Isaiah McKenzie is out and Jordan Taylor is in as the Broncos punt returner.
“I want to get the ball caught," said Broncos head coach Vance Joseph, when asked why he made the move. McKenzie made the first of the Broncos' four special teams mistakes against the Patriots Sunday night. The rookie has had issues all season catching the football and the team finally decided enough is enough.
"That’s the first job description for a punt returner, is to possess the ball," Joseph continued. "Obviously, we want a 10-yard average. That’s a decent average. After that, it’s on the guy to make a play. But, we have to get the ball caught. We can’t have any more issues as far as muffing the punts. So Jordan is going to be the guy until Isaiah can come out of not catching the football.”
The interesting thing is that Jordan Taylor has never really been a punt returner. The Broncos receiver said he never caught punts in high school or in college at Rice. In fact, the only punt Taylor caught was as the up man in a game in December in Tennessee last season. Still, Taylor is excited for this opportunity.
“Any way that I can get in there and contribute for the team and hopefully help out some. I’m looking forward to the opportunity,” said Taylor. “I think the main goal is to play it safe and catch the ball for sure, but if there are plays to be made, I’m definitely not going to hesitate. I’ll try to take some chances.”
Denver will host Cincinnati Sunday as the team tries to put an end to its five game losing streak. The Broncos have won 13 of 15 games against Cincinnati in Denver.
