Denver Broncos: Troy Fumagalli could be the emergency fullback

Denver Broncos second-year tight end Troy Fumagalli could be the answer for the team at the fullback position in Andy Janovich’s absence.

With Andy Janovich on the shelf for up to six weeks, the Denver Broncos are searching for answers at the fullback position.

Undrafted rookie George Aston is going to get his chance to prove he can be a gameday contributor in the regular season, but if the Broncos get into a bind with roster numbers, they could call on Troy Fumagalli, a second-year tight end.

Fumagalli hasn’t been talked about a lot this offseason, but he’s been steady and was a prospect worth keeping an eye on as the Broncos brought him back from injury all last year.

Fumagalli is a fascinating player for a few reasons. First and foremost, he plays the game without his left index finger, which is not something he’s had to ‘adjust’ to as the finger was amputated when he was a baby.

He was born with amniotic band syndrome, which caused his left index finger to be so underdeveloped at the time of birth that it had to be taken off.

That has never hindered Fumagalli, who was given what I believe to be an all-time great nickname of “The Phantom Finger” by Brandon Keckler of the Knights of DEN.

Fumagalli is so sure-handed you would never know he’s missing an index finger.

Now, according to head coach Vic Fangio, we might get a look at The Phantom Finger as a fullback, playing the role of punisher in Andy Janovich’s absence.

Fangio said after practice, “Yes, it’s possible,” in response to the question of whether or not Fumagalli could play H-back or fullback in place of Janovich, so I guess we’ll see. It would be fascinating to see some game reps with Fumagalli in that role.

It would be a Big Ten coach’s dream to see an offense including all three of Fumagalli, Noah Fant, and Jake Butt, the last three tight ends to be named first-team All-Conference.

We know Fumagalli is a strong blocker — that’s part of what made him such a strong prospect coming out of Wisconsin where he helped pave the way for one of the nation’s top rushing attacks.

But, there’s a big difference between blocking in-line as a tight end and being a lead-blocking fullback. Fumagalli will certainly need game reps doing that, and my guess is we’ll see a mixture of he and George Aston against the 49ers and Rams with the first-team offense.

The Broncos aren’t going to be using a fullback every single play or anything, but we saw the value in having someone to play that role when Andy Janovich helped break Royce Freeman for a 50-yard run against the Seattle Seahawks.

If anything, this could potentially allow the Broncos to use some very intriguing offensive sets with a variety of their pass-catching tight ends. It would also help justify keeping four on the roster in the first place, which they probably need to do anyway given the injuries they’ve suffered there over the past couple of seasons.

Hopefully the Broncos can take their current top four tight ends — Noah Fant, Jeff Heuerman, Fumagalli, Jake Butt — into the season fully healthy and ready to contribute to what should be a very fun offense run by new coordinator Rich Scangarello.