One play. That’s all it can take for a young player on the bubble to make an NFL roster says former Broncos wide receiver Mark Jackson. For the incoming class of Broncos, currently attending their rookie orientation, it’s a matter of seizing those rare opportunities to shine.
“It’s opportunity,” Jackson told Gil Whiteley and Doug Ottewill on Mile High Sports AM 1340 | FM 104.7.
“We were playing a preseason game against, I think it was the Rams, and I had the opportunity to catch a hitch route that I turned into like a 40-yard pickup and literally I believe that’s what put me on the team,” Jackson said.
It’s a familiar story for many Broncos. Perhaps the most famous is Terrell Davis, who made a key special teams block against San Francisco in a preseason game to help secure his spot on the roster. Davis and Jackson, both sixth-round picks, were not guarantees to make the squad. Jackson says he faced even greater competition back in his day, as compared to this current group of rookies, because the NFL had more relaxed rules about the total number of players a coach could invite to training camp.
“We had I think 16 or 17 receivers in camp,” Jackson recollects about his first season with the Broncos out of Purdue. “It was ridiculous. It was crazy. You know, the issue with that is you don’t get many reps. The great thing for that for the team is you’ve got kind of a hidden secret in your camp, you can keep that guy from another team.”
The Broncos conclude rookie orientation on Saturday with on-field work. The entire roster will re-convene on May 23 for OTA offseason workouts. Mandatory minicamp is June 13-15 and training camp will start sometime in late July.
Jackson says the young Broncos need to take advantage of those rare opportunities to make plays and get noticed, because the transition they’re about to undergo is unlike any they’ve faced in their athletic careers.
“There’s a huge transition from high school to college,” Jackson said. “And I think there’s an even bigger jump from college to pros, because you see a lot of incredible college athletes that just don’t pan out in the pros.”
Listen to the full interview with Jackson, including how veterans perceive the new draft class, in the podcast below.
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