When Andre Mintze made the Denver Broncos’ 53-man roster for Week 1, he became the 26th undrafted free agent since 1997 to make the team’s initial active roster. Denver has had at least one undrafted rookie make the 53-man roster in 17 of the last 18 years.
Mintze (6-3, 249 pounds), who played at Vanderbilt, will serve as the team’s fifth-string outside linebacker this fall, and he will likely be a key player on special teams.
“The game wasn’t too big for him the first day he showed up,” general manager George Paton said of Mintze on Aug. 31. “He can set the edge in the run game and he’s gotten better as a pass rusher …. A big guy like that can run down on special teams — you can’t have enough of those guys.”
On defense, Mintze will play behind Von Miller, Bradley Chubb, Malik Reed and Jonathon Cooper.
“He plays tough and physical,” coach Vic Fangio said of the rookie. “He’s good versus the run. He’s got a little nasty to him. I think he likes playing the game. I think he likes the hitting part of the game. He’s smart and he picks things up quickly.”
After wearing No. 91 this summer, Mintze switched to No. 48 after making the active roster. He’ll be a player to watch for this fall.
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