Given how loaded the Denver Broncos roster is, it's going to be quite a challenge for some of those fringe players to not only make the roster, but he in a position to actually contribute. This is a good thing, obviously, but for the players buried on the depth chart, their chances feel low.
And the Broncos can only keep so many players at a position. Denver, for example, typically keeps four inside linebackers on the roster, and there might not be room for a fifth. At running back, with Jonah Coleman now in the picture, it could be hard for guys like Tyler Badie and Jaleel McLaughlin to make the final roster.
That is now suddenly true for the tight end position, but some recent words from Sean Payton on this forgotten draft pick could end up throwing a fun wrench into the tight end plans this offseason.
Denver Broncos second-year TE Caleb Lohner just got a huge endorsement from Sean Payton
Payton really did not hold back here when talking about Caleb Lohner, a seventh-round pick from the 2025 NFL Draft who spent the entire season last year on the practice squad:
Sean Payton singled out second-year TE Caleb Lohner, one of the handful of veteran players in this rookie minicamp.
— Nick Kosmider (@NickKosmider) May 9, 2026
“He looks entirely different in this camp. He stood out. … He’s not afraid of the contact. It’s been good to see him in Year 2.”
Lohner is a former collegiate basketball player, standing 6-7 and weighing a solid 250lbs. Obviously, when this pick happened, the first thing that we all thought with Payton in the picture was Jimmy Graham.
Now, yes, it might be borderline impossible for Lohner to eventually have that type of career, but he's a former basketball player with an incredible frame and athleticism. Lohner wasn't able to get into the field for a regular season game during his rookie season, and he was kind of just there on the practice squad.
He was brought back on a futures deal and is now in the picture for at least part of the 2026 season. While Lohner might still be learning how to be a tight end in the NFL, his size makes him a worthwhile bet, and Payton clearly wanted to bring Lohner up to the media.
Given the team drafted two legitimate tight ends in the 2026 NFL Draft in Justin Joly and Dallen Bentley, there truly might not be room for Lohner. Denver, at this point, still figures to carry Evan Engram and Adam Trautman on the roster. It's also likely that both Joly and Bentley do enough to earn spots.
This could put guys like Nate Adkins and Lucas Krull on the roster bubble, and that doesn't even consider Lohner, who is even further down the depth chart. Given that Lohner might have the most impressive size profile of any player on the roster, Payton's comments are worth mentioning here.
At best, Lohner makes a push for the roster as one of the final tight ends. He could end up being a viable red zone threat if he does get a spot on the roster and is able to see snaps during the regular season.
He's also still young, obviously, so there's a level of youthfulness that could benefit him as well. Only time will tell if Lohner can make a mark, but Payton's comments might not be nothing.
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