Weber State standout Gavin Ortega signs with Broncos as undrafted free agent

Gavin Ortega’s path to the NFL started with the part nobody in the league romanticizes: he had to earn it the hard way. The Weber State offensive lineman went undrafted after the 2026 NFL Draft, then signed with the Denver Broncos as a free agent, taking a route that usually demands more than talent alone. It requires durability, polish and a body of work that convinces coaches a rookie can survive the grind of a camp roster.

Ortega brought all of that from Ogden. The native of Bellingham, Washington, signed with Weber State in December 2021 and spent four seasons with the Wildcats from 2022 through 2025. He played in 41 career games and appeared in every game of his final three seasons, a streak that matters for an NFL team trying to sort through the bottom of a depth chart. In 2025, he started all 12 games on the offensive line, earned first-team All-Big Sky honors and added All-America recognition, including a second-team nod from FCS Football Central.

His senior season also showed why Weber State believed he was more than a steady body. Ortega helped anchor an offensive line that allowed just 14 sacks, the third-fewest in the Big Sky. That kind of protection profile travels well, especially for a lineman who was named a team captain as voted on by his teammates and was also a two-time All-Big Sky selection. He added Academic All-Big Sky honors in nursing, giving Denver a prospect whose value has been built on consistency, discipline and leadership as much as size and technique.

The Broncos are making a bet on that profile at the exact stage of the calendar when undrafted players can still carve out a place. Denver’s rookie minicamp has included college free agents and tryout players in recent cycles, and the club has shown a willingness to give undrafted rookies a legitimate path onto the initial roster. That keeps the door open for players like Ortega, who arrive with experience rather than raw projection.

Weber State’s history also gives the signing added weight. The Wildcats have repeatedly turned long-term development into pro opportunities, and Ortega fit that model as a senior captain with national preseason attention, after being named to the Stats Perform FCS Preseason All-America Second Team before the 2025 season. He also took part in Weber State’s 2026 Pro Day at Stewart Stadium alongside four other seniors, with a dozen NFL scouts watching. Denver is not getting a camp filler. It is getting a proven FCS line prospect who already lived through the weekly demands of a high-level program and now gets a chance to turn that track record into a roster spot.