In the Denver Broncos’ 34-0 preseason routing of the San Francisco 49ers, Cody Latimer exploded onto the NFL scene. In a big way. Following a quiet outing vs the Seahawks the previous week, the rookie 2nd round pick out of Indiana made his presence known yesterday. I’ll even go so far as to say that he officially put the NFL on notice.
One minute into the 2nd quarter and playing with the Broncos first team, Latimer laid a violent, but technically sound block on new ‘Niners saftey, Antoine Bethea. The play was a run off of right tackle by C.J. Anderson for a 1-yard gain.
As Bethea sprinted towards the point of attack from his position at safety, Latimer, who was lined up on the right outside (the direction of the play), ran forward to engage him in a block. Unfortunately for Bethea, I don’t think he saw Latimer, even though it looked like he was within Bethea’s line of sight.
And so Latimer laid into Bethea, will full force, knocking him unconscious where he stood. It was an obvious concussion. And although such injuries are nothing to celebrate, or laugh about, it was an impressive, totally legal and technically sound play by Latimer. We wish Bethea, a 2-time Pro Bowler with the Indianapolis Colts, a speedy recovery.
Latimer’s second big play came in the 3rd quarter with the 2nd team. Following an interception by Tony Carter, the 2nd team offense, led by Brock Osweiler, had a short field. On 1st-and-10, from the San Francisco 33, Osweiler, seeing Latimer in a one-on-one matchup, launched a deep pass down the right sideline.
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Latimer was neck-and-neck with the opposing defensive back, until Osweiler released the ball, at which point, Latimer gained a few steps of separation and laid out in the endzone for the 33-yard touchdown. It was a beautiful play. And Broncos Country hopes that it is a foreshadowing of the future for this young QB/WR duo.
All throughout training camp, we’ve heard about Latimer making play after play. He was constantly in the notebooks of the Broncos beat writers.
We finally got to see him make a splash in live-game action. And both plays underline what were his top two attributes as a prospect entering the NFL draft.
Namely, an elite ability to block, especially for a WR, and an ability to get separation and make plays down the field. Are you excited about this kid yet, Broncos Country?