The Denver Broncos have a long, rich history of developing undrafted free agents, really on an annual basis at this point.
In fact, if you were to put together a list of the top 40 or 50 undrafted players in the last 30 years or so, the Denver Broncos may dominate that list.
Because so many undrafted players have had success with the Denver Broncos, the players they sign after the draft bear monitoring and analyzing every single year. Even among undrafted players that do not initially sign with the Denver Broncos, it’s obvious that there’s something about undrafted players finding their way in Denver.
Let’s look through the entire crop of undrafted free agents for the Denver Broncos in the 2021 rookie class.
DeVontres Dukes, WR, South Florida
A big-bodied receiver prospect at 6-foot-4, 216 pounds, it’s a wonder the Denver Broncos had enough notes on DeVontres Dukes to actually give him a call after the 2021 NFL Draft in the first place.
Dukes played in just 20 collegiate games and caught 30 passes for 400 yards and five touchdowns. The majority of that production (24 receptions and four TDs) came in this past season for the Bulls.
He had a pair of touchdowns — his only multi-touchdown game at USF — against the UCF secondary which just put a few guys into the NFL in Richie Grant, Aaron Robinson, and Tay Gowan, though Gowan did not play in 2020.
"Then all of a sudden his phone rings. Should I get it? But it says, Colorado. I snatched it up!”
— Kyle Burger (@kyle_burger) May 11, 2021
Former @USFFootball WR @TreDukes6 got the call of a lifetime from @Broncos to fulfill dream of playing in the NFL
READ MORE: https://t.co/cNlcg8qFzd @coach_jeffscott pic.twitter.com/dw4KyKJa9K
Dukes’ height and weight make him one of the biggest receivers on the Denver Broncos roster and he certainly has shown, even in limited reps, how he can use that size to his advantage in contested catch situations and after the catch. Physically, this guy is impressive.
Dukes doesn’t have elite quickness or track speed, but he’s explosive and has some nice build-up speed, and takes long strides.
Ultimately, for the Denver Broncos to prioritize this particular player with as small of a sample size as he has is as telling as anything.