ENGLEWOOD – Quinn Meinerz wasn’t keen last January on being an afterthought. 

After Kansas City beat Buffalo in the AFC Championship Game and two Chiefs guards had to pull out of the Pro Bowl Games because they were Super Bowl bound, the Broncos stalwart was offered a chance to be a Pro Bowl starter. 

He turned it down. 

“I know I’m not an alternate and I would have much rather been home with my family,’’ the Hartford, Wis., native told The Denver Gazette about his decision. 

Meinerz had been named first-team All-Pro at guard for the 2024 season but surprisingly hadn’t been selected to the AFC team for the Pro Bowl. Guards chosen ahead of him were Quenton Nelson of Indianapolis and Joe Thuney of Kansas City as starters and Trey Smith of the Chiefs as a reserve. 

Meinerz was named a first alternate. Had he accepted the late invitation to the Pro Bowl Games in Orlando, Fla., he would have been a starter alongside Nelson due to both Thuney and Smith pulling out. 

“It was kind of silly being first-team All-Pro and then not making it to the Pro Bowl,’’ said Meinerz, speaking after a practice this week at Broncos Park. “So that was my thing. I was confused, so I’m not going to participate in something I’m confused about.” 

The All-Pro team is selected by a panel of 50 media members while Pro Bowl teams are voted on by players, head coaches and fans, with each segment counting as one-third. 

Reputation and playing on a top team can help players be named to the Pro Bowl. Nelson was a Pro Bowl selection in each of his first seven seasons and is a three-time first-team All-Pro selection. But his last such nod was in 2020. 

Thuney, now with Chicago, has made the Pro Bowl in each of the past three seasons and was a first-team All-Pro selection in each of the past two years. Smith got his first Pro Bowl nod last season and has never been even a second-team All-Pro in his first four seasons. But his popularity was no doubt helped by playing on the Chiefs, who were coming off two straight Super Bowl wins. 

“(With) offensive linemen, it takes a little bit of time to get a reputation and then once you do it’s kind of been explained to me that you get (to the Pro Bowl) two years after you should and you might stay in two years too long,’’ said Meinerz, a five-year veteran whose Broncos play at Indianapolis on Sunday. “So, it is what it is. I can keep getting better, clearly.” 

Word is starting to get around about how good the 6-foot-3, 320-pound Meinerz has become after being taken in the third round in 2021 out of Division III Wisconsin-Whitewater. The Broncos signed him to a four-year, $80 million contract extension prior to last season. 

“I think he’s the best guard in the league,’’ said Calvin Throckmorton, a veteran NFL guard who is now on Denver’s practice squad. “With his athletic ability, combined with his mental processing and his physical traits, it’s extremely unique and rare. You’re seeing him go to work every single Sunday, and what he’s able to do on the football field is very special.” 

Broncos center Luke Wattenberg lines up next to Meinerz. He believes the right guard is even better than last season. 

“I think so,’’ Wattenberg said. “His confidence and his leadership and knowing what to do and what to do in which situation is his greatest attribute, and he’s one of the strongest players in the NFL. I think he’s one of the best guards in the NFL, if not the best. I think he’s one of the most elite in pass protection and one of the strongest run blockers, and I think he’s a tough guy to beat from a D-line perspective.” 

Two top guards will be on display Sunday at Lucas Oil Stadium. Nelson will line up against Denver’s rugged defense and Meinerz will be go against a solid Colts unit. 

“They have a very good defensive front with (DeForest) Buckner and Grover (Stewart), and then their linebacker (Zaire) Franklin is really good,’’ Meinerz said. “It’s another good test for us.” 

It’s another chance for Meinerz to show he would be Pro Bowl worthy for the Feb. 4, 2026, event. There is a long way to go in the season, but Meinerz would be willing to head to Orlando as long as it’s not as an alternate. 

“If I would actually make it and then we don’t make to the Super Bowl, then I will go … as a regular (selection),’’ Meinerz said.