Denver Broncos: Noah Fant, KJ Hamler, others back for Chiefs game

The Denver Broncos are getting Noah Fant, KJ Hamler, and others back for their matchup with the Chiefs.

The Denver Broncos won’t have Courtland Sutton, Von Miller, or Jurrell Casey, but they might have the best possible alternative for their first matchup in 2020 against the reigning Super Bowl champion Kansas City Chiefs.

Even without some key stars due to long-term IR status, the Denver Broncos have a convoy of players coming off of the injury report for this critical showdown against Patrick Mahomes and his crew.

Vic Fangio confirmed during his Friday press conference that all of the following players are going from unavailable to available on Sunday afternoon.

• WR KJ Hamler
• TE Noah Fant
• DL Dre’Mont Jones
• CB AJ Bouye
• RB Melvin Gordon

It cannot be overstated how critical this is.

In addition to those players, the Broncos may also have Dalton Risner available (officially he’s questionable with a shoulder injury, but he’s likely going to campaign to play) at the left guard position.

Even if Risner is not able to play (Austin Schlottmann would take his place) this weekend will be the first time Broncos fans are exposed to a game featuring every major offensive weapon the team assembled this offseason, save for WR1 Courtland Sutton.

That assembly of players, of course, would start with quarterback Drew Lock and running backs Phillip Lindsay and Melvin Gordon. In addition to those weapons in the backfield, the Broncos’ receiver/tight end group involving Tim Patrick, Jerry Jeudy, KJ Hamler, Noah Fant, and Albert Okwuegbunam have never all suited up for the same game.

Besides Patrick and Jeudy, every single one of these critical young skill players has missed at least a game due to injury, sickness, or being a healthy scratch.

Now, Broncos fans will get to see them show their stuff against the Kansas City Chiefs, arguably the best team in the entire NFL, and how awesome is that?

Drew Lock talked during the week about needing to be sort of that villain to the Chiefs, comparing himself to Darth Vader. The Chiefs got a real bitter taste of actual competition within the division a couple of weeks ago when the Las Vegas Raiders handed them their first loss since November 10, 2019, against the Tennessee Titans.

The Chiefs may not lose but three or four games all year — why not this one?

The Broncos’ defense has been playing well all year, and with the offense as healthy as we have seen it since week one or two, the weapons will be available, the element of surprise will be there, and frankly, the Broncos are due having lost nine straight games to the Chiefs (the last win came in week 2, 2015).

In addition to the major reinforcements on the offensive side of the ball, the Denver Broncos are getting key pieces on defense as well.

One player the team expected to have a massive impact this season was second-year defensive lineman Dre’Mont Jones, who has been dealing with a knee injury since the Pittsburgh Steelers game. Jones had a pair of QB hits in the first two games of the season, and the Denver defensive line has been doing a great job in his absence.

In addition to Jones coming back, the first offseason acquisition the Broncos made in 2020 will be back out on the field for the first time. Cornerback AJ Bouye got in a second week of practice, and is going to be back out on the field for the Broncos’ biggest test in terms of facing an elite passing attack.

Bouye’s injury — or any injury, for that matter — was not preferable, but it did open the door for rookie Michael Ojemudia to get more extensive snaps and gain some much-needed confidence. Now that Bouye is back, the secondary the Broncos initially envisioned as their number one group will be out there against Kansas City.

That number one group, of course, involves Bouye, Bryce Callahan, Ojemudia, Kareem Jackson, and Justin Simmons. The Broncos have also been working Duke Dawson in there more lately as a dime linebacker, and we could see them roll with six defensive backs quite a bit against the Kansas City Chiefs.

Both Jones and Bouye will have to come off of injured reserve in order to play on Sunday, so the Broncos will have to make corresponding roster moves. One of those moves has already been made with the team letting go of veteran Timmy Jernigan. In order to bring back Bouye, the Broncos could cut a defensive back, but there are other position groups they could look at as well.