Broncos TE Albert Okwuegbunam Shares Bold Message for His Critics

Under last season’s flawed leadership of ex-Denver Broncos head coach Nathaniel Hackett, promising tight end Albert Okwuegbunam was often relegated to being a healthy scratch on gameday. In recent weeks, however, Okwuegbunam has looked reborn under the restoring tutelage of new Broncos head coach Sean Payton.

Indeed, 'Albert O' has gone from probable roster cut to catching seven passes for 109 yards and a touchdown in Saturday night's 41-0 blowout victory over the Los Angeles Rams in the preseason finale. While fans might be attributing the big tight end's transformation to the fresh influence of Payton’s coaching staff, Okwuegbunam insists he never lost the belief that he could play at a high level.

“No, because it doesn’t matter what the outside thinks,” Okwuegbunam said post-game of whether he lost his confidence. “In my heart, I always knew. This is nothing new. I mean, I’ve always been capable of doing this. Tonight, I just got some opportunities to show it.”

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Okwuegbunam may have been denied many opportunities to shine under the disgraced and dispatched Hackett, but his dedication to becoming a complete tight end is multi-faceted.

“A little bit of everything. A little bit of coaching. A little bit of harping on it and just really being hard on myself,” Okwuegbunam said. “Really, the guys, too, just pushing me to be better. By guys, I mean tight ends; we have a great [position] room, and they’ve been encouraging me, so I think definitely that has helped the most.”

As the locker room called out his abbreviated nickname 'Albert O,' just how excited everyone was to see the former Missouri man excel was clear. Backup quarterback Jarrett Stidham had himself a night also, but Okwuegbunam running routes out there and snagging balls one-handed downfield on a 4th-and-4 always helps a signal-caller's stat line.

“Albert was awesome,” Stidham said post-game. “That guy is big, strong, and fast. He was able to display his talent and what he can do. I was happy for him. He made a lot of plays tonight.”

Wide receiver Marquez Callaway was also on hand to see Okwuegbunam put on a one-man show and was suitably impressed with what he witnessed in the Broncos' final preseason game.

“Oh man, he balled,” Callaway said post-game. “I am happy for him; you know what I mean? He’s going out there and doing his thing, doing anything to put a smile on my face. I’m definitely excited for him.”

Time will soon tell how much Okwuegbunam's Saturday night showing affects his roster outlook, as the Broncos' current depth in the tight end room is considerable. Undoubtedly, that decision has been made more difficult for Payton and company after the 26-year-old exploded so spectacularly on Saturday night.

Payton knows that he will have to pull the plug on some serious talent, but somewhat reassuringly, he’s safe in the knowledge that they will carry on their NFL journey elsewhere due to the tape they put out for the other 31 teams to see.

“I think that the dream for so many of these guys is still alive even if it’s not here,” Payton mused. “The thing that keeps—I don’t want to stay up at night—but making sure we find the right 53 [players]. You don’t want to lose a player when you had control over it and then have him have success somewhere else. I credit the players. A lot of guys will make this [decision] challenging with their efforts tonight. During the week, really even last week. It’s always difficult.”

Okwuegbunam might be trending towards extending his stay in Denver. Some could argue quite logically that it would be madness to cut him loose, but stranger things have happened in the often madcap NFL.

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