Tight end Jeff Heuerman has been waiting for this moment for more than 16 months. He’s spent the bulk of that time in the training room and with his head buried in the playbook.

From the time the Broncos drafted Heuerman from Ohio State in the third round a year ago, he has been touted for his athleticism and potential. But after a season-ending knee injury last year and a string of minor injuries (hamstring and, most recently, an ankle) since then, his NFL debut has been delayed, until now. He’s expected to play Sunday at Cincinnati.

“It was a little bit frustrating,” Heuerman said, “but I’m feeling good now and I’m ready to get out there this weekend.”

Broncos coach Gary Kubiak, known to favor tight ends in his zone-blocking scheme, has lacked depth at the position since taking over in 2015. And this season is no different.

While Virgil Green has been a pleasant surprise, morphing into a receiving threat after long being viewed as a blocking specialist, Heuerman’s struggle to stay healthy has thinned the ranks. His long recovery has limited him to one preseason catch for 6 yards. He was inactive for the Broncos’ first two games.

Kubiak has used multiple-tight end formations over the years to give defenses different looks, but with Green rehabbing from a calf strain (he is listed day-to-day), Kubiak’s options are limited.

“We had a point in time in Houston where we had a package where we would put three tight ends on the field, one wide receiver and one running back and we could run our whole offense out of it,” said Joel Dreessen, a former Broncos and Texans tight end who played under Kubiak in Houston from 2007-11. “We would line up everybody tight, and then we’d shift to empty and we really liked that because of the matchups that it gave us. We had Owen (Daniels), myself, Garrett Graham, James Casey. We would go to this package and we made a lot of yards, whether it was the running game, play-action pass or drop-back pass. I think Coach Kubiak would like to get to that if he had enough bodies at tight end.”

Through the first two games, the Broncos have used two-tight-end sets only five times, the second-fewest in the NFL. They’ve used three tight-end sets only twice, to rank 23rd. In seven of his nine seasons with the Texans and Baltimore Ravens, Kubiak’s teams ranked in the top 12 in both categories.

Getting more production out of the tight end group remains a focus, but a return to full health is now a priority.

“I’m confident in Jeff. He’s a good kid, he works hard, he’s very bright, he knows what he’s doing,” Kubiak said. “This happens sometimes to young players. It seems like every time he takes a step forward, he takes two back. I know it’s tough on him, but I’ve seen guys jump out of it and go, so I’m ready for Jeff to do that.”

Tight end game

Gary Kubiak’s offense has typically called for multiple-tight-end formations. But the lack of depth at the position since he returned to Denver in 2015 has limited his options. A breakdown of Kubiak’s two-tight-end, and three-tight-end plays over the past 10 years, from Houston to Baltimore and Denver.