Days after the Broncos’ season-finale loss to the Chargers last December, Brendan Langley rushed into team headquarters and requested a meeting with general manager John Elway.

When told Elway wasn’t taking meetings that day, he pleaded: “I have to do this. Just give me five minutes.”

A 2017 third-round selection as a cornerback, Langley wanted to make the switch to wide receiver. The idea to bring it up to Elway had been on his mind for almost a month. But when he was granted his meeting request, Elway’s reaction came as a surprise.

“I was gonna ask you the same thing,” Langley recalled Elway saying, a grin stretched across the Hall-of-Famer’s face.

Weeks later, Langley was off to Los Angeles to work with trainer Steve Calhoun, who also trains Pro Bowl receiver Keenan Allen.

“I was just running routes, man,” Langley said of his time in L.A. “… Just got back to the basics, pulled out the cones, all that type of stuff. And here’s somewhat of the finished product.”

First Day Back 😈 Im Reloaded pic.twitter.com/e5rBvVsZgy — brendan langley (@trllang) April 2, 2019

He’s now ready to show the Broncos why he deserves to make the 53-man roster. For Langley, the switch to wide receiver wasn’t anything foreign. He played the position, along with cornerback and returner, at high school in Marietta, Ga. His performance in Denver’s preseason-opening win against Atlanta on Thursday night in the Hall of Fame Game, however, suggests there’s still some rust he needs to shake off.

The 6-foot, 181-pounder returned the game’s opening kickoff for 26 yards, then later in the first quarter, he had an eight-yard reception in the red zone that helped set up the Broncos’ first touchdown. But minutes later, he muffed a punt that resulted in a turnover.

As a player on the roster bubble, Langley will need to prove his value in the return game to make the team. He has starred on special teams before, though. Langley was a first-team All-Southland Conference selection as a defensive back and punt returner as a senior at Division I FCS Lamar University.

Highly coveted out of high school, Langley chose to play at the University of Georgia, where he started the first four games of his true freshman season at cornerback in 2013. After his playing time decreased the rest of the season, he converted to receiver as a sophomore but never played a game. So, he transferred to Lamar, where he switched back to defense.

The Broncos drafted him to play cornerback, but Langley struggled on the defensive side of the ball. He appeared in 11 games as a rookie, mostly on special teams, and got his first big chance in Week 12 at Oakland but did not play well.

“It was so fast. Everything was moving so fast for me,” he said of his rookie season. “And it was a learning curve. In college, I played like Cover 3 and Cover 1, a little bit of Cover 2. That was it. I never knew anything about combo coverages, match underneaths, two-high looks … So, I had to learn the system, which wasn’t all that easy.”

Then, at the start of the 2018 season, the Broncos cut Langley and signed him to the practice squad before the season started. He joined the active roster in late November and played in five games on special teams. However, it was the time he spent with the scout team — where he played receiver — that reinvigorated his career.

“I was on scout team on p-squad, and I was killing folks,” Langley said. “… Nobody was really telling me (I was doing great). You would get the occasional ‘oohs’ and ‘ahs.’ But I knew I was killing ‘em. I didn’t need no reassurance.”

https://www.instagram.com/p/BwdV6oYFsvl/

His performance inspired him to ask for a position change. But competing for a roster spot as a wideout is every bit as difficult as it was on defense. Veteran Emmanuel Sanders and second-year wide receivers Courtland Sutton and DeaSean Hamilton are locks. Tim Patrick is also a safe bet to make the cut. And in this year’s draft, Denver snagged Colorado product Juwann Winfree, who grabbed the game-winning touchdown in Thursday’s Hall of Fame Game.

Still, Langley may have a shot if the Broncos opt to keep six receivers. Undrafted rookie Trinity Benson and third-year receiver River Cracraft, who appeared in eight games last season, are also in the mix.

“He played defense, so he can probably be a better route-runner than a lot of us because he can notice things like that,” Patrick said. “At this point, it’s just reps, reps, reps. He can go out there and practice it, but it’s different when you’re going against a defense. The more reps he gets, the better he’s gonna get.” Related Articles Broncos Briefs: Phillip Lindsay doubtful to play Sunday, but progressing from toe injury

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The 24-year-old’s speed is a huge asset, as is his athleticism, but head coach Vic Fangio challenged Langley to “become a football player” following a minicamp practice in June. Offensive coordinator Rich Scangarello and wide receivers coach Zach Azzani have been working with Langley, attempting to convert raw potential to tangible production.

“Brendan is a guy that’s got a trait,” Scangarello said. “He’s fast … and speed is important in an offense. We are just trying to incorporate that with his skill-set. We are trying to let guys do what they do best. (We’re) trying to help him show what he can do to help the offense, and I think he has done a great job with that.”

Langley’s blend of persistence and confidence is why he has a chance to make the Broncos’ 53-man roster. When he didn’t see the field at Georgia, he found somewhere else to play; when he was cut last fall, he made the most of his role on the scout team.

He’s never accepted ‘no’ for an answer, not even when told his general manager was too busy to meet.

“He gave me my five minutes,” Langley said. “And the rest is history.”