The Broncos are all in on securing a replacement for last season's primary WR, Tim Patrick. He caught 53 passes for 734 yards and scored five touchdowns in 16 games last season. Crockett was entering his second season after only three rushes the previous season.
Patrick and Crockett have been added to the injured reserve with torn ACLs and are expected to miss the 2022 season.
Thursday, the Broncos signed wide receiver Darrius Shepherd to their 90-man roster. Shepherd was an undrafted free agent out of North Dakota State who played under head coach Nathaniel Hackett at Green Bay in 2020.
Shepherd only played in 14 games for the Packers, acquiring six catches for 47 yards and returning 20 kickoffs for 374 yards. Since then, he has signed practice squad deals with the Arizona Cardinals, Minnesota Vikings, and Pittsburgh Steelers. Before recently signing with the New Jersey Generals of the United States Football League in 2022.
Shepherd is a versatile receiver and returner who is very athletic and could add more depth to Denver's receiving core. On Day 8 of training camp, He quickly caught the attention of his coaches and teammates after catching a deep touchdown pass from backup quarterback Josh Johnson.
Head Coach Nathaniel Hackett on Shepherd's performance
"He played a lot of football for us [in Green Bay]," Hackett said. "He's a guy you can depend on. Tough, smart guy. We're happy that he can come in here and help us out. You saw already he did some good stuff."
Nothing is official with a deep receiving room, but Shepherd has some tough competition for a roster spot.
Who is Max Borghi?
The Broncos strengthen they're running back core by signing Max Borghi to fill Crockett's former spot on the active roster. Borghi recently tried out for the Broncos but didn't receive a callback.
Hackett on bringing Borghi back in,
"Max, he came in — I think it was minicamp, and he did a fine job," coach Nathaniel Hackett said on Thursday. "I think at that time, due to our numbers, we couldn't bring him on [in June], but he was somebody we wanted to look at. He's a real smart guy — busted his butt, and that's what you need.
Borghi played four years at Washington State, where he racked up 369 carries for 2,158 yards to pair with 156 catches for 1,134 yards. Borghi did not get selected in the 2022 NFL and ultimately signed a free-agent contract with the Indianapolis Colts but was waived.
Borghi is a talented RB with the size, speed, and football IQ to play and the next level. If Denver is lucky, Max could pan out to be a versatile weapon on the offensive side of the ball. Denver also brought in undrafted rookie Tyreik McAllister out of the University of Charleston in West Virginia to compete against Borghi for the open running back position.
McAllister averaged 120+ yards per game and 7.62 yards per carry. He is the underdog in this competition, but the Broncos can't go wrong with signing either one of these speedy backs.
Five day's of training camp left. Next up PRESEASON