ENGLEWOOD, Colo.—Brandon Lloyd put together a breakthrough season in his eighth year in the NFL, and the Denver Broncos’ deep threat with incredibly sure hands punctuated the campaign with his first Pro Bowl berth on Tuesday.
The recognition comes in the wake of a season of firsts for the wide receiver who has evolved into the Broncos’ No. 1 downfield option, whether Tim Tebow or Kyle Orton was behind center. Last year, he was so far down the depth chart that he spent the first 14 games on the inactive list before playing in the final two.
Lloyd had his moments playing previously for San Francisco, Washington and Chicago but never with any sustained consistency. His career was at a low point when he joined Denver two years ago at the urging of former Broncos coach Josh McDaniels, who was dismissed in early December.
“When I think back, that was probably the breaking point in my career and that was the most humbling point in my career,” Lloyd said in a conference call. “Because, that was the point that I told myself that I was done and that I was not going to play again. To have Coach McDaniels believe in me and believe in my talent enough to bring me here, that was a breaking point to where I knew that I still could do special things in this league.”
It didn’t happen right away, but Lloyd made inroads in the Broncos’ depth chart with productive outings in the final two games for the Broncos last season.
When Brandon Marshall was traded to Miami in the offseason, Lloyd used a strong training camp to seize his opportunity, stepping into the playmaking role left vacant by Marshall’s departure. He hasn’t looked back.
In 15 games, Lloyd has 72 receptions for a league-high 1,375 yards, second-most in franchise history. The reception total represents a career high and the yardage total marks his first 1,000-yard season.
He also leads the NFL with 18 receptions of 25 yards or more, and nine of 40 yards or more. He’s averaging 19.1 yards per catch, has six 100-yard games to tie for the league lead and has 10 touchdown catches, tied for fifth in the league.
On top of that, some of his catches have been downright amazing, including a grab in Denver’s 24-23 victory over the Houston Texans on Sunday in which he leaped cleanly over the back of a defender to make a fingertip 41-yard catch keeping alive a fourth-quarter drive.
“He makes some catches and you’re sitting there going, ‘You’ve got to kidding me,'” said Broncos receivers coach Adam Gase. “The guy has got an ability I don’t think many people have had.”
Lloyd is the eighth receiver in Broncos history to make the Pro Bowl.
