Entering their offseason program in 2026, the one position the Denver Broncos might not have really any room for a young player to step up and steal a roster spot is at the wide receiver position.
But the offseason is also a time to expect the unexpected, and the Broncos have a class of fascinating undrafted free agents that gets more and more interesting the more you dig.
One of the players to keep a close eye on as the offseason program gets underway at the beginning of June is former TCU, Houston, and USC wide receiver Joseph Manjack. Beyond just having a really cool name, Manjack is also the Broncos' most valuable undrafted free agent receiver in this incoming rookie class with a total of $80,000 in guaranteed cash.
That's not the biggest guarantee we've ever seen, by any means, but he did receive the highest contract guarantee of the four undrafted receivers the Broncos brought in, and he also has one of the most unique quirks that could cause him to stand out immediately: He doesn't wear gloves.
Denver Broncos UDFA sleeper Joseph Manjack will stand out for his strong hands, and no gloves
Yes, this feels like a very middle of the offseason thing to talk about, but how often do you see wide receiver prospects make it to the NFL without gloves these days?
Manjack catches pretty much everything thrown his direction, and that includes impossibly difficult contested catch situations, one-handed catch opportunities, and simply a lot of chances to make plays on the ball where the absence of gloves on his hands makes what he's doing all the more impressive.
He subscribes to the idea that his excuse for dropping the ball when he would wear gloves was "the gloves", so he doesn't wear them and eliminates that as an excuse.
Manjack quickly learned all of the receiver positions early in his collegiate career, obsessing over the details and putting in the work to become trusted by his coaches.
Physically speaking, he's not an identical one-for-one comparison, but at 6-foot-3, Manjack's body type is reminiscent of Devaughn Vele, a 7th-round pick by the Broncos in 2024 who was traded to the Saints last offseason.
And when you watch the way he was utilized at both Houston and TCU, you can sort of see a similar vision for a player who just has an innate ability to move the chains, is reliable in the quick passing game, and helps convert in the red zone.
He does such great work on short to intermediate routes from the slot, but when he gets a clean release and gets upfield veritcally, he can also be a big-play threat there as well.
As with all rookies and undrafted free agents, optimism runs rampant this time of year. Everyone has a chance to fulfill lofty hopes, but the reality right now is that the best chance for someone like Manjack might be to crack the Broncos' practice squad initially.
And that's proven to be a fruitful place to be in recent years.
Even if undrafted free agents can't crack the Broncos' 53-man roster right out of their first camp, the players who make it to the practice squad seemingly all have a great chance of getting activated at some point within their first two years in the league.
Manjack has a veteran way about him, even as an undrafted rookie coming in. And nobody should be surprised when the guy without gloves is out there catching everything thrown his way at Broncos OTAs.
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