Stokley: Lindsay will make Broncos roster, impact NFL in ‘right role’

When asked what rookies could be candidates to return punts for the Denver Broncos next season, head coach Vance Joseph answered with a few names, including DaeSean Hamilton and first-year pro River Cracraft.

But, first out of the head coach’s mouth following rookie orientation on Saturday was Phillip Lindsay.

“Obviously, Lindsay is here to be a returner and a halfback for us,” Joseph said.

It’s that versatility Lindsay said he hoped to showcase for the coaching staff and front office.

“Whether it’s special teams, at running back or a receiver, I’m just going to showcase everything,” Lindsay said Friday.

And due, at least in part, to his versatility, “Stokley and Zach” co-host Brandon Stokley said he believes Lindsay will make the Broncos roster as an undrafted free agent.

“This guy’s a good football player, and I think if you put him in the right role he can make an impact in the NFL,” Stokley said. “And I think he will make this team.”

Stokley called Lindsay “different type of running back than the Broncos have,” and said the former University of Colorado captain had been largely unnoticed at every stage of the evaluation process leading up to the draft.

“He’s just been successful everywhere he’s gone. And he’s just a football player, and he’s been overlooked,” Stokley said. “He doesn’t get drafted. He doesn’t go to the Combine. All this stuff.”

But, for Lindsay, he’s just excited for the opportunity to prove himself, even if that means “establishing” himself on special teams, then “getting into the playbook as a running back or slot receiver.”

“Right when I stepped foot here. Just to be around all my teammates and be able to see some of the veterans and seeing the locker room, it’s like ‘Dang, it’s really here,’” Lindsay said when asked when it first hit him that he’s in the NFL.

“Now it’s time for me to go and seize the moment and get after it.”

Follow digital content producer Johnny Hart on Twitter: @johnnyhart7.