Broncos' Best Seventh-Round Draft Pick May Surprise Fans

The Denver Broncos suddenly have a logjam to clean up.

For the past two years, the Broncos' tight end room has ranked at the bottom of the NFL in most key metrics. The team has taken steps to improve things, including signing veteran pass-catcher Evan Engram last year, but the bottom line didn't really change.

Tight end remained one of the Broncos' few roster weaknesses in 2025. When the 2026 offseason rolled around, the Broncos did not sign an outside free agent, but they did draft two tight ends, which, combined with the re-signings of Adam Trautman, Nate Adkins, and Lucas Krull, along with the return of 2025 seventh-rounder Caleb Lohner, has created a logjam.

One of those tight ends they drafted ended up being the middle pick among three Broncos seventh-round picks last month: Dallen Bentley out of the University of Utah. But there's more to Bentley than perhaps meets the eye, as ESPN's Field Yates listed him among his five favorite seventh-rounders this year.

"The Broncos made the draft's final two selections, using the penultimate pick on Bentley. He's a long tight end who can be a factor in the middle of the field with his strong hands and useful run-after-catch ability. Bentley had 48 catches for 620 yards in 2025 and will compete with fellow rookie Justin Joly for an opportunity to take on coach Sean Payton's 'joker' role on offense," Yates wrote.

Probably Not a 'Joker'

Utah's Dallen Bentley (88) walks into the end zone for a score in the second half of the college football between the Oklahoma State Cowboys. | SARAH PHIPPS/THE OKLAHOMAN / USA TODAY NETWORK via Imagn Images

Bentley is actually highly unlikely to feature as a "joker" weapon, simply because he lacks the explosive traits to be a true mismatch tight end. As it applies to the "joker" requirements, Joly has that potential, though he's still very much a work in progress as the Broncos' future F tight end.

What Bentley offers the Broncos is true in-line upside as a Y tight end to eventually replace Adam Trautman, and hopefully upgrade the spot. Bentley will have to continue honing his NFL body, and master the nuances of the requisite blocking technique, but he's got the frame for it and the want-to, which is a great starting point.

The intriguing aspect of Bentley's potential is what he can bring to the table as a down-the-field receiver. As an in-line tight end who often stays in to block, especially on rushing downs, Payton likes Bentley's upside in also running routes downfield, and catching opposing linebackers off guard.

"With Bentley, there’s a more in-line wide, bigger," Payton said after the draft. "He does a great job down the field."

Juxtapose that with Payton's comment on Joly, and you can see how each rookie tight end checks different boxes for the Broncos.

"With Joli, that would put him more in the ‘F’ category," Payton said. "Both are tight ends, and both have unique skill sets. They’re different.”

At 6-foot-4 and 253 pounds, Bentley has the size to thrive in the blocking game. But as much as we may like his upside, he's a real long shot to make the Broncos' 53-man roster out of training camp.

Lohner Rising

Denver Broncos rookie tight end Caleb Lohner catches a pass at rookie minicamp on Friday, May 9, at Broncos Park, Powered by CommonSpirit. | Ben Swanson/DenverBroncos.com

Bentley's path to the roster has only been further complicated by the emergence of Lohner entering his second year. Lohner was a career basketball player in college, but the Broncos took a flyer on him last year because of his rare athletic traits as a 6-foot-7 tight end.

Lohner hit the Broncos' roster last year and was immediately in over his head. He was swimming, which was understandable, considering he played only one year of football at Utah, catching exactly four passes, though all of them were touchdowns.

There just wasn't enough runway for Lohner to learn and develop fast enough before the Broncos had to start trimming the roster, and he was waived on the doorstep of the season opener. He was quickly re-signed to the practice squad, though, where he capitalized on his opportunity to continue learning and developing while contributing on the Broncos' scout team each week.

By season's end, Lohner had somehow earned some buzz around the NFL, and teams came knocking, looking to sign him off the Broncos' practice squad. He rebuffed those offers, though, opting to stick with the team that took a chance on him, and feeling confident that his trajectory was tracking alongside the Broncos' newfound Super Bowl ambitions.

Since Lohner spent his entire rookie year on the practice squad, he qualified to participate in Broncos rookie minicamp last weekend, where he earned some serious praise from his head coach. Payton said that Lohner looks "entirely different" this year and sounded genuinely excited about the young tight end's progress.

The TE Logjam

Meanwhile, Engram is returning for the final year on his contract, with the aforementioned Trautman, Adkins, and Krull being re-signed. Throw Bentely and Joly in the mix, along with Lohner, and the Broncos are going to have to make some tough decisions this summer at tight end.

Iron sharpens iron, though. That's the good news. The Broncos upped the ante at tight end by drafting three players at the position over the past two years.

The competition itself will clear up the logjam at tight end. So long as Engram is retained and not released after June 1, he and Trautman are the only for-sure locks to make the 53-man roster.

Some would argue that Joly is a lock because the Broncos would never be able to sneak him through waivers to get to the practice squad, and that would be true in many of the past seasons. In 2026, though, the Broncos have an extremely stacked roster, so there are no guaranteed jobs waiting for the team's late-round picks.

Bentley has a bright future. But it may take a couple of years for him to find his footing and make himself indispensable to the Broncos, and that may be inconvenient, considering he's entering the NFL as a 25-year-old rookie.

Bentley served an LDS mission in Denver before playing at Utah. He and left tackle Garett Bolles have much in common: LDS missions served in Denver, played at Utah, and drafted by the Broncos.

To sum it all up, Bentley's rookie outlook depends on how this summer's competition shakes out and how quickly he can show progress and take to the Broncos' coaching.

Sign up for our free Denver Broncos On SI newsletter, and get breaking Broncos news delivered to your inbox daily!

Add us as a preferred source on Google