'I really felt myself improving every week': TE Albert Okwuegbunam nears next step in rehab from torn ACL, looks ahead to return

[Miles]

ENGLEWOOD, Colo. — Drew Lock and KJ Hamler got the glory in the Broncos' 21-point comeback win over the Chargers last season, and deservedly so.


Lock played a nearly flawless fourth quarter, and Hamler made a terrific adjustment in the end zone on the final play of the game to haul in the the game-winning score.


The late scoring connection, though, would not have been possible if not for rookie tight end Albert Okwuegbunam's ability to draw a key pass-interference penalty on a fourth-and-4 from the 18-yard line that pushed the ball to the 1-yard line with one second to play.


Okwuegbunam drew another pass-interference on third down earlier in the drive, and his leaping scoring grab early in the fourth quarter cut the Chargers' lead to seven points.


While he recorded just one catch for nine yards, Okwuegbunam played a crucial role in the final frame in his finest performance of the season.


"That was a really big game I like to look back at, just because I was in there when it was crunch time," Okwuegbunam told DenverBroncos.com this week. "There was a lot of pressure on that last drive and just being able to be a part of that and have a direct impact on that game and that victory feels really good."


One week later, his season came to a screeching halt as he tore his ACL in the third quarter of a Week 9 game against the Falcons. The fourth-round pick finished his rookie season with 11 total catches for 121 yards and a touchdown as he battled for snaps behind Noah Fant and Nick Vannett.


"It was unfortunate, just because I really felt myself improving every week," Okwuegbunam said. "I'm a super positive person, so as soon as it happened I was just super forward-thinking and thinking, 'What are the positives I can take from this and how I can move forward?' That was just kind of reflecting on my rookie season, and I feel like a big takeaway from it was just the confidence it instilled in myself that I have the ability to be a playmaker in this league, and I think that was the silver lining. From that point on it was just, 'How can I get better?'"


Okwuegbunam said he is almost 12 weeks out from the surgery to repair his damaged knee, and he has begun to run on an anti-gravity treadmill. He expects to begin jogging without the assistance of the machine as early as next week.


"Rehab has been a great process for me," Okwuegbunam said. " had a great start and no real problems with rehab. It's been pretty smooth, so just getting better every day. … Surgery was fine. That was my first surgery ever, so I was kind of nervous about that, but that was super smooth, it was good."