It has been a long time since the Denver Broncos had a dangerous returner running back punts and kicks; the last respectable one in recent memory was Trindon Holliday.
However, the Broncos think they may finally have the solution in rookie Montrell Washington.
“Montrell is a hard worker,” special teams coordinator Dwayne Stukes said during training camp. “He’s confident in his abilities and so am I. I’ve been pleasantly pleased with how Montrell has handled [returning kicks].”
Already, Washington has a leg up on several other contenders for Denver’s starting returner role. In college, Washington became a dynamic returner of both kicks and punts, ultimately returning 95 kicks (47 punts, 48 kickoffs) for 1,846 total yards and five touchdowns at Samford.
However, Stukes knows that fielding kicks in the NFL is a completely different animal from playing in front of around 3,000 fans at training camp.
“Now playing in a stadium or playing in front of a crowd is a lot different than in training camp right here,” Stukes said. “But when [Washington] enters the stadium, he should be the first on the field to catch the punt off of a live foot when we go to preseason, when we go to the regular season.”
That proved to be the case on Saturday night, with Washington getting the first opportunity to return kickoffs and punts against the Dallas Cowboys. The fifth-round draft pick didn’t disappoint, returning two punts for 45 yards. That’s the kind of field-flipping the team’s been looking for.
When he was drafted, Washington earned the praises of Broncos general manager George Paton and the hopes of head coach Nathaniel Hackett. Now he’ll aim to continue proving during preseason that he’s the right man for the job.
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