Denver Broncos: DaeSean Hamilton put on notice after KJ Hamler pick

The hot seat got a lot hotter for Denver Broncos wide receiver DaeSean Hamilton after the selection of K.J. Hamler in the second round of the 2020 NFL draft.

It was a poorly kept secret that the Broncos coveted wide receivers in the 2020 NFL draft. John Elway and crew did nothing to address the position in free agency, and most people recognized that the depth behind third-year wide receiver Courtland Sutton was subpar at best.

After Denver’s second-round pick of wide receiver KJ Hamler, it’s apparent that the team was even more concerned about the depth than we may have thought, and in the process, sent a warning to third-year wideout DaeSean Hamilton.

Hamilton was selected in the fourth round of the 2018 NFL draft, and despite the day three draft status, it was expected that he would be a key contributor for a rebuilding offense. After all, the scouting report on him coming out of Penn State was that he was a mature, polished route runner, with great hands. It was easy to look at him as a lock to lock down the slot receiver role in Denver’s offense.

That, however, hasn’t quite been the case. In two years with the team, Hamilton has totaled a combined 58 catches for 540 yards and three touchdowns. 25 of those catches came in the final four games of his rookie season and 17 came in the final five games of his sophomore season.

The 17 catches in the final five games of last season (all of which Drew Lock started in) was certainly promising and gave Broncos fans hope of Hamilton’s potential.

That potential, though, is getting dimmer by the second during the 2020 NFL draft. After landing their number one wide receiver prospect at pick 15, the Broncos double-dipped in the second round when they took speedy slot receiver, KJ Hamler, from Hamilton’s alma mater, Penn State.

Hamler, although a bit smaller than Hamilton, fills the exact same role as Hamilton, but better. He provides a deep threat speed element that the Broncos have missed since trading away Emmanuel Sanders last year, and his ceiling is significantly higher than that of Hamilton’s.

With the selection of Hamler, one could assume he will likely fill the third wide receiver spot behind Sutton and Jeudy. This pushes Hamilton back to the number four spot at best, and at worst, on the outside looking in.

While I don’t think the Broncos are going to move on from Hamilton yet, it certainly doesn’t look promising for his future in Denver. John Elway and Vic Fangio obviously thought highly enough of Hamler or lowly enough of the depth to continue bolstering its receiver group.

Either way though, the Broncos wide receiver group got a lot stronger and significantly more competitive with the selection of Hamler this evening.