Getty Could the son of a Broncos great find his way to Denver in the 2024 NFL draft?
While quarterback remains a question mark for the Denver Broncos, the receiving room appears to be rounding into shape.
With the Broncos signing Josh Reynolds in free agency, wide receiver has morphed into a strength for head coach Sean Payton. Could the son of a team great help take the position to another level in 2024?
Lance Sanderson from Mile High Huddle named Luke McCaffrey, son of Broncos great Ed McCaffrey, as a draft prospect to help “round out” the rebuilt WR room under Payton.
Sanderson described McCaffrey as a “possession-style receiver with good size and smooth hands.”
“Like his father, Ed, Luke shows great concentration and a ‘my ball’ mentality when attacking the ball in the air,” Sanderson wrote in his April 1 article. “And he shows top-notch body control to make spectacular catches look easy.”
The elder McCaffrey played in Denver from 1995-2003, winning two Super Bowls during the 1997 and 1998 seasons. His son was named All-AAC during his final season with the Rice Owls in 2023.
Despite that, Sanderson gave McCaffrey a fourth-round grade and noted his game is “raw” and “lacks top-end speed.”
“Most of the time, McCaffrey works at a single speed and doesn’t shift gears very often, and press coverage causes him issues working off the line of scrimmage,” Sanderson wrote.
McCaffrey Had an Uneven Collegiate Career Before Finding His Footing at Rice
If McCaffrey is “raw” as a wide receiver, there is certainly a reason for that. McCaffrey began his collegiate career as a quarterback at the University of Nebraska.
He played sparingly during his first season with the Cornhuskers in 2019. McCaffrey competed for the starting job in 2020 but lost to Adrian Martinez.
However, McCaffrey made his first career start against Penn State in November of that season. Nebraska won 30-23 as McCaffrey completed 13-of-21 passes for 152 yards, with one touchdown pass and one interception. He also added 67 rushing yards and another touchdown on 13 carries.
Unfortunately, he was later benched in favor of Martinez and entered the transfer portal after the season. McCaffrey enrolled at Rice for the 2021 campaign and started three games at QB for the Owls.
He moved to wide receiver during spring practices in 2022 and ultimately found his calling. The former QB became Rice’s leading receiver with 58 receptions for 723 yards and six touchdowns in 11 games.
During the 2023 season, McCaffrey set career highs in receptions (68), receiving yards (963) and receiving touchdowns (12).
Lions Writer Reveals Why New Broncos WR Josh Reynolds Left Detroit: Rumor
McCaffrey is an option to join Reynolds in the Mile High City this season. Reynolds might hope Broncos Country is more welcoming than his old home.
Jeff Risdon of Lions Wire for USA Today shared a rumor about why Reynolds left Detroit in free agency.
“People in his camp were encouraging him to try to find a better place away from some of the toxicity of certain Detroit fans,” Risdon said in his April 1 podcast.
Fans ripped the seven-year veteran after he played poorly in the second half of the NFC Championship against the San Francisco 49ers. Reynolds dropped a key pass on fourth down with 7:03 remaining in the third quarter with the Lions up 24-10.
Then, Reynolds dropped another pass on third down with the game tied at 24. The Lions would be forced to punt as the 49ers scored 27 unanswered points in the second half, winning 34-31.