Rookie tight end could be spark Broncos need
NFL Report By Nicki Jhabvala, The Denver Post
Jake Butt sat at his locker, still sweating and flushed from his morning workout. It was a Wednesday afternoon in midoctober — an ordinary Wednesday afternoon that his teammates had seen come and go for three months.
But for the Broncos’ rookie tight end, it was the day and the moment he had dreamt about for years, one he only hoped would come after he suffered a torn ACL — his second torn ACL — in his final game as a Michigan Wolverine.
“It was just football for real,” he said with a wide grin. “It’s pretty cool, you have a moment and I’m like, ‘All right, this is sweet.’ ”
Butt is finally nearing the end of his long wait and is on the verge of suiting up on an NFL game day.
That day might be Nov. 5, against the Eagles in Philadelphia.
That day can’t come soon enough for the Broncos.
Denver’s offense has reeled the past two weeks, with “embarrassing” losses to the New York Giants and the Los Angeles Chargers that dropped them to a 3-3 record and on a chase to find answers and find them fast. The Broncos’ running game has stalled. Their once-balanced offense has become skewed. They were shut out for the first time in nearly 25 years last Sunday, their pass protection has been spotty, they have found themselves in way too many third-and-longs and their turnovers have been killers. And the red zone? Well, they haven’t quite figured that out, either. (The Broncos rank 28th with a 42.9 red zone conversion percentage.)
Their No. 2 receiver, Emmanuel Sanders, is still recovering from an ankle injury and for more than two years now, they have lacked a true No. 3 pass catcher who can be a reliable threat when Demaryius Thomas and Sanders are double-teamed in coverage, as they so often are.
Monday, the Broncos take on the Chiefs at Arrowhead Stadium, where their record will either drop to 3-4 or they will inch closer to Kansas City’s AFC West lead.
The Broncos need a spark and they need it soon. Maybe, just maybe, that spark is Butt, a John Mackey Award winner (given to the nation’s best tight end) who totaled 138 catches, 1,646 receiving yards (11.9 average) and 11 touchdowns in his four years at Michigan.
Before the 2017 draft, he was billed as the complete package — but with an asterisk because of his injury history. He had the size (6-foot-6 and 250 pounds) to be a mismatch, he had the hands to be a threat in the red zone, he had the strength to be helpful in pass blocking.
In April, general manager John Elway said the Broncos were “fortunate” to get Butt in the fifth round. They placed an unofficial timetable of August or September for his return, but when the season opened, he was put on the nonfootball injury list to continue his recovery for six weeks.
“The cards I’ve been dealt, I deal with,” he said. “Whatever cards I’ve been dealt, that’s what I’m dealing with. I’m not think-
ing about any other option.”
It’s true. With his unique last name, he landed an endorsement deal with Charmin toilet paper. With his extensive recovery, he stayed in Colorado during the offseason to rehab and learn the offense as much as possible without taking the field in full.
“You wish every rookie had his mind-set. Everybody’s different, but he’s different,” offensive coordinator Mike Mccoy said. “The way he works and the way he prepares, I can’t wait for him to get out here. We understood when we drafted him it was going to take some time for him to get out here.
“He lives here. He’s here all the time watching film and doing extra things with (tight ends coach) Geep (Chryst) up in the meeting rooms and asking questions all the
time. You can see him in the meetings taking notes. You see the way he’s worked with our medical staff, and he’s here all the time. You just love the way he works.”
Head coach Vance Joseph said Butt experienced some soreness after his first week of practice. He’s still getting in “football shape,” Joseph reiterated.
But soon, Butt will be on the field, wearing an NFL jersey, just as he had always hoped. Soon, he might solve a few problems for this Denver offense.