Colorado Buffaloes most important players: #16 Aaron Haigler

More than any other position, the offensive line relies on chemistry. You gotta have five guys that know what they’re doing, and more importantly, what the other four are doing. It’s hard to do that when you have to rotate guys in and out of the lineup, for performance or injury reasons. Over the past two years, no returning player (other than Tim Lynott) has played more snaps for the Buffs up front than Aaron Haigler.

After showing as a promising LT for CU in 2016, Haigler had a subpar 2017 moving around the line. The added weight seemed to slow him down, and the guard position didn’t fir his skill set correctly. Luckily, this year, Haigler should be right where he belongs at RT. And after four years in Boulder, he is now a healthy and comfortable 295 pounds and will be wearing the captain’s C this fall.

As a tight end who bulked up to play tackle, Haigler has quick feet and plenty of athleticism for the position. And now that he’s comfortable for the bulk, he’ll need to be able to push people around too. The reason he’s not higher is because he’s a relatively safe bet. He’ll play the snaps and do a good job at keeping the quarterback safe. His road grading will need to be seen to be believed, but he will be a Pac-12 level player. The Colorado Buffaloes will need a good, or even average, offensive line to be successful this year. Aaron Haigler is a huge part of that success.