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LOOK: Jake Butt Makes Eye-Popping One-Handed Grab During OTAs

By Zack Kelberman

ENGLEWOOD, Colo. (247 SPORTS) - Patience is a virtue, and Jake Butt is becoming a weapon.

Jake Butt
Jake Butt on May 22, 2018, at Broncos HQ (credit: Joe Amon/The Denver Post via Getty Images)

A non-factor in his 2017 rookie campaign as he recovered from ACL surgery, the Denver Broncos' big-bodied tight end is standing out among the stars of Organized Team Activities. It's amazing what being restored to full health can do for an ascending player's ability.

Like allow him to pull down insane one-handed stabs.

With two hands, he's skying for highlight-reel receptions.

(Yes, he caught that.)

If it weren't for his freak knee injury, the former Michigan star likely would have gone in the second or third round of the NFL draft. Instead, he plummeted to the fifth, where Denver smartly ended a stunning free-fall. Their immediate plan? Stow Butt away until he's 100 percent.

Mission accomplished.

"He looks healthy, finally," Broncos head coach Vance Joseph said this week. "We brought him back last year hoping he was going to be healthy and he wasn't ready to play, so we put him back on the shelf. Right now, he's totally healthy. Expectations, I haven't heard those, so I'm not sure what that means. He's working hard and he wants to be a great player. We haven't played a game yet, so I don't know what Jake is going to be, but he's very engaged, he's worked hard and he's here every day. That's all I can tell you about that."

Albeit painstaking, spending his first season on the sidelines was to Butt's benefit, in more ways than just physically.

"I think the biggest thing was just learning how to be a pro," he told reporters on Monday. "It really is a lot different than college. It's football and the end of the day, but you're a professional now. You look around the locker room, and we have a lot of guys that are pros. A lot of great examples that I can learn off of, feed off of and carry that into this offseason."

Butt won't be the primary pass-catcher on the Broncos' offense, which still flows through its receiving corps. He may not even open the season as a starter, with veteran Jeff Heuerman grandfathered into that role -- albeit temporarily.

What's assured, though, is Butt actually seeing the field, actually contributing. New starting quarterback Case Keenum needs a middle-of-the-field safety blanket, and what better than a 6-foot-6 dynamo.

"We understand. 'D.T.' (WR Demaryius Thomas) and 'E' (WR Emmanuel Sanders), they've been doing it a while now," said Butt. "They're two really good top-notch receivers. They're going to be getting a lot of attention on the outside. They're going to be drawing some double teams. So it's our responsibility as tight ends and slots to win in these one-on-one matchups on the inside. Whatever that means. We've got to make plays when our numbers are called, just to take a little bit of pressure off those guys on the outside."

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