Which Denver Broncos player is the team’s most underrated heading into 2022? The selection may be a bit surprising, but he could have a huge season.
Denver Broncos wide receiver Kendall Hinton has become somewhat of a team legend in recent years.
The former undrafted free agent out of Wake Forest has one of the most unique claims to fame in the NFL.
A practice squad slot receiver, Hinton was called upon in an actual regular season game back in 2020 against the New Orleans Saints to be the team’s quarterback.
It was one of the most bizarre things you’ll ever see in the NFL and as embarrassing as it was for the Denver Broncos, it happened in a year where a lot of wild and crazy things happened in the NFL. Hinton took the field with his last experience at the quarterback position coming early on in his college career at Wake Forest.
With that experience out of the way, Hinton got to spend all of last season at the wide receiver position, thankfully.
He scored his first career NFL touchdown…
https://twitter.com/Broncos/status/1447283731098738697
He also made some big plays sprinkled throughout the year.
https://twitter.com/Broncos/status/1457444835212857352
Now, he’s going to prove to be one of the hardest players to cut on the entire roster.
The Denver Broncos drafted Montrell Washington in the fifth round this year to be the team’s primary return specialist. At least, that’s the plan.
With the top four at the position set (Courtland Sutton, Tim Patrick, Jerry Jeudy, KJ Hamler) as well as Washington’s presence on the roster, there might only be one or two spots at receiver available and you have to think that Hinton has a stranglehold on one of them at this point.
We know ... "BuT yOu LoSt."
— Denver Broncos (@Broncos) October 12, 2021
But this @Kendall_Hinton2 toe tap didn't get enough love. pic.twitter.com/n17U9XTcXN
Hinton put quite a bit on tape last season worth the team’s continued investment. He has obviously been progressing over the past couple of years and now has the opportunity to catch passes from Russell Wilson.
Could Hinton be the most underrated player on the Denver Broncos’ roster right now?
It’s certainly debatable.
Nobody is really talking about him, and while he’s got plenty of skill, he isn’t the most athletically impressive or physically imposing player on the team.
Still, this year could end up being Hinton’s best as a pro.
He’s facing somewhat of an uphill battle for playing time in 2022 but the Broncos could very well make it a priority to get him snaps on a weekly basis. They’ll use plenty of three-wide sets and Hinton will have ample opportunity to get on the field and make plays.
The next couple of months will be fascinating for him. He needs to continue to go out in training camp and the remainder of OTAs like he’s still an undrafted free agent.
He needs to keep approaching things as though nothing is set in stone. Still, it’s hard to imagine the Denver Broncos letting this guy go after all he’s done the past couple of years.
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It will be exciting to see if he can continue to build chemistry with Wilson and carve out a massive role in 2022.