Broncos undrafted rookie receiver Isaiah Burse has an uphill battle to make the roster on a team that already has a crowded receiver depth chart. But he shares a locker room with his role model, Wes Welker.
The 5-foot-10, 185-pound Burse says he sees himself as a similar player to Welker, who is the same size as Burse and who made it to the league as an undrafted free agent who began his career primarily as a special teams player.
“I feel like even in college, I did a lot of stuff he did,” Burse told the team’s website. “I was in the slot, I returned, and the fact that I became and undrafted free agent, that just all goes together. It’s funny how he was an undrafted free agent, too, and he became so successful. Just seeing him is kind of like a dream.”
Burse’s best chance of making the Broncos’ roster is as a punt and kickoff returner, as he handled both of those roles in college at Fresno State and the Broncos lost their top return man, Trindon Holliday, in free agency. As Welker has shown, an undersized undrafted free agent can make a roster thanks to special teams, and then become a lot more than just a special teams player once he’s in the NFL.