How Cherry Creek product Gunnar Helm made a ‘dream come true’ by interviewing with Broncos

INDIANAPOLIS — Gunnar Helm wanted to make it clear: Every one of the formal interviews he had with NFL teams at the Scouting Combine was meaningful.

But with the Denver Broncos, it was a little different.

Helm grew up rooting for the Broncos. He played his high-school ball at Cherry Creek, where his head coach, Dave Logan, also serves as the Broncos’ longtime radio voice.

“It was a dream come true, obviously,” Helm said Thursday.

“I talked to Coach Sean Payton, GM George Paton, a lot of guys like that [I] would never envision myself being that close and talking to them just about football. But, it goes back to — just dream big. Because if you work at it, if you want to achieve it, you know, if you’re bold enough to say it, then you’re bold enough to do it.”

Dreaming big has always been part and parcel of life for Helm.

“So, from a young age, I told people that I wanted to play in the National Football League,” he said.

It was a stellar 2024 season at Texas which allowed Helm, an alumnus of Cherry Creek High School, to make his NFL dreams come true. He racked up 786 yards and 7 touchdowns on 60 catches to burst onto the national radar — tallies that seemed unfathomable earlier when he caught just 19 passes over 39 games in his first three seasons.

In 2022 and 2023, Helm lingered behind Ja’Tavion Sanders on the Longhorns’ depth chart. Sanders moved on to the NFL as a fourth-round pick of Carolina, and an opportunity arose.

That led to an offseason meeting with Texas assistant head coach Jeff Banks, who also guides the team’s tight ends. Helm’s dream was still alive — but if he was going to achieve it, he needed to surge in his senior season.

“[Banks] told me, ‘The reason that you were behind JT was because he was better in the vertical passing game. You need to get better in the vertical passing game, you need to get better. You need to perfect the Y route tree.’ That was my role in the years prior,” Helm recalled.

Then, it was time to work — and start acting like the pro that he wanted to become.

“So, I immediately met with Coach (Torre) Becton, did some extra things with Coach Becton, worked on explosiveness, did some extra throwing with Quinn (Ewers), got on the JUGS, got on the sled, got the young guys on the sled, really just trying to expose them to what it’s like to prepare for every game like a professional, putting myself in the shoes of professionals, acting like a professional, getting eight hours of sleep, getting my recovery, doing all that,” Helm said.

 

View on Threads

 

“I think just preparing like a pro really set me up really well for the field and to be a leader in this offense and ultimately on this team.”

From there, Helm flourished. His dream is at the brink of becoming reality, and based on his likely draft range — Day 2 of the draft as part of one of the best tight-end classes in recent memory — he is likely to receive immediate playing time.

Seven teams interviewed Helm, he confirmed: the Bears, Bengals, Broncos, Buccaneers, Eagles, Jets and Rams.

“Every team that I met with formally, the chemistry was absolutely there and felt super comfortable from the jump,” Helm said.

And then there were the Broncos. In this draft cycle, tight end appears to be high on their priority list. Helm was one of five tight ends to confirm having formal interviews with the team at the Combine.

Helm isn’t even the only local tight end to interview with them; Heritage High School alumnus Terrance Ferguson also had a formal chat with the Broncos this week.

“Yeah, I mean, growing up as a Colorado kid … I took that trip down I-25 or up I-25 down to — it was Invesco then Sports Authority, so, it’s had a couple of names,” he said. “But … it always lingers in the back of my mind. That was the dream back in the day.

“It’s obviously shifted a little bit just to get to the National Football League. Play in the National Football League. Thrive in the National Football League.”

Now the only question for Helm is this: Will he be a hometown hero in the NFL?