The Denver Broncos will have a deep wide receiver room heading into the 2022 season and undrafted free agent Brandon Johnson will be a part of that.
The Broncos did this last year too, having an inordinate amount of wide receivers on the roster while trying to determine which players would step up to help what was an average quarterback position.
Now, the Broncos have a great quarterback on the roster and are looking to find a good combination of targets for him in the passing game. Though Courtland Sutton, Jerry Jeudy, Tim Patrick and K.J. Hamler are already on the roster, the team still drafted a wide receiver and signed three others as undrafted rookies following the draft.
One of those was Brandon Johnson.
Name: Brandon Johnson
Height: 6-foot-2
Weight: 199 pounds
School: Central Florida
Johnson began his college career at Tennessee as a three-star recruit out of high school. But he never made much of an impact with the Vols. He caught 79 passes in 32 games with the team. Despite being at the school since 2016, he had one year of eligibility left following the 2020 season and he decided to enter the transfer portal.
Johnson ended up at Central Florida and put up much better numbers. Most notably were the 11 touchdown receptions he had in his one season with the Knights.
Brandon is the son of former Major League Baseball catcher Charles Johnson, who spent 12 seasons in the league with six different teams. He played for the Colorado Rockies from 2003-04.
Chances of making the final 53-man roster (1-10 scale): 2
It is going to be extremely difficult for any of the undrafted wide receivers to make the roster and all of them are almost certainly looking to make enough of an impression to make the practice squad.
The Broncos currently have 13 wide receivers on the roster and it is likely that at least four roster spots are all but guaranteed to Sutton, Jeudy, Patrick and Hamler. Fifth-round pick Montrell Washington will also make a push for a spot.
Johnson has a nice frame and a high catch radius so there are physical tools to work with. He has experience playing in SEC games in college and he comes from a good family background with his father being a two-time MLB All-Star and four-time Gold Glove winner.
But his best bet will be to make some plays on special teams in preseason games and show a good grasp of the offense in practice in order to catch on, spend a season on the practice squad and perhaps be an option for the team down the road, much like what Patrick did.