Broncos giving surprise Colorado playmaker at WR a minicamp tryout

The Denver Broncos have waited until after the initial wave of undrafted free agent signings to bring in some notable, maybe even priority guys they might have initially missed out on. Head coach Sean Payton loves to get looks at guys in a tryout basis and see if players will prove to be up to the task of a major pressure situation.

There are a variety of players at the team's mandatory minicamp, but perhaps none as notable as former Colorado Buffaloes wide receiver Will Sheppard, a key weapon for Shedeur Sanders in the passing game last season as a transfer player.

Sheppard is 6-foot-3 with some outstanding explosiveness and traits. He didn't have the timed speed in the 40-yard dash, but posted explosive numbers and a quality RAS overall.

Broncos giving former CU Buffs WR Will Sheppard a shot on tryout basis

Notably absent at Broncos OTAs and minicamp has been young wide receiver AT Perry. In Perry's absence, Sheppard was out there on the practice field at minicamp wearing the jersey No. 87, which has been Perry's number up to this point.

While we can only speculate on Perry's status at this point without official word, it's interesting that the Broncos have now brought in a couple more young receivers with UDFA rookie Kyrese White signing after the team's recent OTAs session and now Sheppard getting a look.

And frankly, Sheppard might be more intriguing overall than any of the other receivers the Broncos brought in on a UDFA or tryout basis.

It's clear that this is something Sean Payton has been thinking about for a while. And maybe Sheppard is just someone he wants out there to try out in his offense and nothing more, but maybe he sees a developmental impact player who could land on the practice squad this year.

Last season at Colorado, Sheppard caught 48 passes for 621 yards and 6 touchdowns. He was clearly behind Travis Hunter and Jimmy Horn Jr. in the pecking order, but still made some big plays for the CU offense. Prior to coming to Colorado, Sheppard played four years at Vanderbilt and caught 21 touchdown passes in his time there.

This is a fun tryout player for the Broncos. It's obviously a notable name for Colorado fans but Sheppard has a better body of work at the college level than any other UDFA the Broncos brought in. There will be openings on the practice squad in 2025, so hopefully, he takes advantage of the opportunity he's being given.