Denver Broncos: Giving grades for 2020 free agent pickups

Denver Broncos 2020 FA Grades: Nick Vannett, TE

Contract: 2 years, $5.7 million ($2.5 million guaranteed)

The signing of Nick Vannett was extremely odd at the time it happened.

The Broncos have obviously struggled in recent years with staying healthy at the tight end position. After taking Noah Fant with their top pick in the 2019 NFL Draft, the Broncos appeared to have built some nice depth at the position.

Vannett was brought in and he effectively replaced former third-round pick and fellow former Ohio State Buckeye Jeff Heuerman.

Over the course of the season, Vannett became a more effective piece of the offense. He ended up playing in 15 games and had one receiving touchdown in the team’s win over the Carolina Panthers.

Even using hindsight to our advantage, the pickup of Vannett was a curious one. Perhaps his durability was worth the guaranteed cash for the Broncos to replace Heuerman, or perhaps it was his overall fit for what Pat Shurmur wanted to do.

Moving forward, Vannett is an obvious TE3 behind Noah Fant and Albert Okwuegbunam for the Broncos but he is a capable blocker and receiver.

Grade: C-