The Denver Broncos selected NC State defensive end Bradley Chubb fifth overall during the first round of Thursday’s NFL Draft from AT&T Stadium in Texas. But instead of having NFL commissioner Roger Goodell read the pick, someone very special did the honors for the Broncos: Austin Denton, a 17-year-old who has survived cancer.
Watch Broncos fan and cancer survivor Austin Denton announce Bradley Chubb as Denver’s 1st-round pick
He has a special relationship with the team.
Denton visited the Broncos in 2016 as CBS’ The NFL Today correspondent. Here he was on NFL Network talking about how excited he is for the opportunity on Thursday:
The arrangement was made with a partnership between St. Jude’s Children’s Hospital and the Broncos:
The arrangement for Denton to participate was a “work in progress” since last month, he said. Patients from St. Jude’s Children’s Hospital in Memphis, Tennessee, typically get an opportunity to participate, but on one of the latter days and later rounds. Denton is a survivor of a rare form of spinal cord cancer at age 2, and has had to spend most of his life confined to a wheelchair. He remains a patient at St. Jude’s, for yearly checkups.
But then the Broncos got involved, and a trade up, as it were, to the glitz and glamour of the first round means Denton will be announcing the fifth overall pick, assuming the Broncos keep it.
Denton’s relationship with the Broncos is special. Ahead of Super Bowl 50, he got to sit down and interview Peyton Manning one-on-one, and was on-hand for media day ahead of the game.
Denton started his broadcasting career when he was in high school in New Mexico.
”The more he’s learning, the more valuable he’s gotten,” KQTM 101.7 FM play-by-play announcer Scott Galetti said via MaxPreps. “I’ve known him for seven years and he’s very bright. He’s done a bang-up job. He’s had a passion for a long time. I was ecstatic (when asked if Austin could join the broadcast team). He pays attention and is willing to learn. He’s a sponge. He’s a hit with the coaches. One of the things we hear coaches say: ‘Wow, you really did your homework.’”
This actually isn’t the first time Denver’s done something wonderful like this. In 2016, 16-year-old leukemia survivor Daniel Hailpern announced the Broncos’ first-round pick.
Thursday night was definitely a memorable one for both Denton and the Broncos.
See More:
