Miles
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- Mar 18, 2019
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ENGLEWOOD, Colo. —The Broncos' young quarterback surveyed the field, identified his target and launched a pass down the middle of the field.
His target — a charging 6-foot-5, 258-pound player with 4.49-second 40-yard-dash speed — used his quickness to beat one safety down the seam and then reached up to pluck the throw out of the air before a second safety arrived.
Touchdown, Albert Okwuegbunam.
It wasn't the first touchdown pass he'd caught from his former college quarterback, Drew Lock, and based on the Broncos' training camp practices, it likely will not be his last.
Okwuegbunam, the Broncos' 2020 fourth-round draft pick, caught 72 passes for 881 yards and 17 touchdowns from Lock during their two seasons together at the University of Missouri, and he said Monday that it feels like they've picked up where they left off.
"I feel like it's huge just because we know how we are as players, if that makes sense," Okwuegbunam said. "All the chemistry we built up at Mizzou has translated really well. He knows what I'm really good at, I know what he likes to see from a receiving standpoint as far as my routes and my demeanor when the ball's in the air. I feel like that's really where our chemistry really hits off."
The rookie tight end — who led the SEC in receiving touchdowns in 2017 — likely still has work to do before he's a mainstay with the starting offense. The team's first-round pick from 2019, Noah Fant, remains the Broncos' top target at the position, and veteran Nick Vannett seems to have a role carved out, as well.
Okwuegbunam, though, has impressed the two older players with his athleticism and play-making ability during the team's limited training camp practices.
"I don't know where to start," Vannett said of Okwuegbunam on Aug. 25. "I think he's the real monster. He's just so physically gifted. I think the thing with him is he's kind of raw right now, but I don't say that in a bad way. I say that like if he keeps building on it and keeps figuring it out, he's going to be one of the best tight ends in the league. Just how fast he is, how built he is — I really do believe if he can figure it out, he's going to be a scary dude in this league for years to come. I really do believe that."
Okwuegbunam said that praise from Vannett gives him needed confidence, but he knows he must continue to improve to make the impact he'd like to have in Year 1. While Okwuegbunam has been a constant red-zone threat, Head Coach Vic Fangio said in mid-August that he needed to figure out "what kind of blocker he is."