Fred Brown has initial hold on Denver Broncos WR6 spot

The Denver Broncos could end up keeping six wide receivers on their 53-man roster, and a darkhorse in Fred Brown has emerged at camp.

The Denver Broncos released their first depth chart of the 2019 season on Monday, and while this depth chart and the way reps are handed out could literally change daily for the duration of camp, it’s fun to see something official from the team on paper.

One of the interesting nuggets from the depth chart was the bottom of the wide receiver group, where the Broncos have competition for one, maybe two spots.

The Broncos kept six receivers on the roster last year, but with their depth at tight end and running back, they may only keep five in 2019. Still, there’s a chance they will go with six, so who among the breakout players in camp has the first crack at the WR6 spot on the depth chart?

That would be none other than former Mississippi State receiver and reserve/futures contract signee Fred Brown.

Brown is the one who makes the first catch on this highlight reel from Saturday’s practice on a beautiful throw from Drew Lock.

Although Brown hasn’t generated a ton of hype like undrafted rookies Kelvin McKnight and Trinity Benson, he’s having a very strong camp thus far.

Every day, you hear about Brown making a catch from either Joe Flacco, Kevin Hogan, or Drew Lock. Rarely have we heard about him making a big mistake, either.

Brown was once a big-time playmaker and prospect at Mississippi State before he was eventually dismissed from the team for violating their student code.

He played in 23 games there and has had stints with the Colts and Rams in the NFL before ending up with the Broncos.

Brown has some nice measurables.

At 6-foot-1, Brown runs a 4.48 in the 40-yard dash and had a 37-inch vertical jump at his pre-draft pro day.

The Broncos took a shot on him and obviously he’s turning some heads on the coaching staff. Everyone has been talking about the undrafted players and how well they’ve been doing in camp but players like Brown have just as good of a shot at sticking.

Denver’s new coaching staff is obviously liking what they have seen from Brown thus far, and he will now have the chance to back up his strong practices with five preseason games ahead.