Big men on camp: Which Bronco is heaviest?
By Chris Tomasson 
| August 11, 2009 | 8:15 AM
Offensive tackle Ryan Clady is among Denver Broncos players weighing in at more than 300 pounds. (Photo from Newscom)
At 338 pounds, defensive lineman J’Vonne Parker reported to training camp as the undisputed heaviest weight champion on the Denver Broncos. But Parker was knocked out last week with a knee injury, ending his season.
So the avoirdupois crown is up for grabs. The problem is, nobody seems to want it.
According to the roster, the next heaviest player is guard Matt McChesney, who played at the University of Colorado and is listed at 333 pounds.
“No, I’m 323,’’ McChesney said. “I don’t know what they did (to get 333).’’
OK, so it’s on to defensive lineman Chris Baker, listed at 329.
“I’m 320,’’ he said.
Told he apparently is disqualifying himself for heaviest player honors, Baker acted as if he were a Wheel of Fortune contestant who just missed having the wheel come up “Bankrupt.’’
“Nobody wants to be the heaviest on the team,’’ Baker said.
Until McChesney and Baker can be put on a scale, we’ll give them the benefit of the doubt and anoint tackle Ryan Clady, listed at 325 pounds, as the heaviest. Certainly nobody would dare call Clady, a star in the making, fat.
While it might not be fashionable to tout oneself as the team’s heaviest, these big Broncos sure don’t mind talking about some of the exploits that come with being very large. McChesney still remembers an all-you-can-eat establishment he used to drain profits from in Boulder.
“In college, me and my boys definitely tried to shut them down,’’ McChesney said. “We used to go down to a place where every Thursday night they had all-you-can eat wings. They used to have to kick us out. I’d eat 25 to 30 in one sitting.’’
Baker’s legendary eating stories go back to when he was 8 and stood 5-foot-5, 180 pounds. That’s right. He was 8.
“We took a trip to Alabama and my grandmother used to cook stuff,’’ Baker said of the drive from his native Connecticut. “After we left, I just sat in the back seat and . . . probably had 12 pieces.’’
Grandmother wasn’t around during minicamps last spring when Baker joined the Broncos as a rookie free agent out of Hampton. But that didn’t matter. Baker said all the food the Broncos rolled out got him up to a career-high 340 pounds.
“They had a little bit of everything,’’ Baker said. “Steak. Chicken. Shrimp. And in the morning, bacon and eggs and potatoes. I just ate everything I saw.’’
Baker wasn’t alone. Including Parker, the Broncos have 17 players in camp listed as weighing 300 or more pounds.
So, to truly be a member of the Broncos’ girth gang, you better weigh more than 310. The Broncos have nine players in that category, the others being guard Pat Murray (316) and defensive linemen Marcus Thomas (316), Ronald Fields (314), Everette Pedescheaux (312) and Carlton Powell (312).
Believe it or not, the 6-foot-4 Pedescheaux, a rookie free agent, once was Minnesota’s Mr. Basketball. That’s when he weighed a mere 245.
“Over the years, switching positions, I’ve had to gain weight,’’ Pedescheaux said. “I was eating a lot of steak and chicken.’’
With that in mind, perhaps McChesney can recommend a certain Boulder all-you-can-eat establishment.
While it definitely takes time for these Broncos heavyweights to fill their tummies, it also takes time to find clothes. Once you pass the 300-pound mark, looking on the rack is not advisable.
“I definitely got to go to big-and-tall stories everywhere I go,’’ Thomas said. “I used to go to regular stores to get some big clothes. But all the clothes for big people are ugly.’’
Big-and-tall stores are popular for these guys, and so is waking up early. Baker said if he wants to buy a pair of popular new shoes, he gets to the store as soon as possible for the “one pair of 14 or 15.’’
Baker has plenty of experience in that area. He’s been big since he was little.
“I was 6-foot when I was 11,’’ said Baker, who is now 6-foot-2 and has mostly grown out the past 11 years. “I had a little mustache and my voice was changing. I enjoyed it, being a big guy. Everyone used to listen to me, so it was fun.
“I couldn’t play pee-wee football because I was too big. I didn’t play football until my junior year in high school. But I was really good at basketball. But every time we went to these tournaments I had to bring my birth certificate because nobody believed how old I was.’’
Baker said his father is 6-foot-4 and about 240. He called his 5-foot-5 mother “thick” and said “that’s where I get my thickness from.’’
The 6-foot-4 McChesney said his father is 6-foot-3 and his mother 6-foot-2. He said he got his girth from his once-massive father but that, at 70, he’s “shrinking’’ and is down to 170.
In training camp last season with the New York Jets, McChesney looked svelte when standing next to Jets All-Pro nose tackle Kris Jenkins. McChesney calls Jenkins, who is listed at 360 and showed up a few years ago at a Carolina minicamp weighing 384, the biggest player he’s ever faced.
Jenkins might be the NFL’s biggest man right now, but he’s got a lot of buffets to hit before he has any chance to become the biggest ever. That distinction easily goes to tackle Aaron Gibson, who was listed at 410 pounds with Dallas in 2002, becoming the first 400-pounder in league history.
When Gibson played in the NFL from 1999-2004, there was never any question of the biggest player on his team. As for that title with the Broncos, it seems to be in dispute.
aaron gibson, chris baker, denver broncos, everette pedescheaux, heaviest player, j'vonne parker, marcus thomas, matt mcchesney, ryan clady, training camp
