Texas tight end Gunnar Helm hails from the Mile High City and could be that mismatch player the Denver Broncos are looking for. Unfortunately, Helm had some bad luck at the NFL Combine.

Helm’s athletic testing and position drills at Lucas Oil Stadium were among the worst at this year’s Combine, which is vital for tight end success in the NFL. But this wasn’t a case of a prospect merely failing to shine under the lights. When he stepped up to run his first 40-yard dash, he took off with a bit of a stutter-step and was whistled to restart.

Helm then posted a 40 time of 4.93 seconds and followed it up with a faster finish that became an official 4.84. It was a better time but still below what was expected and the 4.77-second threshold teams have. 

So what happened? On the false start, Helm actually sprained his ankle.

Helm not only bore down and ran the 40-yard dash twice, but he finished the day, which showcases heart and grit. That’s football character. The injury explains the slower-than-expected 40 times and why his movement through the receiving drills looked sloppy. And none of it matched the tape. 

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Here’s the thing with Helm, though: this is a case where you trust the tape. The truth is, he’s a good receiving tight end who needs time and coaching tutelage to improve as a blocker.

You see better movement and speed on tape. It would be easy to write Helm off due to his testing. However, he got hurt, so you have to throw the testing out and use what you see on tape, as he will be unlikely to redo the drills at Texas’ pro day. 

Helm still has much work to do as a blocker, and if he landed in Denver, he’d still need time and coaching to develop into the ‘joker’ mismatch weapon that Sean Payton covets. GM George Paton believes it’s easier to develop blocking in a tight end than receiving, so Helm still makes sense for Denver.

The question is, how much will the injury hurt Helm’s stock? He was viewed as a third-round prospect, but we could see him drop into the fourth round now.

The Broncos should be monitoring Helm’s stock if they truly have eyes on the Cherry Creek High School product. We know Denver is at least interested because Helm was one of the team’s 45 formal meetings at the Combine.

“I did grow up a Broncos fan. I was a 20-minute drive from downtown Denver, grew up going to a lot of games, grew up going to Dove Valley for some camp practices,” Helm said at the Combine.

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