Denver Broncos will have to replace critical speed on offense

Denver Broncos wide receiver KJ Hamler has suffered a torn ACL and will officially miss the rest of the 2021 season, per ESPN’s Adam Schefter.

Hamler went down in the Broncos‘ week three matchup versus the New York Jets after cutting for a route and hyperextending his left knee. The route looked like a small post, to which Hamler would go in front of coverage and make the catch.

After going down, he was immediately attended to by medical personnel and carted off to the Denver Broncos’ locker room.

Denver Broncos lose KJ Hamler for the entire 2021 season

The former second-round pick from Penn State was having a slow start to 2021. In the near two and a half weeks he played, he posted 5 catches for 74 total yards receiving. That’s about 15 yards per catch, adding to the narrative of his ability to play the deep ball.

In the matchup versus the Jets, Hamler only had one catch for 28 yards. He also had three targets from quarterback Teddy Bridgewater.

With Hamler now out, that leaves two out of the three Broncos’ starting receivers gone.

Until Jerry Jeudy returns from the injured reserve, the Broncos receiving corps will consist of Courtland Sutton, Tim Patrick, Diontae Spencer, and emergency quarterback Kendall Hinton.

Out of all four of these guys, one thing stands out compared to KJ Hammier: speed.

All four of the Denver Broncos current receivers do not have a 40-yard dash time close to the time KJ Hamler ran. The closest to Hamler’s time of 4.27 is Diontae Spencer, who ran a 4.34 back in 2014. While not as young as Hamler, Spencer will at least provide a small sense of relief with speed. The other three guys make up for their speed with their route running and elusiveness.

Spencer may also be the closest to filling in for Hamler in terms of scheme. The Denver Broncos will need him to fill in at the slot and give Bridgewater an option for the deep ball. Sutton, Patrick, and Hinton will still be expected to play their typical roles along the outside.

Broncos should call these receivers after KJ Hamler’s injury

The Denver Broncos may need to call on some reinforcements at the wide receiver position after KJ Hamler's latest injury.

KJ Hamler now joins a Broncos injured reserve that has already claimed Jerry Jeudy, Ronald Darby. Bradley Chubb, Josey Jewell, and Mike Boone.