We're barely into rookie minicamp for the Denver Broncos, and one of the team's rookies might already have guaranteed himself the starting job for the 2025 season. It's not top pick Jahdae Barron or running back RJ Harvey, but a Day 3 selection who was the only played picked at his position in the entire draft.
Punter Jeremy Crawshaw.
It might seem like some underwhelming news, but this is actually a pretty huge move for the Denver Broncos here in 2025. The punter position was stabilized the last two seasons by Riley Dixon, but it's also fair to say that there was a huge decline late last season with some really rough performances against the Bengals and Chargers, specifically.
Jeremy Crawshaw has already won Broncos punter competition (apparently)
Although the Broncos tried to bring Dixon back into the mix, they were beaten in free agency by the Tampa Bay Buccaneers. They looked into some other options before bringing in veteran Matt Haack, who has some experience with Broncos special teams coordinator Darren Rizzi.
But as quickly as Haack arrived, he's now back in free agency because the Broncos let him go.
With 20 rookies signing contracts this weekend Broncos have waived two veteran special teamers per wire — punter Matt Haack and long snapper Zach Triner per the wire.
— MikeKlis9NEWS (@mikeklis9news) May 9, 2025
The Broncos used the final pick in the sixth round of the 2025 NFL Draft on Florida's Jeremy Crawshaw, a native of Australia who has a big leg and put that on display over the last four years with the Gators. He would have ranked 2nd in the nation both in 2022 and 2023 in punting average, but apparently didn't punt enough to qualify.
Regardless, the big leg of Crawshaw in the Mile High CIty plus the tutelage of Darren Rizzi? It's no wonder the Broncos feel confident enough just to eliminate his competition now. And quite frankly, you are committed to the process if you draft a punter or kicker. You might be a little less willing to live with a guy missing a bunch of field goals, but you're committed to the process with a punter.
The Broncos made Crawshaw a priority in the NFL Draft and there's no reason to be stealing any of his reps at any point in the offseason program. They eliminated the "competition" aspect simply by using such a high pick on him.
Now, it's unofficially official. He's going to be the team's top punter in 2025.