Broncos shockingly activate secret weapon rookie who could play a huge role

It's been a long time since anyone really thought much about Denver Broncos rookie tight end Caleb Lohner, a 7th-round pick who generated a bunch of excitement at the time of the NFL Draft. Lohner was a total roll of the dice by the Broncos as a former basketball player who didn't play but 60 snaps at the collegiate level on the football field.

But his combination of size and athletic traits intrigued the team, so they took a shot late in the draft.

We didn't really see the vision for Lohner come to fruition in the preseason. The Broncos waived him at the time of roster cuts, and were able to bring him back onto the practice squad for his rookie season. And that's where he's been all year...until now.

Broncos activate TE Caleb Lohner off the practice squad for Divisional Round vs. Bills

The Broncos have reportedly elevated Lohner for the playoff matchup against the Buffalo Bills. And this move really could not come at a more fascinating time. For all the conspiracy theorists out there who believe that Sean Payton has been "hiding" certain things this year, particularly for this moment, here's another piece of evidence for the bulletin board.

Lohner is listed at 6-foot-7, 250 pounds, and had just four receptions in his lone season playing footbal at Utah. All four of them went for touchdowns. He actually had a fifth reception as well, which was a two-point conversion.

I don't know that any of us has ever scouted a position player whose only contributions to an offense were scoring plays, regardless of how small the sample size is. After the draft, people were obviously drawing connections between Lohner and former Sean Payton draft pick Jimmy Graham, though obviously Lohner has not proven himself to be a Jimmy Graham-type of playmaker.

Still, you can't help but be intrigued by this activation ahead of the game. It's not a guarantee that Lohner will even be active for the game, but if he is, it comes at a very opportune time because Sean Payton noted in his media availability during the week that he's been pouring over his red zone preparation all week.

If Lohner is out there in red zone situations, he'd at least draw some attention, wouldn't he?

Lohner can also be a secret weapon for the Broncos in field goal block situations. We've already seen Frank Crum, a reserve offensive lineman, come through with a blocked kick this year. You just never know when one of these tall, athletic guys is going to be able to get a paw on a kick. And that can be a major difference in a tight game.

We'll see if Lohner is actually activated or if he just gets a larger game check for the playoffs. The Broncos are almost completely healthy going into this game against Buffalo, so there might not be room. But if they make room, the vision for how he can be utilized is clear.