For a player who spent his rookie season rehabilitating from his second ACL surgery, Jake Butt is on schedule.

ENGLEWOOD – Gradually, Jake Butt is turning the question mark about his knee into an answer for the Broncos’ offense.

Through two games, the Broncos’ second-year tight end in his first action in nearly two years has six catches for 77 yards, or a 16-game pace of 48 receptions and 616 yards.

For a player who spent his rookie season rehabilitating from his second ACL surgery, Butt is on schedule.

“The main thing I’m happy about is that we’re 2-0,’’ Butt said during a sit-down interview with 9NEWS this week. “Winning cures a lot of sickness. It cures all sickness, I’d say.

“I think I’ve done some things well. I think I’ve caught the ball well, I’ve run good routes. But there’s a lot I need to clean up. This is a tough league so it’s something you’ve got to focus on every single day.

“You look at this last game, I was targeted twice on third down and I came up a yard short (both times). That’s something I take pride in is moving the chains, being a guy you can count on on third down and that’s just one of many things.

“I’ve got to clean up my blocking. That’s where I’m grateful to have our room and our coaching staff and be surrounded by other great players who are pushing me, and I’m pushing them every single day. We’re not going to be complacent with just a good game.’’

Game 3 is today against a Baltimore Ravens’ team coached by John Harbaugh, brother of Jim Harbaugh, who was Butt’s head coach at Michigan for his final two years. Putting the connections together, any chance Butt called Jim Harbaugh to get some tips about how to play against John’s Ravens?

“Man, I thought about it,’’ Butt said. “I’m going to reach out to my tight end coach Jay Harbaugh (Jim’s son) as well. He was an ops guy there in Baltimore a little bit so I’m thinking about reaching him but I know how the Harbaughs get down. I think the secrets will remain secrets but it doesn’t hurt to try.’’

The Butt Army will be in attendance at M&T Bank Stadium today. Papa Butt and at least three other family members will make the trip.

“The Butt Army travels well,’’ Jake said.

They’ve heard all the puns and word plays on their last name. Like, gee, Jake Butt is no joke. Or, Jake’s not a Butt, he’s a good guy.

“I love them all,’’ Jake Butt said. “I welcome them all. I welcome new, I welcome old. It’s all about the expansion of the Butt Army. We want to make somebody feel involved. We’re really growing in numbers daily and it’s an extreme movement right now. It’s building so much momentum that I really don’t see it slowing down. We’re having a lot of fun.’’

The addition of Butt, the type of tight end who is consistently capable of hurting defenses with the intermediate route, rookie receiver Courtland Sutton and speed rookie Phillip Lindsay are big reasons why the Broncos’ offense has opened up this year. Oh, and quarterback Case Keenum, too.

“It’s been awesome. It’s been awesome really for everybody on offense,’’ Butt said of Keenum. “Just his leadership and the command he has in huddle, pre-snap, post-snap.

“And just seeing his resiliency. His commitment to battling to the very last snap. With our backs against the wall last week – we didn’t do much in the first half and we come down on score four straight drives. Every time we touch the ball in the second half we score when we needed it most. He’s really been a big addition for us.’’

Although Butt has overcome much – his knee injury in his senior season bowl game at Michigan, his subsequent fall in the 2017 NFL draft from second round to fifth and sitting out his rookie season – to enjoy early success as the Broncos’ 1B tight end behind Jeff Heuerman, he admits he has a ways to go.

Namely, the next step from “receiver” tight end who blocks some of the time to starting, in-line, No. 1 tight end who would block most of the time.

“Yeah, absolutely, he can get there,’’ Heuerman said. “Jake’s a helluva player. I think our combination works really well together. He creates a lot of mismatches for defenses.’’

Tight end is the one position that fantasy players have all wrong. In fantasy leagues, Butt is the Broncos’ No. 1 tight end. In real life NFL, Heuerman is No. 1. Can Butt expand his game to become the No. 1 tight end?