INDIANAPOLIS – Luke McCaffrey has a saying he regularly rolls out in interviews. 

“I have a quote that I love and it’s, ‘They’re the biggest blessing I ever had that I never earned,’’’ he said Friday at the NFL scouting combine. 

McCaffrey, a Rice wide receiver, is the son of former Broncos receiver Ed McCaffrey and has three older brothers to have played football, the most successful being San Francisco 49ers star running back Christian McCaffrey. The other two are Max McCaffrey, a former NFL receiver with several teams who is now a Miami Dolphins offensive assistant, and Dylan McCaffrey, a former Michigan and Northern Colorado quarterback. 

Now, Luke McCaffrey, a native of Highlands Ranch from Valor Christian High School, is carving out his own niche. After having 71 receptions for 992 yards last season for the Owls, he was rated by NFLDraftScout.com entering the combine as the 20th-best receiver for the April 25-27 draft and projected to be a third- or fourth-round pick. He said he has talked to Broncos officials. 

So, is there any pressure on Luke to continue to make his mark in football as the youngest of Ed’s four sons? 

“When it comes to added pressure, I have so much fun doing this that I don’t know if pressure would ever be the right word,’’ he said. 

You better believe McCaffrey is having fun at the combine. He is eagerly awaiting taking the field for drills Saturday at Lucas Oil Stadium. 

“It’s a blast,” he said. “The combine is such a unique experience because, while you’re not exactly playing football, you get to bring everybody out there and have them compete in the exact same drills on the exact same day.” 

The drills will play a role in when McCaffrey is drafted. But he is shrugging off all speculation heading into the event. 

“I’ve heard everything,’’ he said. “I’ve heard literally every single round from the second to undrafted, and so I don’t like to speculate on that. I’m living in the moment right now.” 

The moment now is for McCaffrey as a receiver. He first was a backup quarterback at Nebraska from 2019-20 and saw some action at running back. He transferred briefly to Louisville and then went to Rice for the past three seasons. 

With the Owls, McCaffrey initially was a quarterback but didn’t become a regular starter. When he looked to change positions, he said there also were thoughts of being a free safety before he settled at receiver. He was an instant success, having 58 receptions catches for 723 yards in 2022 before beefing up his numbers even more in 2023. 

“I get that question quite a bit, and I don’t know if I ever could see a world in which I didn’t follow the path that I did,’’ McCaffrey said when asked if he wished he had committed earlier to being a receiver. 

So now McCaffrey is playing the same position as his father, who won a Super Bowl ring with the 49ers and two with Denver. He starred with the Broncos from 1995-2003, a stint that included three 1,000-yard receiving seasons. 

“He’s helped a lot,’’ Luke said of his father. “He’s so good about never forcing anything upon us but he always gives (his sons) the opportunity to ask him and come to him with questions, and he’s been so supportive.” 

Ed McCaffrey was a third-round pick by the Giants in 1991, going No. 83 overall. Luke has a chance to be selected higher. 

Weaver’s ‘big move’ 

Wide receiver Zay Weaver said he wouldn’t be at the combine had he not transferred to Colorado last year for his final season of college eligibility. 

Weaver with South Florida had seasons of 41 catches for 715 yards in 2021 and 53 receptions for 718 yards in 2022. But he really broke lose in 2023 for the Buffaloes, having 68 catches for 908 yards. 

“It definitely paid off a lot,’’ Weaver said. “I feel like if I didn’t go (to Colorado), I probably wouldn’t be on the stage right now where I’m at. I showed a lot of what I can do on the big stage. I feel like it definitely was a big move for me.” 

Weaver is projected by NFLDraftScout.com to be a sixth-round pick. He said he hasn’t had any communication yet with the Broncos heading into the draft. 

For now, he’s happy to be able to show his stuff to all NFL teams. 

“It’s a blessing,’’ Weaver said of being at the combine. “I can’t complain. I’ve worked my whole life for this.” 

The receiver was known as Xavier when he played for the Buffaloes but is now going by Zay. 

“I’ve been called Zay my whole life,’’ he said. “Since I was young, my pops and my mom, they all called me Zay. All my friends called me Zay.” 

Uwazurike to be cleared 

Criminal charges in Iowa in a sports wagering case against suspended Broncos defensive lineman and former Iowa State star Eyioma Uwazurike are in line to be dropped. 

In a motion filed Friday in Story County District Court, assistant county attorney Benjamin Matchan wrote that the Iowa Division of Criminal Investigation exceeded the scope of permitted use of tracking software that detected open mobile betting apps on Uwazurike and three other athletes from Iowa State at the school’s athletic facilities. Felony charges are expected to be dropped against all four athletes. 

Uwazurike was a fourth-round pick in 2022 who played in eight Denver games as a rookie, starting one. He was suspended by the NFL indefinitely last July for betting on NFL games in the 2022 season. He can apply for reinstatement this July and plans to do so.