Denver Broncos: 4 Non-starters who can make an impact

Albert Okwuegbunam 

Young tight end Albert Okwuegbunam may be the player who Broncos Country felt most robbed of in 2020. After his debut in Week 6 against the Patriots, Okwuegbunam would play in just four games until being placed on I.R. with a torn ACL after Week 9.

Though Okwuegbunam’s short 2020 stint with the Denver Broncos may not have been what the team expected or wanted, it served as a building block for the makings of a stronger rebound season.

In his shortened season, Okwuegbunam amassed his first touchdown as a professional against the Chargers in the thrilling victory and had an impressive showing against the Chiefs, one of the small shining points in an embarrassing defeat for the Denver Broncos.

Though Noah Fant is unquestionably the team’s #1 TE, Okwuegbunam has a great opportunity to make himself a presence in a once-crowded TE room that has seemingly become pretty small in what seems like overnight. Better yet, Okwuegbunam was one of Drew Lock’s familiar targets in his Mizzou days and may have the ability to bring out the best in Lock as the team still searches to learn if he is their guy, or if they will be on the search once again in 2022.

While Fant will get the vast majority of reps at tight end, once Albert Okwuegbunam is healthy and ready to play, expect a healthy mix of his ability, once being deemed as the best tight end of his draft class, especially to reestablish and maximize the Drew Lock-Okwuegbunam connection.