Denver Broncos trying out player compared to Christian McCaffrey
The Denver Broncos are giving a tryout to a rookie who was once compared to Christian McCaffrey in college. Can he stick after minicamp?
The Denver Broncos are opening their mandatory minicamp on Monday, June 13, with a couple of new faces in attendance.
According to Aric DiLalla, the Broncos are hosting a handful of players over the next few days on a tryout basis, including a couple of players that will certainly get fans in Broncos Country excited.
The Broncos have five players participating in mandatory minicamp on a tryout basis:
— Aric DiLalla (@AricDiLalla) June 13, 2022
K Elliott Fry
RB Max Borghi
CB Mykael Wright
TE Garrett Walston
LS Daniel Cantrell
One of those players is former Washington State running back Max Borghi, a player that has become beloved among college football and NFL Draft enthusiasts over the last handful of years.
Borghi had an early impact on the Cougars’ offense not just as a running back, but also as a receiver.
Over the last handful of years, we’ve gotten the privilege of seeing a lot of NFL players make names for themselves by becoming versatile weapons offensively, and Borghi did that at the collegiate level.
Players like Deebo Samuel and Austin Ekeler of the 49ers and Chargers, respectively, have really set the tone for versatility in the NFL but before them, the model of versatility was really Christian McCaffrey — a thousand-yard running back and thousand-yard receiver who has proven he can reel in 100 passes in an NFL season as a full-time running back.
McCaffrey’s versatility is well-documented dating back to his time at Stanford where he was pretty much a one-man team out there.
He carried that into the NFL and did it on a bigger scale. His unreal versatility came to a head in 2019 when he ran for over 1,300 yards, caught 116 passes, racked up over 1,000 receiving yards, and combined for 19 total touchdowns.
It was a sight to behold.
It’s no surprise that Max Borghi — this new UDFA to join the Denver Broncos’ roster — was compared heavily to McCaffrey throughout his time at Washington State.
Borghi contributed significantly as a freshman in 2018 but it was in 2019 when he sort of became a household name in college football.
Max Borghi could bring intriguing versatility to Denver Broncos roster
Borghi’s 2019 stats at Washington State
- 817 rushing yards (6.4 yards per carry)
- 11 rushing touchdowns
- 86 receptions
- 597 receiving yards
- 5 receiving touchdowns
While McCaffrey was having one of the best all-purpose seasons in recent NFL history at the NFL level in 2019, Borghi was doing it at the collegiate level.
Oddly enough, both players were significantly limited by injuries in 2020.
Borghi returned to form in 2021 with over 1,000 yards from scrimmage yet again, as well as a career-best 12 rushing touchdowns.
He’s got solid yet unspectacular athletic traits at the position but where Borghi is intriguing is obviously as a dual-threat at the position.
The Denver Broncos already have plenty of undrafted free agents to like right now on the roster, but another at the running back position can’t hurt.
It sounds like fellow UDFA running back Tyreik McAllister has been impressive thus far at OTAs and he brings an element of speed to the position as well as versatility. He has apparently looked great in space and as a returner.
Borghi has a chance to come in and make an impression after he didn’t right away for the Indianapolis Colts, the first team that signed him after the 2022 NFL Draft.
Plenty of Denver Broncos fans were hoping to land Borghi at some point during the NFL Draft, so he’ll undoubtedly have plenty of supporters among the fan base now that he’s actually on the team on a minicamp tryout basis.
Hopefully, he can make the most of it and crack the roster to get himself a shot during training camp.