ARNIE STAPLETON
AP Pro Football Writer
ENGLEWOOD, Colo. (AP) — Cody Latimer is already a good fit in Denver and he has yet to suit up in orange and blue. Well, blue at least.
The Indiana wide receiver arrived at team headquarters Saturday sporting a crisp orange dress shirt, white pants and orange leather dress shoes.
No surprise there — except that he didn’t race out on a midnight shopping run in Manhattan after the Broncos selected him in the second round of the NFL draft Friday night.
“If there was ever a guy that was meant to be a Bronco, it was Cody, because he had those shoes and this shirt in his bag in New York and came straight here,” general manager John Elway said. “So you know he was meant to be a Bronco.”
Latimer said the outfit was the same one he wore to his senior prom at Jefferson Township High School in Dayton, Ohio, in 2011.
“It happened to work out perfectly,” Latimer said, adding. “It actually has a white vest, but I wasn’t going to be too dressy. I had to be comfortable today.”
Latimer was comfy at Radio City Music Hall on Friday night, donning a white T-shirt and brown sweater for his photo with NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell and former Broncos halfback Gene Mingo, who announced the pick.
“I wanted to be comfortable in that green room because I had been sweating bullets in that suit” during the first round Thursday night, he said.
Latimer joins a stacked receiving corps that helped Peyton Manning set an NFL record with 55 TD throws last season. Eric Decker left for the Jets in free agency and Emmanuel Sanders arrived from Pittsburgh.
At a shade under 6-foot-3 and 215 pounds, Latimer has an uncommon mix of size, speed and strength in the mold of Denver’s No. 1 receiver, Demaryius Thomas, but his blocking skills are more in the mold of Decker, who helped free his fellow pass-catchers on pick plays.
Latimer also is known for his sure hands, something he attributes to his background on the basketball court, where he was a power forward. He said his physical play in the post also led to his aggressive nature on the football field.
“He’s a guy that as you can tell has great size, great demeanor and is going to be a tremendous help and bring great competition to the wide receiver spot,” Elway said. “We plan on him doing great things for us.”
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