Kenny McKinley Kendrick L . McKinley ( January 31 , 1987 – September 20 , 2010 ) was an American football wide receiver for the Denver Broncos of the National Football League . He was drafted by the Broncos in the fifth round of the 2009 NFL Draft . He played college football at South Carolina . Early years . Born in Mableton , Georgia , he graduated from South Cobb High School in Austell in 2005 . As a quarterback during his senior year , he passed for 1 , 470 yards and 16 touchdowns and rushed for 750 yards while scoring 12 touchdowns . He was rated the 29th - best player in the state of Georgia and the 54th - best athlete in the country by Rivals . com . Collegiate career . As a true freshman in 2005 , he worked his way into the starting lineup at wide receiver and also handled the punt return duties . He started six games and ranked third on the team with 25 catches for 291 yards and returned 18 punts for 83 yards . During his sophomore year in 2006 , McKinley started all 13 games and recorded 51 receptions and 880 yards , which ranked second on the team behind Sidney Rice . McKinley ' s best game was an eight - catch , 110 - yard effort against Auburn , the first 100 - yard receiving day in his career . He would go on to earn first - team honors from : the SEC coaches ( All - SEC ) , the Associated Press and CollegeFootballNews . com . He was second - team All - SEC by Rivals . com and honorable mention All - America honors from CollegeFootballNews . com . Despite playing with turf toe most of the year , as the Gamecocks ' # 1 receiver , McKinley not only led the team but led the Southeastern Conference ( SEC ) in receptions ( a then school - record 77 ) , receptions per game ( 6 . 42 ) and in receiving yards per game ( 80 . 7 ) . He also was number one at South Carolina in yards ( 968 ) and touchdowns ( 9 ) . He had four 100 - yard receiving games in 2007 , including a school record 14 catch performance against Tennessee where he had a career - best 151 yards . In 2008 , McKinley entered his senior year as an All - America candidate that was in position to break every South Carolina school career receiving record . He began the 2008 campaign ranked tied for fourth in career receptions ( 153 ) , sixth in career receiving yards ( 2 , 139 ) and tied for sixth in receiving touchdowns ( 15 ) in Carolina history . Despite being out of the lineup for a three - game stretch due to a right hamstring strain , he set school career records for receptions and receiving yards , while also closing out his career second on the school ' s all - time touchdown catches list . McKinley also placed his name in the SEC record books . His 207 receptions placed third in conference annals , becoming just the fifth SEC player to amass more than 200 catches in a career . He also became the 12th player in league history to record more than 2 , 700 receiving yards ( 2 , 781 ) . Professional career . McKinley was drafted by the Denver Broncos in the fifth round , 5th pick ( 141st overall ) during the 2009 NFL Draft . McKinley played in eight games in 2009 as a kick returner . He returned seven kicks for a total of 158 yards . He also recorded 3 special teams tackles . He was placed on injured reserve with a knee injury on December 28 , 2009 . Death . McKinley was found dead on September 20 , 2010 , from an apparent self - inflicted gunshot wound . His death was reported as a suicide by local media , and later confirmed by members of the Arapahoe County Sheriff ' s office . A 131 - page report was released by the Arapahoe County Sheriff ' s Department on December 1 , 2010 , concluding the investigation into McKinley ' s death . It stated that depression over debt , injury and his post - playing career were the main factors for his suicide . The report stated that McKinley had a gambling problem and was deep in debt . His freshman roommate O . J . Murdock was also highly touted going into college , eventually being signed by the Tennessee Titans as an undrafted free agent , Murdock also committed suicide because of depression , injuries , and his personal life on July 30 , 2012 .