ENGLEWOOD — A wise man once said, “80% of feeling good is looking good.”

OK, that might have been some guy in a Bosley hair growth commercial said, but it’s the truth.

Luke Wattenberg, with curly locks down to his shoulders that make many of us jealous, won’t need a hair supplement any time soon. And now that he has a year under his belt starting in the NFL, the 27-year-old center is a lot more sure of himself in this training camp.

“I think the biggest thing for me right now is confidence,” Wattenberg said after practice on Monday at Broncos Park. “How much more confident I am playing with the group around me. I feel a lot better in that sense.”

It helps when the big dog in charge has your back.

Earlier Monday, coach Sean Payton called Wattenberg an “asset starter.” When your coach says that, expectations are going to be a little bit higher in year two running with the first-team offense, but there’s a reason why that’s the case.

“He played really well last year for us in his first year as a starter,” Payton said.

It’s not time for Wattenberg to rest on his laurels, however. Entering the final year of his rookie contract, something he’s not worried about at the moment, the California native sees plenty of room for improvement.

“I really want to take the next step in the run game,” Wattenberg said. “Chris Morgan (the Broncos assistant offensive line coach) has been helping me a lot with that — playing fast, playing with my hat, getting my back-side hand in, has all been points of emphasis for me. He’s been helping a lot with that.”

Continuity can be a real asset to Wattenberg in his hopes of improving. Not only is the center feeling more confident working with Bo Nix due to their amount of reps shared together, but the Broncos will be returning the same starting offensive line they had last season.

Having that continuity is another reason Wattenberg isn’t afraid to admit he feels a lot better right now then he did 365 days ago.

“Being around those four guys, it brings my confidence up,” he said. “They’re fantastic players and I couldn’t ask for a better (offensive) line.”