Denver Broncos rookie return specialist and wide receiver Isaiah McKenzie will be deactivated this week against the Cincinnati Bengals…
The Denver Broncos are making some statements this week to their special teams groups, taking roles away from players and as was the case with Kasim Edebali, firing them outright. For punt returner Isaiah McKenzie, his latest error won’t result in losing his job entirely, but he won’t have it this week against the Bengals.
The Broncos are deactivating McKenzie against Cincinnati, and will give Jordan Taylor the reps as the team’s punt returner this week.
Taylor’s number one goal this week? Just catch the ball.
#Broncos McKenzie will be inactive. Taylor will return punts. Team brought in lefty punter to prepare this week. #Denver7
— Troy Renck (@TroyRenck) November 17, 2017
McKenzie has struggled this season just catching punts, fumbling for the fifth time on a punt return against the Patriots this past week, and proving to be more of a liability than an asset at this point
It’s really a shame no one seems to be able to lock this position down in Denver, as it has been an area of weakness since Trindon Holliday’s magical 2012 season.
Holliday himself became a liability for the Broncos just catching punts, and McKenzie seems to be losing focus at the most important aspect of returning kicks as well.
More from Predominantly Orange
- Broncos chances of landing Sean Payton dwindling, but not gone
- Denver Broncos dream coaching staff for DeMeco Ryans
- Denver Broncos: “Sleeper” David Shaw checks every box
- The Broncos’ coaching search likely has not gone to plan
- Special Chiefs Suck Offer: Bet $5, Win $150 if Joe Burrow Passes for ONE YARD vs KC
The Broncos picked McKenzie in the fifth round of the 2017 NFL Draft, hoping that he would be able to make an instant impact in the return game while eventually developing into a Tyreek Hill-like weapon for the offense.
So far, it’s been much more slow going than it was for Hill and the Chiefs.
McKenzie has shown off his big play ability on punt returns at times, but he’s also not been the great ‘catcher’ of punts that we heard about.
The Broncos continued to put a lot of faith in McKenzie despite his struggles, but this past weekend proved to be the straw that broke the camel’s back. Oddly enough, the Broncos seemed to give McKenzie more responsibility in the actual game itself, giving him a shot at a kick return which he also botched badly.
McKenzie needs maybe a couple of weeks to just work on his craft a little bit, but I think he will still be a special player yet.