Denver Broncos need to get K.J. Hamler more involved

Denver Broncos wide receiver KJ Hamler. Mandatory Credit: C. Morgan Engel-USA TODAY Sports
Denver Broncos wide receiver KJ Hamler. Mandatory Credit: C. Morgan Engel-USA TODAY Sports /
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The Denver Broncos need all the help they can get. After falling to the Indianapolis Colts on Thursday Night Football, they now stand at 2-3 on the season and have scored by far the least amount of points in the AFC West at 75.

Through five weeks of the 2022 season, the Broncos have scored a grand total of six touchdowns (two rushing, four passing). Jerry Jeudy has two receiving touchdowns, leading the team. The other two receiving touchdowns have been to Courtland Sutton and tight end Eric Saubert.

Sadly, wide receiver K.J. Hamler is missing from major statistics this season. It’s quite surprising. While I don’t know for sure his recovery schedule, there was one point in which he was deemed ahead of schedule from the torn ACL from last season. Don’t get me wrong: I never want a player to rush back from a horrific injury.

All I’m saying is that Hamler could truly take the top off of a defense due to his speed. Hopefully, he has not lost much of a step following the ACL injury.

The Broncos lost Tim Patrick for the season to a torn ACL, making the emergence of Hamler even more critical at this point. Each of the team’s receivers has their own skill set and Hamler’s biggest asset is his speed, while Patrick’s is his height and ability to reach the next level to go after passes.

Denver has had a total of 338 offensive snaps so far this season. Of that total, Hamler has seen the field for 102 (30.18 percent) of them.

Do not get me wrong: I am not pounding the table for the Broncos to get Hamler out there full-time before he is ready. All I’m saying is that the Broncos desperately need his speed on the field. Other than him and Sutton, the Broncos’ receivers are Jerry Jeudy, Tyrie Cleveland, Montrell Washington, and Kendall Hinton.

The team did bring back Trinity Benson to their practice squad on Monday.

The Denver Broncos offense continues to stall. When will things click?

In Thursday’s loss to the Colts, Wilson never looked Hamler’s way on a fourth-down play that would have been a touchdown. Instead, he went to Courtland Sutton and the pass was incomplete.

It’s stuff like that that will make fans lose confidence in you.

The sad thing is until the offense clicks (when will that be?! We’re waiting!), any potential that isn’t being utilized on the offensive side of the ball is a huge mistake. We need Hamler back in the worst way.