos are 30-22 overall against the Patriots, which includes a 21-10 mark in the Mile High City . . . Did you know that in Belichick’s first two wins in Denver he took intentional safeties in both games (Oct. 1, 2000 and Nov. 3, 2003)?
Jim McBride can be reached at james.mcbride@globe.com. Follow him on Twitter @globejimmcbride.
