ENGLEWOOD, Colo. -- What goes around does come around sometimes.

As the Denver Broncos prepared this week for their Sunday night matchup against the New England Patriots, they inched closer to the youthful look on the offensive line they sported for much of training camp. Rookie Max Garcia could make his first NFL start, at left guard, if Evan Mathis is not ready to play because of an ankle injury.

Garcia, the Broncos’ fourth-round pick in this year’s draft, has worked with the starters for much of the past week. Mathis was a limited participant in Friday’s practice after being held out both Wednesday and Thursday. Unless Mathis shows significant progress, Garcia will be in the lineup against the Patriots.

The Broncos' current plan is to work Mathis out before the game to gauge his readiness, but coach Gary Kubiak believes Garcia is ready to step in.

“I have a lot of confidence in him, he’s a lot like Brock (Osweiler) in a lot of ways, he’s been working real hard," Kubiak said Friday. “I know he’s a first-year player but if you go back, if you remember, there was a time when he was a starter for us near the end of camp."

Garcia was indeed part of the team’s youth movement in camp at left guard, with fellow rookie Ty Sambrailo at left tackle and Matt Paradis -- who spent his rookie year in 2014 on the Broncos’ practice squad -- at center. Sambrailo, who is on injured reserve following shoulder surgery, started the first three games of the regular season, while Paradis is the only Broncos player on offense or defense who has played every snap this season.

The Broncos felt Garcia would start at some point but needed a little more seasoning, so they signed Mathis as training camp drew to a close. But Garcia has played more and more, even getting snaps at both guard spots in the same game, with a season-high 43 snaps against the Chiefs earlier the month.

“I’ve just tried to keep working on my technique and stay on my assignments," Garcia said. “I just want to keep building off any reps I get and make sure I can do what they need me to do wherever I go into the game at."

The Patriots are third in the league in sacks with 32, behind only the Broncos (34) and Panthers (33). New England’s Chandler Jones is third in the league individually with 10.5 sacks.

“Max has had a good week," Kubiak said. “This would be a tough assignment to draw for his first start."