Everyone loves a good comeback/underdog story, and a good one could be brewing in the Mile High City this offseason with the Denver Broncos.

Denver DT Matt Henningsen is a name that many Broncos fans recall. He was a sixth-round pick by the team back in the 2022 NFL Draft out of of Wisconsin. He had a solid training camp that fall and earned a spot on the Broncos’ 53-man roster after the preseason.

He stuck with the team in 2022-23, where he appeared in all 34 games with 40 tackles, 2.0 tackles for loss and a sack. He failed to make the 53-man roster for 2024 and was signed to Denver’s practice squad.

But it was during the 2025 preseason where disaster struck for Henningsen. During a joint practice with San Francisco, he suffered a torn Achilles, which ended his season.

Now, Henningsen is back working with Denver again in the offseason, and while the odds aren’t great he fights his way back onto the 53-man roster, he’s making quite the case for it.

ESPN put out their list of surprise offseason players for each team, and Henningsen got the nod for the Broncos.

ESPN names DL Matt Henningsen as surprise offseason payer for the Denver Broncos

“It’s going to be difficult for Henningsen to earn a roster spot when training camp breaks this summer, but the sixth-round pick from the 2022 draft has flashed repeatedly in offseason work,” wrote ESPN’s Jeff Legwold. “That included a pass he tipped to himself for an interception in an 11-on-11 period in a minicamp practice and a return that would have been a touchdown. Henningsen suffered a torn Achilles in a joint practice with the 49ers in August and spent the season on injured reserve. If the Broncos keep five or six defensive linemen when the roster is cut to 53 in the preseason, it makes it a tight fit for him, but he has done his part so far. Coach Sean Payton said during minicamp: ‘He does a great job of seeing those screens or underneath throws. He’s doing really well. He’s exceptionally smart.”’

The real work begins in July, when the Broncos and the rest of the league reports to training camp, the pads come on, and the real evaluations begin. But it was a terrific first step for Henningsen to be able to return to the field and show he can move well enough to earn the praise of his head coach and turn some heads on the field.

We’ll find out in about a month of Henningsen can find his way back into the picture for making the Broncos roster again three years later. In any event, he’ll be someone Denver fans should be able to easily root for over the next two months.