Denver Broncos 5 bold predictions in Week 1 vs. Seattle Seahawks
Denver Broncos bold prediction no. 5: KJ Hamler has multiple 50-plus yard plays
The recovery of KJ Hamler in the 300-plus days since his devastating knee and hip injuries last season has been nothing short of remarkable. It’s a testament to Hamler’s mental fortitude, the support of the people around him both with the Denver Broncos and just in his personal life, as well as this guy’s serious work ethic that he’s going to even be out there for this Week 1 matchup against the Seattle Seahawks.
And since he’s going to be there anyway, he might as well bring some fireworks.
One of the things I think we might see in this game for Hamler against the Seattle Seahawks is a super explosive return to the regular season. We’ve seen glimpses in his first couple of years in the NFL with some big plays in 2020 as a rookie and some last year in the preseason, but we have yet to truly see Hamler in his element as one of the most dangerous vertical threats in the game.
With his tremendous speed, I think we’re going to see Russell Wilson drop some bombs to no. 1 deep downfield for not just one but multiple plays of 50 yards or more.
Last season, Seattle Seahawks receiver Tyler Lockett was 5th in the NFL in plays of 40-plus yards with seven total. The year before that, his teammate DK Metcalf was 9th in the NFL with five plays of that variety.
You get the idea.
Russell Wilson is one of the best in NFL history at dropping the ball in a bucket deep downfield. Nathaniel Hackett has stated from Day 1 on the job that taking those deep shots will be a major part of this Denver Broncos offense. Although it’s reasonable to assume that KJ Hamler will be slowly eased back into action, I think we’ll see him make some big splashes early on, really establishing himself as a major part of the offense in 2022.