ENGLEWOOD, Colo. -- It would be easy for Cody Latimer to say he remembers every snap of his rookie season with the Denver Broncos like it was yesterday.

And it wouldn't be because the receiver has Peyton Manning-like recall of football drives from two decades ago. It's because when it comes to snaps in Latimer's 2014 season, there weren't many.

Latimer played just 37 snaps on offense in 2014 -- totaling two receptions in eight games. Not exactly what he, or the Broncos, expected when he was reeling in pass after pass over one frustrated defensive back during last season's training camp.

"But this time is different," Latimer said. " ... Way different."

When Gary Kubiak was hired as Broncos coach this past January, one of the first players Kubiak said he wanted to see play more in the coming season was Latimer. With Julius Thomas moving to Jacksonville in free agency and Wes Welker gone, the Broncos will put Latimer in a position to fix what went wrong.

Latimer said the first step was to simply own up to what happened. Asked if he got frustrated last season, Latimer said: "A little bit, of course, it was a down time. I'm like 'man I can go out there and make these plays and help the team,' but I wasn't on path, I wasn't focused. It's why I had to regroup myself and come back this year stronger."

And when he said "regroup," Latimer said it was simply about finding a way to calm himself, to get past a rookie season when he looked to be going one way on plays when the Broncos wanted him to go another.

For all of the athleticism and playmaking potential Latimer showed in camp last summer, the regular season brought indecision and frustration. Perhaps no play exemplified the situation more than an incompletion in the regular-season finale against the Oakland Raiders.

Latimer was lined up against man coverage on the left sideline and, as result, was Manning's first read. Manning quickly threw to Latimer's back shoulder, but Latimer was running up the sideline without looking for the ball.

"I just needed to have confidence in myself," Latimer said. "Last year I was down, I was always nervous of getting in the huddle with Peyton and not wanting to mess up. This year it's just like go out there and play fast, if you mess up you mess up, as long as you're playing fast and keep playing fast."

The expectations for Latimer were clear early in the offseason when Manning invited him to the workouts at Duke University that included wide receiver Emmanuel Sanders and tight end Owen Daniels. There Latimer got an introduction to the new playbook. Daniels has played in an offense with Kubiak as a playcaller in all nine of his previous NFL seasons.

Latimer arrived to training camp with confidence. And through the first 10 days, Latimer also got plenty of work as Demaryius Thomas was being eased into things after missing the offseason program while Sanders missed some practice time with a hamstring injury.

"We kind of monitor how much our players run, [strength coach] Luke [Richesson] has got a little program and that kid has run more than anybody on this football team -- he runs a lot," Kubiak said Friday. "So, he's wore down. ... When he's fresh in practice, you can watch him, things are good, things are sharp."

Latimer figures to get plenty of work in the coming preseason games as well -- the Broncos' preseason opener is Friday in Seattle -- as part of a group of the team's younger players Kubiak wants to see function in a game setting.

"Cody is like some of the younger guys, we know what they can do on the practice field, we've seen them out here," Kubiak said. "I want to see those guys in games now, see what they can do. Cody is one of those guys."

"I feel like I'm in a great place right now," Latimer said. " ... There are still a lot of things that I do need to work on, but as of right now, in my position this year, compared to last, I'm way ahead."