With the 14th pick in the 2nd Round, Broncos select KJ Hamler, WR, Penn St.

[Duffman]

Elway gets his big speed WR

 

[Draft Crazy]

We discussed him the other thread, but we needed to add a SPEED WR in this draft. After not getting Ruggs and getting a different type of WR in Jeudy, Hamler seemed very much in play for Denver here.. Hamler will fit perfectly with Sutton and Jeudy. FINALLY! A speed WR, who is a threat to take the ball to the house with every touch of the football.

He can also return if we need to save a roster spot there.

This guy will be fun!

Reminds me some of Eddie Royal but faster.

 

[Duffman]

We discussed him the other thread, but we needed to add a SPEED WR in this draft. After not getting Ruggs and getting a different type of WR in Jeudy, Hamler seemed very much in play for Denver here.. Hamler will fit perfectly with Sutton and Jeudy. FINALLY! A speed WR, who is a threat to take the ball to the house with every touch of the football.

He can also return if we need to save a roster spot there.

This guy will be fun!

Reminds me some of Eddie Royal but faster.

So NFL network has his comparison at Tavon Austin, do you think that fits or do you see potential for him to be a better receiver than Austin ever was?

 

[Mingo]

I was sure surprised the Broncos went WR with the top two picks. Drafting Cushenberry - though - makes this pick look like genius. I don't know how long it will take for this Broncos offense to click, but it oozes with talent at the skill positions. Every inch of the field is threatened with these guys - protect that!

 

[CEH]

Presented the double dip Wr scenario
Many were ok with it

The more i read of Hamler I like
Calls himself a “dog” we know how Von feels about dogs

Hes our Hollywood brown

many teams behind Us were interested in KJ

sound like vic May have wanted to trade up.

 

[Draft Crazy]

So NFL network has his comparison at Tavon Austin, do you think that fits or do you see potential for him to be a better receiver than Austin ever was?

I think he is a much better WR then Austin. To me Austin was more of a gadget player coming out of West Virginia. A fun player, but overdrafted.

Hamler is much more WR like. The difference to me is that Hamler can naturally make plays and find a way to make plays. Austin you have to design plays for him to specifically get the ball in his hands.

Hamler can fly! He can go from 0 to 100 in a hurry. He is the next best thing to Henry Ruggs in terms of a playmaker/speed WR... If he improves his hands he isn't far off from Ruggs to be honest. Ruggs probably does the smaller things better than Hamler, but in terms of being a playmaker and home run threat.

 

[Draft Crazy]

Presented the double dip Wr scenario
Many were ok with it

The more i read of Hamler I like
Calls himself a “dog” we know how Von feels about dogs

Hes our Hollywood brown

many teams behind Us were interested in KJ

sound like vic May have wanted to trade up.

LOL- EVERY player calls themselves a "DOG"



Hamler's two concerns for me would be catching the ball on a consistent bases and strength. But what small, speed WR dosn't have strength concerns?

I'd compare him more to John Brown more then I would Hollywood Brown or Tavon Austin.

He will fit in nicely with what we have at WR in Sutton and Jeudy. We have a good run game, Fant underneath and now we have a guy who can blow the top off. Ruggs is better underneath then Hamler, but both can make small gains into big games. Hamler is probably going to mostly be going deep with a few underneath stuff at times to see if he can break a long one.

 

[Mingo]

LOL- EVERY player calls themselves a "DOG"



Hamler's two concerns for me would be catching the ball on a consistent bases and strength. But what small, speed WR dosn't have strength concerns?

I'd compare him more to John Brown more then I would Hollywood Brown or Tavon Austin.

He will fit in nicely with what we have at WR in Sutton and Jeudy. We have a good run game, Fant underneath and now we have a guy who can blow the top off. Ruggs is better underneath then Hamler, but both can make small gains into big games. Hamler is probably going to mostly be going deep with a few underneath stuff at times to see if he can break a long one.

I love the comparisons to Deshawn Jackson.

The Broncos can match you up on every play with - top speed at WR Hamler - Route Running and finesse in Jeudy - height, bulk and speed with Fant - and a guy with a catching radius than runs from the bottom of his cleats to 4 feet over his helmet Sutton. Match that up with defenders around the league.

 

[listopencil]

I was sure surprised the Broncos went WR with the top two picks. Drafting Cushenberry - though - makes this pick look like genius. I don't know how long it will take for this Broncos offense to click, but it oozes with talent at the skill positions. Every inch of the field is threatened with these guys - protect that!

I was pretty bummed until I looked at our WR's again. Honestly...we have six WR's that are worth a shit and that's including the two we just drafted.

 

[Mingo]

What the TAPE says about K.J. Hamler

I just wanted to bring this breakdown on Hamler to the Board. Very well done to show the positive and negatives of his of Hamler's game - and a pretty good comparison to Henry Ruggs. Recommended reading.

