Tyron Smith put his massive hands on Adam Gotsis‘ shoulders and attempted to march the Broncos defensive end toward the sideline.

Discarding defensive linemen with ease was how Smith, the 320-pound left tackle for the Dallas Cowboys, earned all-pro honors last season. And being too easily shoved to the side in 2016 was how his rookie season became an exercise in frustration for Gotsis.

But as the clouds hovered above Sports Authority Field at Mile High last Sunday, Gotsis closed the daylight. On the second play of the game, Gotsis absorbed a chip block from Cowboys guard Chaz Green and then, with a violent swing of his arms, shook free from Smith. In a blink, Gotsis balanced himself and torpedoed back toward the line of scrimmage, helping teammate Derek Wolfe level all-pro running back Ezekiel Elliot before he could gain a yard.

The play was a six-second show of strength Gotsis may have not been able to display one year ago. Back then, he was 20 pounds lighter, still recovering from an ACL injury and generally overmatched.

“The first two games, he’s looked like a different guy,” Broncos defensive coordinator Joe Woods said. “He’s looking like the guy we drafted. He has to continue to play at that level. He’s a big piece to our defense in terms of having big success.”

To grow confidence, Gotsis had to grow his biceps and his chest and his legs and various other parts of his anatomy that make up the tools of the trade for defensive linemen. Entering the offseason healthy, Gotsis took up residence in the weight room, adding 20 pounds to his frame. By June, he weighed 306 pounds, up from his 287-pound playing weight as a rookie.

The weight gain came after a stern challenge from defensive line coach Bill Kollar, who didn’t mince words when he told Gotsis he had to get stronger.

“I think he really wanted to pressure me into an opportunity where I could push myself to try and be a starter on this team,” said Gotsis, who will celebrate his 25th birthday Saturday in Buffalo, preparing for the Broncos’ first road game against the Bills. “I took a lot of that on myself, just to keep working and know that I need to do this for myself. I needed to do what I had to do to get on the field, and he wants me to be on the field. Even though it might sound like he’s coming at me, he’s trying to give me the best opportunity. I just had to work my butt off.”

As the Broncos began organized team activities in June, bigger muscles brought increased confidence. Gotsis noticed he was more often dictating movement in the trenches, not simply trying to survive as he often did during his rookie season.

But just as he was hitting his stride, Gotsis was hit with a setback. A sore knee led to a scope in late June that kept the native of Australia out of action for a month. He was ready to practice at the start of training camp in late July, but he wasn’t yet himself. It wasn’t exactly the way he envisioned beginning his quest for a starting job.

“I felt like I was playing at a high caliber,” Gotsis said. “I felt like I had a great OTAs. It was like, ‘Damn, just when I’m feeling good.’ But it’s football. You’re going to have injuries. It’s about how you bounce back.” Related Articles Kiszla: After Broncos lose to Pittsburgh and begin another NFL season 0-2, veteran Shelby Harris sounds warning: “We’ve got to change the culture”

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Gotsis has quickly come to understand that injuries are a way of life in the NFL. The trick, he has also learned, is to avoid allowing an injury to stall progress. When the knee issue kept him out in July, Gotsis still lifted and conditioned where he could and immersed himself in film. It was part of an overall growth that Gotsis had to make heading into his second season to become the player Kollar and the Broncos envisioned he could be when they used a second-round pick to draft him out of Georgia Tech, despite his limited American football experience.

“You’ve got to get a little different mind-set,” Kollar said, relaying some of what he told Gotsis in the offseason. “You’ve got to have a tougher mindset. You can’t just be a nice guy and go out there. You’ve got to have a different type of attitude. I think he’s changed that a little bit also.”

After finding his feet in the first two preseason games, Gotsis came on strong at the end of August. He then registered five tackles in a season-opening win over the Chargers. He added four tackles against the Cowboys. Each of those was against Elliott (three rushes, one reception) on plays that totaled just 7 yards for the running back.

“I think it’s confidence,” Broncos coach Vance Joseph said. “It’s just playing more football. He’s obviously a talent. I mean, physically, he can do a lot of special things. He’s a big man. It’s just confidence. Just believing you can do it. That’s where he is right now.”