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Denver Broncos: 5 tight ends vying for one roster spot

By Sayre Bedinger

HOUSTON, TX - DECEMBER 8: Jeff Heuerman #82 of the Denver Broncos runs a pass in for a touchdown in the first half of a game against the Houston Texans at NRG Stadium on December 8, 2019 in Houston, Texas. The Broncos defeated the Texans 38-24. (Photo by Wesley Hitt/Getty Images)
HOUSTON, TX - DECEMBER 8: Jeff Heuerman #82 of the Denver Broncos runs a pass in for a touchdown in the first half of a game against the Houston Texans at NRG Stadium on December 8, 2019 in Houston, Texas. The Broncos defeated the Texans 38-24. (Photo by Wesley Hitt/Getty Images) /
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Troy Fumagalli, Denver Broncos
DENVER, CO – DECEMBER 01: Tight end Troy Fumagalli #84 of the Denver Broncos catches a pass before a game against the Los Angeles Chargers at Empower Field at Mile High on December 1, 2019 in Denver, Colorado. The Broncos defeated the Chargers 23-20. (Photo by Justin Edmonds/Getty Images) /

Troy Fumagalli

After losing his 2018 rookie season to injury, everyone hoped former Wisconsin tight end Troy Fumagalli could provide the Denver Broncos with some of that first-team All-Big Ten ability in his redshirt freshman campaign.

Fumagalli caught his first NFL touchdown against the Minnesota Vikings and it was a heck of a grab, too.

From 2015-19, the Broncos had certainly identified a ‘type’ at the tight end position. For the most part, their entire tight end room has been made up of former All-Big Ten players at the position. That remains the case today, with a couple of exceptions, but Fumagalli was a guy the Broncos had on their roster at the 2018 Senior Bowl and there was a coaching connection between tight ends coach Geep Chryst (at the time) and Fumagalli’s head coach at Wisconsin, Paul Chryst.

After losing his rookie season to injury, the odds were sort of stacked against Fumagalli. The Broncos had re-signed Heuerman and drafted Noah Fant in the first round, and now the odds seem even more stacked against him.

We’ll see what happens with Fumagalli this offseason, but he can play special teams (100 snaps in 2019) and contribute as a blocker and receiver.

Next. Broncos roster competition at WR: 9 players for 2 spots. dark

It seems like a longshot, but it’s going to be really crazy to see what this tight end group is capable of if every guy is healthy and playing at full speed. At this point, that seems like an unreasonable expectation, but after years of being bitten by the injury bug, the stars could finally be aligning for the young Broncos tight ends, and a number of these guys could make it really tough for John Elway and Vic Fangio to make cuts.

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