ENGLEWOOD, Colo. — The Denver Broncos have selected wide receiver KJ Hamler as their 2022 Ed Block Courage Award winner, it was announced in a team meeting on Friday.
Each year, the Ed Block Courage Award honors players who exemplify commitments to the principles of sportsmanship and courage.
Hamler battled through an extremely challenging rehab process following an ACL and hip injury that he suffered in a Week 3 game against the Jets in 2021. After missing the rest of the season, he spent a major portion of the offseason rehabbing.
"It's been a tough journey, to be honest," Hamler said in August. "There was such much stuff I was dealing with and being piled up on top of each other. At one point, just dealing with the ACL and then some more things [with] family situations. The love of my life passed — my grandmother — so that was the toughest thing. That was on my back for a while. I wish I never did it by myself. I wish I would have asked for help, because it was at one point in my life—and I'm going to just be honest with you all because I'm more vulnerable and more confident in myself by just saying it — at one point, I didn't want to be here. … God gave me the strength to just get out of that hole because he knew I was strong enough to get through [it]. I didn't feel like I was at the time. Just getting out of that hole was very hard, very tough. Just having all of these things going on and piling on top of each other, it was a hard process. Just to see where I am at from where I started and where I'm at now, [it's] been a big change. I'm proud of myself and I know my grandmother is proud."
In 2022, Hamler was the Broncos' top deep threat when he was on the field. He caught seven passes for 165 yards. Among players with at least five receptions this season, Hamler currently ranks third in the NFL with 23.6 yards per catch.
Selected by the Broncos with the 46th-overall pick in the second round of the 2020 NFL Draft, Hamler has recorded 42 career receptions for 620 yards (14.8 average) and three touchdowns.
The Ed Block Courage Award is named in honor of Ed Block, the longtime head athletic trainer of the Baltimore Colts, who was a pioneer in his profession and a respected humanitarian. Recipients are selected by their teammates for exceptional courage, great character and inspiring effort.
ALL-TIME DENVER BRONCOS ED BLOCK COURAGE AWARD WINNERS
| Year | Player |
|---|---|
| 1984 | Keith Bishop |
| 1985 | Rulon Jones |
| 1986 | Rubin Carter |
| 1987 | Dennis Smith |
| 1988 | Gerald Wilhite |
| 1989 | Rick Dennison |
| 1990 | Keith Kartz |
| 1991 | John Elway |
| 1992 | Dennis Smith |
| 1993 | Simon Fletcher |
| 1994 | Rondel Jones |
| 1995 | Dave Wyman |
| 1996 | Ed McCaffrey |
| 1997 | Steve Atwater |
| 1998 | Tony Jones |
| 1999 | Rod Smith |
| 2000 | John Mobley |
| 2001 | Terrell Davis |
| 2002 | Keith Burns |
| 2003 | Tom Nalen |
| 2004 | Dan Neil |
| 2005 | Dwayne Carswell |
| 2006 | Louis Green |
| 2007 | John Engelberger |
| 2008 | Marquand Manuel |
| 2009 | Brian Dawkins |
| 2010 | Ryan Clady |
| 2011 | Elvis Dumervil |
| 2012 | Chris Kuper |
| 2013 | Knowshon Moreno |
| 2014 | Chris Harris Jr. |
| 2015 | Brandon Marshall/Danny Trevathan |
| 2016 | Matt Paradis |
| 2017 | Todd Davis |
| 2018 | Jeff Heuerman |
| 2019 | Andy Janovich |
| 2020 | Bradley Chubb |
| 2021 | Courtland Sutton |
| 2022 | KJ Hamler |
