Kahlee Jacoby Hamler (born July 8, 1999) is an

American football American football (referred to simply as football in the United States and Canada), also known as gridiron, is a team sport played by two teams of eleven players on a rectangular field with goalposts at each end. The offense, the team with ...

wide receiver for the

Denver Broncos The Denver Broncos are a professional American football franchise based in Denver. The Broncos compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the league's American Football Conference (AFC) West division. The team is headquart ...

of the

National Football League The National Football League (NFL) is a professional American football league that consists of 32 teams, divided equally between the American Football Conference (AFC) and the National Football Conference (NFC). The NFL is one of the ...

(NFL). He played

college football College football (french: Football universitaire) refers to gridiron football played by teams of student athletes. It was through college football play that American football rules first gained popularity in the United States. Unlike most ...

Penn State #Redirect Pennsylvania State University The Pennsylvania State University (Penn State or PSU) is a Public university, public Commonwealth System of Higher Education, state-related Land-grant university, land-grant research university with campu ...

Early years

Hamler moved from his hometown,

Pontiac, Michigan Pontiac ( ') is a city in and the county seat of Oakland County in the U.S. state of Michigan. As of the 2020 census, the city had a total population of 61,606. A northern suburb of Metro Detroit, Pontiac is about northwest of Detroit. Founde ...

, to Florida to play his final year of high school football as a senior at

IMG Academy IMG Academy is a preparatory boarding school and sports training destination in Bradenton, Florida, United States. IMG Academy is set across over 600 acres and features programs consisting of sport camps for youth athletes, adult camps, a board ...

. Before his first career game at IMG Academy, he tore his ACL. Prior to transferring to IMG Academy, Hamler was a two year letterman at

St. Mary's Preparatory St. Mary's Preparatory is a co-educational, Catholic, college preparatory high school with a Polish-American heritage in the Detroit suburb of Orchard Lake Village, Michigan. Its mission and message is "1. God; 2. Family; 3. St. Mary's." Overvie ...

School in Orchard Lake, Michigan. He was rated as a four-star prospect by ESPN, Rivals and Scout and a three star prospect by 247Sports. He also ran track for two seasons.

College career

Freshman year

Hamler redshirted as a freshman at Penn State due to suffering a torn ACL the previous year.

Redshirt freshman year

In the first game of his collegiate career against

Appalachian State Appalachian State University (; Appalachian, App State, App, or ASU) is a public university in Boone, North Carolina. It was founded as a teachers college in 1899 by brothers B. B. and D. D. Dougherty and the latter's wife, Lillie Shull Dough ...

, Hamler returned a kickoff 52 yards with less than two minutes on the clock to help spark Penn State's game-tying drive. He capped the drive off with a 15-yard touchdown reception with under a minute remaining, ending the game with 3 catches for 67 yards and a TD. Against Ohio State, Hamler was awarded Big Ten Freshman of the Week honors after recording four receptions for 138 yards, including a 93-yard touchdown. Through five games, Hamler recorded 13 receptions for 308 yards and four touchdowns in his first season as a collegiate athlete.

Redshirt sophomore year

In the 2019 season, Hamler recorded 56 receptions for 904 receiving yards and eight receiving touchdowns.

Professional career

Hamler was selected by the

with the 46th overall pick in the second round of the

2020 NFL Draft The 2020 NFL Draft was the 85th annual meeting of National Football League (NFL) franchises to select newly eligible players for the 2020 NFL season. The first round was held on April 23, followed by the second and third rounds on April 24. The d ...

2020 season

In Week 2, Hamler made his NFL debut and recorded three receptions for 48 receiving yards in a 26–21 loss to the

Pittsburgh Steelers The Pittsburgh Steelers are a professional American football team based in Pittsburgh. The Steelers compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the American Football Conference (AFC) North division. Founded in , the Steel ...

. In Week 8 against the

Los Angeles Chargers The Los Angeles Chargers are a professional American football team based in the Los Angeles metropolitan area. The Chargers compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the American Football Conference (AFC) West division, and ...

, Hamler recorded his first career touchdown catch with no time remaining on the clock to help the Broncos win the game 31–30. In Week 14 against the

Carolina Panthers The Carolina Panthers are a professional American football team based in Charlotte, North Carolina. The Panthers compete in the National Football League (NFL), as a member club of the league's National Football Conference (NFC) South division. T ...

, Hamler recorded two receptions for 86 yards and two touchdowns during the 32–27 victory. On January 2, 2021, Hamler was placed on injured reserve due to a hamstring injury. He finished his rookie season with 30 catches for 381 yards and three touchdowns.

2021 season

Trying to shake off the hamstring issues that plagued his rookie season, Hamler began training camp of his sophomore season in a crowded receiving corps. He shone early in preseason, catching a touchdown from

Drew Lock Andrew Stephen Lock (born November 10, 1996) is an American football quarterback for the Seattle Seahawks of the National Football League (NFL). He played college football at Missouri and was drafted by the Denver Broncos in the second round ...

during the Broncos' first preseason game against the

Minnesota Vikings The Minnesota Vikings are a professional American football team based in Minneapolis. They compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the National Football Conference (NFC) North division. Founded in 1960 as an expansion ...

. He suffered a torn ACL in Week 3 and was placed on season-ending injured reserve on September 28, 2021.

2022 season

On December 3, 2022, Hamler was placed on injured reserve with a hamstring injury.

References

External links

Denver Broncos bioPenn State Nittany Lions bio
{{DEFAULTSORT:Hamler, K. J. 1999 births Living people Sportspeople from Pontiac, Michigan Players of American football from Michigan IMG Academy alumni American football wide receivers Penn State Nittany Lions football players Denver Broncos players Ed Block Courage Award recipients