Predominantly Orange
FanSided

5 Denver Broncos free agent targets at the tight end position

By Sayre Bedinger

Denver Broncos offsaeson; Tampa Bay Buccaneers tight end O.J. Howard (80) tries to get past Philadelphia Eagles outside linebacker Genard Avery (58) during the third quarter at Lincoln Financial Field. Mandatory Credit: Eric Hartline-USA TODAY Sports
Denver Broncos offsaeson; Tampa Bay Buccaneers tight end O.J. Howard (80) tries to get past Philadelphia Eagles outside linebacker Genard Avery (58) during the third quarter at Lincoln Financial Field. Mandatory Credit: Eric Hartline-USA TODAY Sports /
facebooktwitterreddit
Prev
1 of 6
Next
Denver Broncos
DENVER, CO – OCTOBER 31: Tight end Noah Fant #87 of the Denver Broncos runs onto the field before a game against the Washington Football Team at Empower Field at Mile High on October 31, 2021 in Denver, Colorado. (Photo by Justin Edmonds/Getty Images) /

The Denver Broncos have some young talent at the tight end position, but could they look to the 2022 NFL free agent market for an upgrade?

The Denver Broncos offense is going to get a dramatic overhaul in 2022. Not only does the team have a brand-new coaching staff in place, but there will likely be a major change at the quarterback position and possibly some significant reshuffling on the roster overall.

One of the position groups that hasn’t been talked about a lot so far in the 2022 offseason (until the QB position is resolved, neglect for other positions is understandable) is the tight end position.

Of course, the Broncos have former first-round pick Noah Fant entering his fourth NFL season (how crazy is that to think about?) as well as former fourth-round pick Albert Okwuegbunam entering his third, but behind and besides those guys, this team has both Eric Saubert and Andrew Beck hitting unrestricted free agency.

The Denver Broncos could pursue upgrades at tight end in free agency

Although I anticipate the Broncos will pick up Noah Fant’s fifth-year rookie contract option (a hunch, not a report or inside info), as well as continue to build around him, I think a second option at tight end is needed and we could see general manager George Paton attempt to upgrade over Albert Okwuegbunam in the 2022 offseason.

Will that be a popular decision? Maybe not, but also, you could do a lot worse than Okwuegbunam as your TE3 and his consistency issues thus far don’t warrant better than a TE3 guarantee going into his third NFL season.

This is not a post suggesting the Denver Broncos upgrade over Noah Fant as the team’s TE1, but rather a suggestion that the team cannot afford to pass on the talent at the tight end position in free agency and bring someone in as the 1a or 1b, however you want to look at that.

Noah Fant led the Broncos in receptions in 2021, but his production was a lot more quiet because of the fact that he was constantly being thrown into coverage, thrown into contact, thrown the ball working back toward the line of scrimmage, or thrown near the boundary line.

In the Nathaniel Hackett offense, I expect the Broncos to be establishing the running game even more, which will necessitate a tight end that can block at a high level, but there are also some dynamic pass-catching options in free agency.

This list is limited, but really there are close to a dozen options that I would personally love to see George Paton pursue.

Let’s pick a handful of them.

Home/Broncos Free Agency