Jun. 23—Making the Broncos’ 53-man roster is difficult.
Making the Broncos’ 53-man roster as a wide receiver — that might be the most difficult task to accomplish on this year’s team.
Last year, the Broncos took seven receivers on the original 53-man roster. Right now, the Broncos have a league-high 15 receivers on its roster going into training camp. And with receivers like Jerry Jeudy, Courtland Sutton, Tim Patrick and KJ Hamler all returning and looking poised for breakout seasons, who fills those other three spots is anyone’s guess.
Diontae Spencer and Tyrie Cleveland are considered favorites to make the team for a second straight season, after both served as kick returners last year. Rookies Seth Williams (sixth round) and Warren Jackson (undrafted) have been impressive, but likely only one of them will make the team. And Kendall Hinton — the former practice squad receiver turned quarterback — has been arguably the biggest surprise of any player this offseason, receiving praise from his coaches and teammates for his growth at receiver.
Not to mention there are six other receivers vying for a roster spot: Amara Darboh, De’Mornay Pierson-El, Trinity Benson, DeVontres Dukes, Branden Mack and Damion Willis.
“This group, it’s a bunch of young guys who have made some plays in this league, who had some success in this league and then there’s some guys who are eager to make a name for themselves in this league,” quarterback Teddy Bridgewater said. “You watch guys just compete with each other and push each other. I’m pretty sure when Sundays in the fall come around, those guys will be making a lot of plays for us, and it started this offseason.”
Two guys who stood out during organized team activities and mandatory minicamp are Cleveland and Hinton. Both are entering their second seasons in the NFL and clearly have a leg up on their competition, having been with the Broncos throughout last season.
For Cleveland, he saw action in 10 games in 2020, totaling six receptions for 63 yards while also returning 10 kicks for 234 yards. Cleveland showed potential in the last game of the season, catching four passes for 45 yards.
A former high school standout as the No. 2 ranked wide receiver in 2016 class, Cleveland has all the tools to be successful in the NFL. Now, it’s about putting it all together in year two.
“Just a dominant guy out there,” quarterback Drew Lock said of Cleveland. “You always like throwing the ball to guys when it leaves your hand and you’re really confident they’re going to go up and get it, regardless of the situation they’re in. That’s kind of the guy that Tyrie’s becoming. We’re getting comfortable with him having the ball in his hand, like you said running the reverse — he’s just a playmaker.”
For Hinton, he’s coming off a rookie season in which he spent all but one game on the practice squad, with that one game of course being the one he played quarterback in. Hinton played quarterback his first four years at Wake Forrest before transitioning to wide receiver his senior season. He had 1,001 receiving yards and four touchdowns in his lone season as a wide receiver.
Entering only his third year ever playing the position, Hinton looks like he could be a real contributor to an already talented offense.
“Kendall — super aggressive to the ball. You feel like you can throw him a ball one-on-one, and he’s going to go get it,” Lock said. “Runs super defined routes — and from receiver, to kind of on the team, to quarterback, to receiver — I mean, he’s definitely shown that he is here to work, and he really cares about the game of football.”
Cleveland and Hinton will likely compete against one another for one of those spots, but will also have to beat out rookies like Williams and Jackson and specialists like Spencer, Pierson-El and Darboh. Come July 27 when training camp begins, those battles will be intriguing to watch.
But for the Broncos, that’s a good problem to have.
“Our receiving corps is probably the most dynamic receiving corps in the National Football League in my opinion,” left tackle Garett Bolles said. “I think we have some of the most deadly guys. Guys who defenses fear because they are so fast off the ball and the way that they break in their routes and the way they get open. They’re special.”