ENGLEWOOD, Colo. — A rookie minicamp is about many things. Introducing the new crop of players to NFL life. Issuing them their tablet playbooks so they can begin digesting the voluminous schemes that are often unlike anything they’ve ever seen in college. Sizing them up for helmets, cleats, pads and all of the other equipment they will need for the weeks and months ahead.
But it’s also about beginning to find how just how these new players will be used. And for a rookie class that doesn’t include a first-round pick, that’s where special-teams coordinator Dwayne Stukes enters the picture.
None of these rookies will have a starting spot on offense or defense handed to them, which means their first chance to make a significant contribution is likely to come on special teams.
And for plenty of these rookies, that means tackling a new role. Through a series of drills that included using bouncing yoga balls to work on being in proper position to down punts near the opponent’s goal line, Stukes spent the practices Friday and Saturday beginning the process of learning which of these youngest Broncos have the selflessness required to help in that phase of the game.
Dwayne Stukes meets the media at a press conference on Feb. 22, 2022. (PHOTO: ANDREW MASON)
“A lot of those guys in college who started, they don’t play special teams,” Stukes said. “So when they come here, it’s sort of like, if they’re not starting, they have to find a role. What is your role? Are you a core special-teams player? Are you a role special teams player? Are you a difference-maker special-teams player?
“So just evaluating those guys, seeing the willingness if they can do it, seeing if they can tackle, that’s all part of it. One hundred percent, absolutely.”
But for one Bronco who owes his shot entirely to special teams, the dynamic is a bit different.
No one has more to gain through special teams than fifth-round pick Montrell Washington, who has a path to becoming the Broncos’ primary punt and kickoff returner. And so far, he’s all-in with Stukes, who is a special-teams coordinator for the first time since a one-season stint in that role on Raheem Morris’ Tampa Bay Buccaneers staff in 2011.
“I love what [Stukes] brings to his meetings with his intensity,” Washington said. “ His mindset in the meetings — it gets me fired up every time I hear him talk. I’m not going to lie to you. I’ll run through a brick wall for coach right now. I like Coach a lot.”
The feeling is mutual for Stukes, who was introduced to Washington by the film study and evaluation of wide-receivers coach Zach Azzanni.
“Coach ‘Z’ (Azzanni) brought him up. Coach ‘Z’ said, ‘I have a receiver that I like. He’s a small slot receiver. Would you remind watching him as a returner?’” Stukes recalled. “I put the tape on, obviously.”
And the tape showed Washington using his vision and acceleration to make the Florida Gators look silly on a 98-yard kickoff return last November.
“Anytime you have a kid at Samford that has production versus a big program, it draws your attention, right?” Stukes said. “Som Coach ‘Z’ brought him up, then I went and watched him and I said, ‘This kid has talent.’”
Stukes didn’t want to specify any other players who had caught his eye so far, but after one weekend, he’s a step closer to figuring out which rookies will help.
