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Broncos fourth-round draft pick Albert Okwuegbunam played with quarterback Drew Lock at Missouri from 2017-2018. During their two seasons together, Lock and Okwuegbunam connected 72 times for 881 yards and 17 touchdowns.
Okwuegbunam won’t serve as Denver’s primary receiving tight end — Noah Fant holds that job — but his experience with Lock should help him get on the field and make some plays as a rookie. At 6-5, 258 pounds, “Albert O” could prove to be a valuable red zone target.
“The guy’s a monster,” Lock said on Aug. 29. “He just has a really good feel for the 20-and-in. He just really does. You throw him up a ball he’s going to go get it. He’s sneaky. He’s slippery fast down there. We’ll put it that way. Open field, he’s going to blow by you. In the red zone it’s just kind of a sneaky fast . . . I’ve been really impressed with Albert since he’s been here.”
Okwuegbunam has drawn plenty of praise at training camp (Nick Vannett thinks he could become one of the NFL’s best tight ends) but he’ll need to be more than just a pass catcher to have success in the NFL. Okwuegbunam has already shown improvement as a blocker, which is a great sign.
“He’s improved in that area,” coach Vic Fangio said on Aug. 31. “I think the biggest thing or one of the biggest things with a tight end as it relates to blocking is do they want to do it. Do they have the mentality to block and be prideful in it? He’s shown that he does and he’s willing.
“That’s a big hurdle to get over for a lot of tight ends especially the ones coming out of college these days that don’t do it much. I think he’s making some good progress there.”
Okwuegbunam will likely serve as Denver’s No. 3 tight end behind Fant and Vannett in Week 1. He could win a bigger role as the season progresses.
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