ENGLEWOOD, Colo. — In many ways, the NFL is like the stock market. Among all of the similarities, there is one common characteristic that is key to finding success in each industry.
It’s not the billions of dollars passing through each entity on an annual basis, although that doesn’t hurt, or the millions of hearts that are broken. It’s that both are based on following trends.
In the stock market, finding a trend early can be the difference between rags and riches. In the NFL, identifying and acting on trends can be the difference between a team’s success and failure.
During training camp, there is typically a “darling” — an unexpected player that trends in the right direction that either makes the team when they necessarily weren’t expected to, or that moves up the depth chart. Through the first three days of Broncos training camp, there has been one player that has stolen the attention, and seemingly the hearts, of the coaching staff: Rookie wide receiver Isaiah McKenzie.
“Every challenge we’ve given Isaiah he’s taken it and dominated it,” Vance Joseph said on Saturday. “He’s obviously a fabulous returner, a big time slot player. He catches the ball. He’s tough.”
Officially listed at 5-foot-8, 173-pounds McKenzie has the ideal stature for a punt returner and slot receiver, and at least so far in camp, he’s lived up to both. As a shifty, fast receiver, McKenzie has proven he can create separation easily, in the middle of the field on short routes and on deep routes.
As McKenzie continues to climb the depth chart at both receiver and returner, it’s hard to imagine how he fell to the fifth round of the draft. While McKenzie is quickly catching the eyes of the fans and media, the Broncos aren’t surprised.
“Isaiah has been the same guy since he’s got here. He’s a very mature rookie. It’s not too big for him,” Joseph said. “He has not changed. What we saw on tape and what he’s given us since he’s been here has been the same.”
In the return game, McKenzie has shown big-play potential and most importantly the ability to catch the ball consistently and secure it — a problem that plagued Denver last season.
“[McKenzie’s] more of a punt returner. Your kick returner is more of a bigger guy in my opinion because that’s a physical, violent player so I wouldn’t expose him to that if I don’t have to,” Joseph said. “That’s a Cody Latimer, Carlos Henderson, that’s the body type you want from that position. I wouldn’t put Isaiah in that role if we didn’t have to. That’s a physical, contact role.”
At the other end, while McKenzie is trending up, his fellow rookie wide receiver, Carlos Henderson, isn’t finding as much success.
As a third-round pick in April’s draft, Henderson was expected to be an immediate threat for the starting third-receiver position. Although he can still grab this spot, he has had a slower start than McKenzie and the rest of the group. Joseph, however, realizes there is still plenty of time.
“He’s a rookie. He’s trying hard. He wants to be a good player; he wants to help us on offense,” Joseph said. “He’s trying a little too hard right now. But he’ll be fine. It’s early.”
The encouraging news for Henderson is that his counterpart, McKenzie, is more the anomaly in terms of performing at a high level at the beginning of camp.
Through the first three days of camp, McKenzie’s stock has shot up while Henderson’s has struggled like your typical rookie. Much like the stock market, though, there is plenty of time for each player’s trend to change.