 

[fightinredantz]

What the TAPE says about K.J. Hamler

I just wanted to bring this breakdown on Hamler to the Board. Very well done to show the positive and negatives of his of Hamler's game - and a pretty good comparison to Henry Ruggs. Recommended reading.

Thanks for sharing. The article makes me feel a bit better about the pick. Still worry a little bit about the lack of size, but we will see how it turns out.

 

[Draft Crazy]

KJ Hamler's selection really hurts Diontae Spencer, IMO.

My early WR prediction would be

1. Courtland Sutton
2. Jerry Jeudy
3. KJ Hamler
4. DaeSean Hamilton
5. Tim Patrick
6. Tyrie Cleveland

PS- (2) Juwann Winfree, Kendall Hinton or Zimari Manning... Still like McKnight and I know we like Benson's speed, but with more speed at WR I think unless Benson shows significant progress that the speed in him is a little less valueable because we have more speed on active roster... McKnight his size probably hurts him here. Hinton is still learning the WR position and is a great athlete, so we have a lot to work with there. Manning proved he can play WR at a smaller level the talent is there.

WR's 1-3 are locked.

#4 Hamilton- I think he rebounds from a less than stellar season although he did finish well. Thing that will hurt him the most is that he doesn't play special team unlike the WRs behind him. He is the best route runner though of what he is going to compete with, as long as he catches the ball in camp well I think he makes it... Smart kid who can go underneath with Fant and allow for stuff to open up over the top.

Tim Patrick. He has a big advantage due to special teams play. He didn't seem to be the same WR after he came back from injury last year, he looked a little skiddish to me, but I think he will be fine, and he was probably our top gunner on special teams last year when healthy.

Tyrie Cleveland- Perfect developmental WR, but in the meantime he fills a void as a gunner on special teams. He and Patrick have a huge advantage over Winree because they do an excellent job on special teams while Winfree did not when given that opportunity. Cleveland will have to prove he can do it at the NFL level but felt watching him cover punts the last few years in college football that nobody did it better. If Winfree develops as a WR this year and looks like he can help there then someone like Hamilton could have an issue if he doesn't step up in camp or Cleveland could go to the PS if we have enough good gunners on this team to save the roster spot.

Of course Spencer still has a legit shot to make it as a return man if he leaves Hamler in the dust as a return man. If Hamler shows he can be trusted though, that does save a spot and we know Hamler is a legit return man.

Patrick and Cleveland have an advantage becuase they help more then any other WR after the top 3 in special teams... The question will be, do we them bad enough there? How much promise does Cleveland show as a WR, etc.

Gonna be interesting and fun to see how these last few WR spots play out.

The above 6 is what my early crystal ball tells me based on upside at WR and special teams play.


and actually Spencer would qualify for a PS job too, but if he was released because Hamler can fill that return duty then I think Spencer is claimed off waivers anyway. Could also be that Tyrie Cleveland replaces Tim Patrick as that gunner or we store Cleveland on the PS... Hard to tell this early, but just some random thoughts. I do think Cleveland will make an impact on special teams for us.

I also think this draft really has hurt Juwann Winfree and Dionte Spencer. Had we not drafted WR with similar return skills to Spencer he would be fine, Winfree hurts because he doesn't make an impact on special teams where as our #5 and #6 that I have above do.

 

[PumpFake]

We discussed him the other thread, but we needed to add a SPEED WR in this draft. After not getting Ruggs and getting a different type of WR in Jeudy, Hamler seemed very much in play for Denver here.. Hamler will fit perfectly with Sutton and Jeudy. FINALLY! A speed WR, who is a threat to take the ball to the house with every touch of the football.

He can also return if we need to save a roster spot there.

This guy will be fun!

Reminds me some of Eddie Royal but faster.

speaking of Royal,Eddie his high school coach also coached my boys (different schools though). He was a plus plus high school coach. Tom Verbanic. Still coaching baseball.
Tom Verbanic resigns from Flint Hill football - Ultimate Recruit

 

[Mingo]

What are the Broncos getting in KJ Hamler?

I thought this was a good breakdown on Hamler - and an interesting read.

 

[Draft Crazy]

I love Hamler’s energy.Something we needed to replace with Sanders traded. He plays with the same passion that Emmanuel does.

 

[Broncogreg]

This is wishful thinking, but I wish we would trade for Andy Isabella and had picked up Terry Godwin

 

[Draft Crazy]

Curious why Terry Godwin? Just a Georgia love?

 

[Mingo]

Georgia will rise like a good yeast - infection.

 

[megalodon30]

We drafted a Georgia receiver a few years back, Tavarres King. Didn't do much if I recall.

 

[Draft Crazy]

We drafted a Georgia receiver a few years back, Tavarres King. Didn't do much if I recall.

Survived in the NFL for a few years but yes didn’t do much.