ENGLEWOOD, Colo. -- It didn't light up the NFL's transaction wire or show up on the bottom line scroll.

But on Oct. 20, 2017, the Denver Broncos added wide receiver Tim Patrick to their practice squad, just to take a look at a guy who had been waived by two other teams in the previous five months.

Four seasons later, Patrick has gone from a prospect the Broncos liked to a special teams standout to a full-blown, front-line player in the Broncos' offense. He's reliable, productive, tough and still ascending.

"I think Tim is a really good receiver -- I always have," said Broncos coach Vic Fangio. "... Tim's a damn good NFL receiver."

Baltimore Ravens coach John Harbaugh, whose team will face the Broncos on Sunday (4:25 p.m. ET, CBS), had Patrick as an undrafted rookie during his team's offseason program in 2017. He had hoped the Ravens could hang on to Patrick but they waived him in late July. Patrick was claimed by the San Francisco 49ers for training camp but was waived again before the start of the regular season.

"He was one of my favorite guys in camp that year, I thought we had a guy," Harbaugh said. "We were unable to hold on to him, unfortunately, we wanted to, I wanted to for sure, we all did, but weren't able to with the situation the way it was with our roster at the time. Big physical guy, really showed up on special teams first that's where you saw what he was about. That personality as a player has carried over to him as a wide receiver ... [he] makes a lot of contested catches."

Patrick has often said "a different, unique upbringing" shaped his view of the world and football's place in it for him. His father spent 15 years in jail, his mother was also incarcerated at times and Patrick has said his grandmother, Ruth Patrick, shaped him.

He also suffered a fractured leg during his college career at Utah that was so serious it kept him off the field for 18 months. He missed three games during his final year with the Utes because of another injury. He did not receive an NFL combine invite, went undrafted and was "always battling to stay with a team," he said.

"In college, I think almost every defense I played all their DBs got drafted," Patrick said. "And I'm all of their bad tape so I always had the confidence it was just -- I just needed an opportunity."

Asked if he still liked to make bad tapes for defenses, he said, "Hell yeah -- on the DBs."

This season, Courtland Sutton, who missed all but two games after tearing the ACL in his left knee during Week 2 of 2020, has returned to the Broncos' offense with authority. Sutton leads the Broncos in targets (20), receptions (15) and had a career-best 159 yards receiving in a Week 2 win over Jacksonville. He's clearly the Broncos' WR1 at the moment.

But Jerry Jeudy's right ankle injury in the season opener changes the dynamic at receiver for the Broncos. And it provides another chance for Patrick to force folks to take notice, something he's done since turning heads on the scout team. He was asked if people would ever stop thinking of him as a surprise.

"Probably not -- honestly probably not, but I like it that way," Patrick said. "... I'm never going to get viewed as that guy just because I wasn't drafted so they think my ceiling isn't high, but I'm a different type of undrafted guy so my ceiling is pretty high."

Patrick has turned 13 targets into 12 receptions and two touchdowns this season, winning 50-50 balls as if the odds should be listed much better. Last season, when Sutton was injured and Jeudy, at times, struggled with drops, it was Patrick who led the team in receiving yards (856) and receiving touchdowns (six).

"Tim has consistently just put the work in, to see something that needs attention in his game and give it attention," Broncos wide receivers coach Zach Azzanni said. "Details, always with the details, and when he goes to get the ball he wants the ball to be his."

Since Patrick came off injured reserve in Week 10 of the 2018 season he has 79 catches and eight touchdowns over 22 games -- the most receptions and touchdowns among the Broncos wide receivers during that span.

Patrick is scheduled to be an unrestricted free agent in the coming offseason and eventually will be on the Broncos' list of decisions that will also include Sutton.

"This year, it's not about having a big season for me," Patrick said. "I just want to make sure we're winning games. I don't like calling it roles, but I like calling myself a team player, so whatever I need to do to help this team win -- from blocking, special teams to catching -- I plan on doing it on Sundays. Hopefully, that leads to wins."