Denver Broncos: 5 takeaways from John Elway’s press conference

The Tight End Position

It’s been a long time since the Broncos have had a tight end that could create problems for opposing defenses.

Owen Daniels was the last tight end the Broncos had that stretched the field and forced defenses to show their hand.

More importantly, Daniels made big plays there. Unfortunately, the Broncos haven’t had a TE that could do that since he was released.

The Broncos have been through Virgil Green, AJ Derby, Jeff Heuerman, Matt LaCosse, Brian Parker, Jake Butt, and various short stint players to add to the list, to no avail.

Both Heuerman and Butt showed flashes of what they could be, but injury history has hindered them from being on the field.

When it comes to the TE position, Elway has been trying to figure out how to fulfill that position every season.

"“We’ve been trying to address that every year. That’s a tough position now, especially when you’re talking about an in-line guy that is a blocker but can also be a good pass receiver.” John Elway on addressing TE"

One of the struggles Elway noted about addressing the TE position is that college offenses have focused on having more receivers by going more spread.

It certainly makes it hard to evaluate at the NCAA level, but there are several players in this year’s draft that could be ripe for the picking including T.J. Hockenson from Iowa.

With Jake Butt recovering from ACL surgery and Heuerman becoming a pending free agent, Denver has to do their homework on bringing in a capable player who can block and be effective in the passing game.