Albert Okwuegbunam - Injury History

What You Need to Know:

• Okwuegbunam was a 4th-round pick in the 2020 NFL Draft.
• He posted an impressive 29-415-11 line as a freshman at Missouri in 2017 but never really took a step forward from there. He went 43-466-6 in 2018 and 26-306-6 in 2019.
• The 6’5, 258-pounder blazed a 4.49-second 40-yard dash at the Combine. His 127.0 Speed Score is a top-5 mark among all TEs at the Combine since 2000.
• Okwuegbunam appeared in 4 games as a rookie before suffering a season-ending torn right ACL in Week 9.
• He played in 14 of 17 games last year, missing Weeks 5-7 with a hamstring injury.
• Okwuegbunam, playing behind Noah Fant for most of the season, finished with 33 catches on 40 targets for 330 yards and 2 TDs.
• In a Week 9 start in place of Fant (COVID), Okwuegbunam caught 4 of 5 targets for 25 scoreless yards.
• He fared well in some key efficiency metrics last year:
  • His 8.25 yards per target ranked 11th among 35 TEs with 40+ targets.
  • He ranked 6th among those 35 TEs in yards per route run.
  • His 72.5 Pro Football Focus receiving grade was good for 11th among those 35 TEs.
  • He ranked 28th among 55 qualifiers in Football Outsiders’ DVOA.
• The Broncos shipped Fant to Seattle in the Russell Wilson trade.
• They drafted UCLA TE Greg Dulcich in Round 3 of this spring’s draft. The 6’4, 243-pounder is a catch-first TEs who racked up 68 catches, 1,242 yards and 10 TDs playing under HC Chip Kelly the past 2 seasons.
• Multiple Broncos beat writers expect it to be an open competition between Okwuegbunam and Dulcich for snaps and targets this summer.
• Wilson will be a big QB upgrade over last year’s tandem of Teddy Bridgewater and Drew Lock. Wilson struggled after suffering a right finger injury last October but was excellent before that and had shown no signs of decline the previous few seasons.
• Okwuegbunam will play under a new coaching staff this offseason after the Broncos named Nathaniel Hackett their HC.
  • It’s Hackett’s first crack at a HC gig. He has 8 years of NFL OC experience: 2013-2014 with the Bills, 2016-2018 with the Jaguars and 2019-2021 with the Packers.
  • Hackett’s Bills and Jaguars offenses – piloted by E.J. Manuel, Kyle Orton and Blake Bortles – were run leaning. But Hackett went pass heavier when he hooked up with Aaron Rodgers. The Packers ranked 7th, 9th and 11th in situation-neutral pass rate the last 3 seasons.
• With Wilson and Hackett in town, we’re projecting the Broncos to pass at a tangibly higher clip than they did last season.
• Broncos insider Mike Klis expects TE Albert Okwuegbunam to open the season as Denver's starter but TE Greg Dulcich to potentially overtake him by the 2nd half of the season.

Draft Sharks Bottom Line:

Okwuegbunam was an intriguing prospect coming out of Missouri after a big freshman season and freaky display of size and speed at the Combine. He’s also flashed through 2 NFL seasons, posting strong efficiency marks last year.

Denver’s starting TE job is now wide open after Noah Fant was dealt to Seattle. But the team spent a 3rd-round pick on Greg Dulcich, who will reportedly compete with Okwuegbunam this summer.

That competition will be worth watching closely, with the winner having a shot at TE1 production with QB Russell Wilson now leading the offense.