Broncos OTAs: Taking Stock of the Tight End Room

The Denver Broncos' tight end room has been a lackluster unit for years now. Instead of taking big shots at improving the room this year, the Broncos' only additions were two late-day three draft picks.

While the Broncos could continue developing young tight ends, they also could’ve made a bigger investment. As we near the end of the offseason program, we're continuing to break down the Broncos' position groups.

Let's talk tight ends.

Starters

Evan Engram and Adam Trautman.

Who are the Broncos' starters at the position? They will likely be Trautman as a blocker and Engram as the receiving tight end.

That doesn’t inspire much, given what Trautman has done over the past few years and Engram's failure to meet expectations in his first year with the Broncos.

For three years, Trautman has been one of the worst blocking tight ends in the NFL, no matter how much the Broncos try to gaslight the issue, and he's still being relied on to be that guy. Hopefully, the team can finally get the level of blocking it thinks he brings.

As for Engram, there wasn’t much chemistry with Nix, and he didn’t seem to have a feel for his role, so that could be improved in Year 2.

Backups

Sean Payton and Justin Joly. — Denver Broncos head coach Sean Payton talks with tight end Justin Joly at rookie minicamp. | Ben Swanson/Denver Broncos

Nate Adkins and Justin Joly.

The backups are even messier than the starters, because do we even know who the key backups are going to be? Looking at who's left, the two who stand out as the best options to be labeled as the backups are Adkins and Joly for two very different reasons.

Adkins has actually been a better blocker than Trautman, but injuries have been a bit of a detriment, especially in 2025. With the rookie, Joly, the Broncos need another athletic, receiving-type tight end to fill Engram's role, as the veteran has had issues staying healthy and available.

There is very limited receiving ability with Adkins. Meanwhile, Joly offers little as a blocker, and what he can bring to the table all comes from the slot.

The Others

Lucas Krull, Dallen Bentley, and Caleb Lohner.

As for the rest, Bentley is a rookie who was the Broncos' second-to-last draft pick and will likely be competing for a practice-squad spot to sit and develop for a year. Krull has dealt with injuries and hasn’t shown much growth as a player when healthy, while Lohner spent the 2025 season developing after 57 snaps of college football.

These three tight ends could be competing for a roster spot with Adkins or Joly, but more likely for a practice squad spot or two. Lohner looked good in the rookie minicamp, but it was going to be difficult to look worse than he did a year ago.

Training camp will be a test for Lohner, especially after he missed most of the on-field portion of the offseason training program this summer, due to a cleanup procedure on his lower leg. Health will be a key for this room, and that's true for Krull, too.

The Takeaway

There is potential in this room. That's for sure, but the Broncos lack proven commodities.

Trautman and Engram are as uninspiring a starting duo as could be. Denver could do with an upgrade, but there aren’t any ideal free agents available to be that upgrade, and there hasn't been anything coming out about a potential trade market for tight ends.

Hopefully, Denver can go from fielding a bottom-five to a bottom-10 unit this year. If the Broncos get more than that out of this tight end room, it would be a complete and utter surprise.

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