{"id":855610,"date":"2026-04-05T19:28:29","date_gmt":"2026-04-05T19:28:29","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/855610\/"},"modified":"2026-04-05T19:28:29","modified_gmt":"2026-04-05T19:28:29","slug":"former-broncos-2nd-round-pick-wr-turns-heads-with-new-team","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/855610\/","title":{"rendered":"Former Broncos 2nd Round Pick WR Turns Heads with New Team"},"content":{"rendered":"<p>\t\t\t\t<img width=\"780\" height=\"440\" src=\"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/04\/KJ-Hamler-e1775403086113.jpg\" class=\"attachment-featured-image size-featured-image wp-post-image\" alt=\"KJ Hamler\"   decoding=\"async\" fetchpriority=\"high\"\/>\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/p>\n<p>\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\tGetty\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/p>\n<p>Former Broncos&#8217; wide receiver KJ Hamler has turned heads with his play in the UFL<\/p>\n<p>After finding their way to the AFC Championship Game in 2025, the <a href=\"http:\/\/heavy.com\/sports\/nfl\/denver-broncos\/\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\">Denver Broncos<\/a> have made it clear they are loading up in an effort to go on a Super Bowl run in 2026. While the Broncos haven\u2019t exactly made sweeping changes to their roster, they have found a way to strike when the opportunity presents itself, with their biggest move seeing them acquire <a href=\"https:\/\/heavy.com\/sports\/nfl\/denver-broncos\/waddle-trade-dolphins-sullivan-contract-payton\/\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\">star wide receiver Jaylen Waddle<\/a> from the <a href=\"http:\/\/heavy.com\/sports\/nfl\/miami-dolphins\/\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\">Miami Dolphins<\/a>.<\/p>\n<p>With the addition of Waddle, Denver\u2019s wide receiver room appears to be in good shape. One of the Broncos\u2019 old friends, <a href=\"https:\/\/heavy.com\/nfl\/player\/kj-hamler\/\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\">KJ Hamler<\/a>, could be putting himself on the radar of Denver and every other team in the league, as he is balling out in the UFL with the Orlando Storm as he attempts to find his way back to the NFL.<\/p>\n<p>KJ Hamler Draws Attention with Strong Play in UFL<\/p>\n<p>Playmaker doin\u2019 playmaker things \ud83d\ude24<\/p>\n<p>41-YARD KJ HAMLER TOUCHDOWN \ud83d\udd25 <\/p>\n<p>The Broncos selected Hamler in the second round of the 2020 NFL Draft after he enjoyed a standout collegiate career with the Penn State Nittany <a class=\"wpil_keyword_link\" href=\"https:\/\/heavy.com\/sports\/nfl\/detroit-lions\/\" title=\"Lions\" data-wpil-keyword-link=\"linked\" data-wpil-monitor-id=\"215523\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\">Lions<\/a>. Despite being fairly undersized for a wide receiver, Hamler is known for being a speed demon who can rip off big plays anytime he has the ball in his hands. Unfortunately, he was unable to find his way during his time with Denver.<\/p>\n<p>In three years with the Broncos, Hamler played in just 23 total games. Most of his production with the team came as a rookie, when he caught 30 passes for 381 yards and three touchdowns. After getting released by Denver, Hamler spent time with the Indianapolis Colts and <a class=\"wpil_keyword_link\" href=\"https:\/\/heavy.com\/sports\/nfl\/buffalo-bills\/\" title=\"Buffalo Bills\" data-wpil-keyword-link=\"linked\" data-wpil-monitor-id=\"215521\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\">Buffalo Bills<\/a>, but he never managed to find his way onto the field for either team.<\/p>\n<p>In January, Hamler signed with the Storm in the UFL, with the hope being that he could put together some solid tape and earn another shot in the NFL. So far, that quest appears to have gotten off to a hot start, as Hamler scored a <a href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/UFLStorm\/status\/2040601162559136006\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener external nofollow\">flashy 41-yard touchdown<\/a> in Orlando\u2019s Week 2 contest against the Louisville <a class=\"wpil_keyword_link\" href=\"https:\/\/heavy.com\/sports\/nba\/sacramento-kings\/\" title=\"Kings\" data-wpil-keyword-link=\"linked\" data-wpil-monitor-id=\"215522\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\">Kings<\/a>, helping his squad pick up a 19-9 victory when all was said and done.<\/p>\n<p>Could KJ Hamler Find His Way Back to the NFL?<img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" aria-describedby=\"caption-attachment-3913838\" class=\"size-inline wp-image-3913838\" data-lazy-load=\"\" src=\"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/04\/GettyImages-1242767480-e1665119729334.jpg\" alt=\"K.J. Hamler\" width=\"782\" height=\"521\"\/><\/p>\n<p id=\"caption-attachment-3913838\" class=\"wp-caption-text\">GettyDenver Broncos WR K.J Hamler against the <a class=\"wpil_keyword_link\" href=\"https:\/\/heavy.com\/sports\/nfl\/minnesota-vikings\/\" title=\"Minnesota Vikings\" data-wpil-keyword-link=\"linked\" data-wpil-monitor-id=\"215520\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\">Minnesota Vikings<\/a><\/p>\n<p>With his lack of size already being mentioned, Hamler knew he was going to have to find a unique way to stand out once he made it to the NFL. His speed was his calling card, but Hamler wasn\u2019t able to consistently free himself from opposing defenses for the Broncos. That led to the team moving on from him, and he\u2019s been unable to find a consistent home in the pros since then.<\/p>\n<p>If Hamler continues to show what he\u2019s capable of in the UFL, though, he could conceivably earn another shot in the NFL. That likely won\u2019t come with Denver, as it is well-stocked at this spot, but there are 31 other teams in the league. There\u2019s no guarantee Hamler will return to the NFL and star, but you can bet that his strong play for the Storm has caught the attention of teams everywhere.<\/p>\n<p>\n\t\t\t<a href=\"https:\/\/heavy.com\/author\/owencrisafulli\/\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\">Owen Crisafulli<\/a> Owen Crisafulli is an Email Newsletter Editor &amp; Breaking News Writer at Heavy Sports. His work has also appeared on ClutchPoints, Sports Illustrated, The Sporting News, Athlon Sports, NESN Basketball Network, and FanSided, where he shared his insights on a variety of sports topics primarily surrounding the NFL, NBA, and MLB. <a href=\"https:\/\/heavy.com\/author\/owencrisafulli\/\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\">More about Owen Crisafulli<\/a>\t\t<\/p>\n<p>\n\t\t\tMore Heavy on Broncos\n\t\t<\/p>\n<p>\n\t\t\t\tLoading more stories\n\t\t<\/p>\n<p>\t\t\t\t\t<script async src=\"https:\/\/platform.twitter.com\/widgets.js\" charset=\"utf-8\"><\/script><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Getty Former Broncos&#8217; wide receiver KJ Hamler has turned heads with his play in the UFL After finding&hellip;\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":855611,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":"","_share_on_mastodon":"0"},"categories":[2062],"tags":[232,231,258,2426,7,6],"class_list":{"0":"post-855610","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-denver-broncos","8":"tag-broncos","9":"tag-denver","10":"tag-denver-broncos","11":"tag-denverbroncos","12":"tag-football","13":"tag-nfl"},"share_on_mastodon":{"url":"https:\/\/channels.im\/@nfl\/116353756566542638","error":""},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/855610","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=855610"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/855610\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/855611"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=855610"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=855610"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=855610"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}