KJ Hamler’s TD in preseason opener affirms Vic Fangio’s belief in the wideout
KJ Hamler outran the Minnesota secondary, glided under Drew Lock’s downfield heave, hauled it in mid-stride and then somersaulted across the goal line for the Broncos’ first preseason touchdown this year.
Hamstring injuries? What hamstring injuries?
With that catch and another Saturday in the Broncos’ 33-6 win over Minnesota in the preseason opener, Hamler changed his narrative entering 2021.
Let coach Vic Fangio elaborate.
“He had good practices here against Minnesota, he had good practices prior to that,” Fangio said. “And there’s the result. I showed the entire team a play or two from practice where he ran some great routes that would be hard to cover for anybody.
“That’s been validated here today with the touchdown. He’s a fast, quick guy who’s hard to cover, and hopefully we can keep him healthy. He can be a big part of our offense.”
Forget about the hamstring issues that plagued Hamler in 2020, when he had 30 catches for 381 yards as a rookie, or earlier this offseason. The speedster looked, and felt, 100% healthy on Saturday. He played like he should be mentioned alongside the Broncos’ other top wideouts, Courtland Sutton and Jerry Jeudy.
Crediting a revamped diet/strength training regimen as well as a hyper-focus on hydration, Hamler believes Year 2 in the NFL is “time for me to elevate.” He is currently playing at around 181 pounds, about 10 pounds heavier than last year. Good weight, not bad.
“From the start of camp, I’ve built a routine,” Hamler said. “I’m up on my hydration, I’m eating different, I’m staying up on my fluids and (preventative) stuff like that.”
Hamler nabbed Lock’s first pass of the day — a 25-yard catch-and-run that set the Broncos up for their first scoring opportunity. Then on the opening play of Denver’s second possession, Hamler dusted the Vikings’ second-stringers (Minnesota did not play its starters on either side of the ball) to put Denver up 9-0.
“We were looking for quarters (coverage) on the play, and we got it,” Lock said. “It was an awesome look (for Hamler). I told KJ in the huddle right before, ‘Do what you do best and run really fast, and I’ll put it out there for you to go get it.’ It played out just like we thought it would.”
When Hamler got to the line, he read the secondary and quickly made up his mind. The key to the rest of the play was his speed.
“I just ran by them,” Hamler said.
Saturday’s performance, combined with Hamler’s health and consistency during training camp, stands as a complete contrast to last preseason, when he struggled to get out of the blocks as a rookie. Hamler was sidelined in training camp and inactive for two of the first five games, including the season opener.
Hamler did come on strong later in 2020 with his first NFL touchdown in Week 7 against the Chargers, a catch that capped the Broncos’ improbable 21-point, second-half comeback. He also had a pair of touchdown catches in a Week 15 win over Carolina.
This year, Fangio is among those who believe Hamler can add valuable depth to the Broncos’ playmaking. That’s evidenced by the coach going as far as showing the team clips of Hamler’s route-running — and Hamler paying that hat-tip back with a big performance at U.S. Bank Stadium.
“(Fangio) was just giving me a little bit of credit on good plays,” Hamler said. “He’s never done that before, so that was pretty cool, but I knew I had to do it in the game. To take it from practice to the game, that’s always the main goal.”
