Denver Broncos add Michael Hunter to their practice squad

The Denver Broncos added cornerback Michael Hunter to their practice squad with one spot open following their addition of Kyle Peko last week…

The Denver Broncos continue to tinker with the bottom of their roster and the practice squad, adding cornerback Michael Hunter to the practice squad on Wednesday.

A practice squad spot had opened up after the team added nose tackle Kyle Peko to the active roster. There could be another spot opening up yet if the team determines it needs to bring up Tyrique Jarrett this week with Domata Peko and Derek Wolfe potentially both not playing.

The move to add Hunter was reported by multiple sources:

Hunter is an intriguing prospect.

The former Oklahoma State and Indiana cornerback was an undrafted free agent of the New York Giants a season ago, and made a couple of appearances on their active roster after being signed to their practice squad.

Thomas was on the Giants’ active roster for a period again this season, including for the game that started the Broncos’ current seven-game losing streak when the Giants came to down back in mid-October.

Hunter was injured in that game, and was released from the Giants when Dominique Rodgers-Cromartie was reinstated shortly after that Denver game.

The Broncos have obviously been monitoring his whereabouts over the past few weeks, and getting him on the practice squad now will give them an edge in keeping him down the road whether they want to place him on the active roster, or potentially sign him to a reserve/futures contract.

This guy is a freak of an athlete when you look at the numbers he posted at the Oklahoma State pro day:

Height: 6-0
Weight: 186
40 yard dash: 4.40
Bench press (225 pounds): 17 reps
Vertical jump: 38.5 inches

Those numbers would have put him among the best at the Scouting Combine in 2016, for whatever set of reasons, he was undrafted.

This past Summer, Hunter was making big time impressions at Giants camp.

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There are always prop articles done during training camp for players that are performing well, but Hunter was not only turning the heads of the media, he was making a heck of an impression on the coaching staff.

That article I just linked says that when Eli Apple was out with injury at Giants training camp, this kid took first-team reps.

I will take that from a practice squad flier, especially this late in the season.

It could be that injuries are the reason Hunter didn’t work out in New York, or perhaps they didn’t see the type of progression they wanted to after his breakout training camp, but the Broncos appear to have gotten themselves at least a very good athlete who has made significant improvements from year one to year two at the cornerback position.

Right now, the Broncos’ practice squad is back at 10 players, and no one has it updated completely yet, so we’ll do that for you here:

CB Michael Hunter
CB Marcus Rios
S Dymonte Thomas
DL Tyrique Jarrett
C Gabe Ikard
C Dillon Day
WR Tim Patrick
WR Hunter Sharp
TE Brian Parker
DE Stansly Maponga