Denver Broncos: Isaiah McKenzie and his fumble issues

Isaiah McKenzie is battling for a Denver Broncos roster spot heading into training camp, but how did he manage to keep his spot last year?

Isaiah McKenzie should have been cut last year, his first with the Denver Broncos.

His performance last year was terrible. In the midst of everything else that was going wrong, McKenzie managed to stand above it all.

While the quarterback play was frustrating, there were brief glimpses of hope followed by numerous bad throws and moments of misery.

With McKenzie, there weren’t any of those brief glimpses of hope. Just a lot of fumbles.

In fact, only two non-quarterbacks after 1966 fumbled the ball more than Isaiah McKenzie did last season: Bobby Humphrey and Sammy Winder.

Humphrey added 1,202 yards on 288 carries in 1990 while Winder added 757 yards on 196 carries in 1983.

McKenzie only added 233 yards in the return game and 29 yards receiving. He also scored zero touchdowns and had a punt return long of 44 yards. He was subsequently benched for Denver’s personal utility knife, Jordan Taylor.

In his limited time on offense, he managed to blow that opportunity as well by making a rookie mistake as the Broncos were driving down the field against the Redskins. It appears it wasn’t just fans that were upset with McKenzie either.

All-Pro corner Chris Harris Jr got in a fight with the rookie late in the season.

While watching McKenzie’s fumbling issues unfold last year, he reminded me of another dynamic returner we had in Denver recently, Trindon Holliday.

Holliday was the true definition of boom or bust. He was just as likely to return a punt for a touchdown as he was to fumble the ball in the end zone.

In two seasons with Denver, Holliday fumbled ten times but also returned four kicks and punts for touchdowns. That’s an average of five fumbles per season, which is one less than McKenzie’s total last year.

How did he keep his roster spot?

Knowing this information, it’s hard to justify why McKenzie stayed on the 53-man roster last season.

The team was struggling with performance and injuries but still kept him around. Coming into this season, his spot is firmly on the roster bubble after the acquisition of Courtland Sutton and DaeSean Hamilton in the second and fourth round of the 2018 NFL Draft respectively.

As a fifth-round draft pick on a team devoid of true home run threats, I strongly believe the team was willing to give him multiple chances to see if he could turn it around; to see if he could show the dynamic play-making ability that got him drafted.

Coming out of Georgia, McKenzie was dubbed the “human joystick” for his ability to stop and change directions on a dime. He is lightning quick and speedy fast as evidenced by his 6.64 three-cone shuttle drill and 4.42 40-yard dash.

In college, he was oozing with big-play potential. He scored a touchdown every seventh time he had the ball on offense and averaged 11.9 yards on each of those touches. The biggest knock on him was that at 5’7’’ and 173 pounds, could his body hold up to the rigors of the NFL?

Injury-wise, he has been able to hold up, but he has not been able to withstand the big hits from defenders.

What’s next for McKenzie?

Vance Joseph is coming into this season with a new attitude. No longer a rookie head coach, he seems more confident in his decision-making and doing what is needed to make this team successful. Additionally, Elway gave Joseph more playmakers to work with.

No longer is it crucial to retain one of the few guys who does have big-play potential because there are now multiple of those guys on the roster. After two wide receivers were drafted in 2018 and the unexpected play of free agent acquisition Tim Patrick throughout offseason workouts, McKenzie should be feeling the pressure.

Each year is a new year though, and he will be given every chance to make this roster. Last year was a disaster, and while McKenzie’s was most notable to me, it wasn’t the only thing disastrous.

If he can fix his fumbling issues and break free for a few big plays, I will happily welcome back into the good graces.

For the sake of Denver’s return game battle, I hope McKenzie can figure it out or that one of the new guys can replace him based on talent not based on their ability to minimize negative plays.