Denver Broncos sign former Last Chance U WR Damion Willis

The Denver Broncos have one of the deepest wide receiver groups in the entire NFL, so what’s one more? The team announced they signed former 2019 undrafted free agent receiver Damion Willis, whose college career finished at Troy, but started at East Mississippi Community College.

If that school sounds familiar, you might recognize it from the popular Netflix docuseries Last Chance U, where Willis did appear once upon a time.

Although Willis was not one of the heavily featured players for EMCC, he’s obviously proven to be one of the school’s most successful individual stories in recent years.

After his time at EMCC, Willis transferred to Troy where he played two seasons, catching 98 passes for 1,496 yards and 13 touchdowns. He didn’t receive an invitation to the 2019 Scouting Combine, but did a solid job at the Troy pro day and got himself a contract with the Cincinnati Bengals shortly after the 2019 NFL Draft.

What happened from there is pretty remarkable.

Willis managed to play so well in training camp and in the preseason that he not only earned a spot on the 53-man roster for the Bengals, but he also earned a week one start with AJ Green injured.

Ultimately, it’s difficult to get overly excited about any wide receivers being added right now to the Denver Broncos considering the depth of this position group and how hard it’s going to be to keep fewer than seven or eight guys on the final roster there.

Vic Fangio and offensive coordinator Pat Shurmur have an embarrassment of riches at receiver, and getting a guy with the upside of Willis adds even more intrigue to the group.

With his 6-foot-3, 200-plus pound frame, Willis gives the Denver Broncos another long receiver with speed who could contribute on special teams as well as legitimately play right away at receiver.

Wide receivers coach Zach Azzanni is one of the best in the business and from top to bottom, it would be hard to find a better all-around group of receivers across the NFL, at least if you buy into everyone’s upside.

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The Denver Broncos will have a fascinating offseason battle at receiver and Willis will only make it even more so.