The Denver Broncos just made their final selection of the 2025 NFL Draft, and it might be their most fascinating of the class. The team used teh 241st overall pick on Utah tight end Caleb Lohner, a 6-foot-8 basketball player out of Utah who is still getting his feet wet with the game of football.
There are a couple of things at play that make this more interesting than your run-of-the-mill 7th-round pick. First of all, adding a former basketball player is always intriguing, because these guys are big and super athletic.
Second, Lohner only had four receptions at Utah last year, but all four of them were touchdowns.
Third, the Broncos used a 7th-round pick last year on a Utah player, and Devaughn Vele turned out pretty good.
Broncos taking a fun risk on 7th-round pick Caleb Lohner
Fourth, and perhaps most notably, the Broncos have some unique ties to the success of former basketball players at the NFL level. Sean Payton, the team's head coach, discovered one of the best former basketball players to have success in the NFL when he drafted Jimmy Graham on the Saints a number of years ago.
Not only that, but the Broncos drafted Julius Thomas in the 4th round back in 2011 and had some great success with that pick.
Heck, the Broncos have even been affected by arguably the best basketball player to turn into an NFL tight end with Antonio Gates causing them problems for all those years as a member of the Chargers. The man was so good, the Broncos tried to make Wesley Duke happen.
Real ones remember.
Lohner might not ultimately amount to anything in the NFL, but it's an interesting dart for the Denver Broncos to throw given their head coach's success helping a guy transition at the position and given the fact that the franchise has had success with it in the past as well.
There will certainly be a developmental curve, but you can't coach this guy's size (6-8, 250 pounds) and athletic traits. Having basketball in his background is a weapon. If he can get the nuance of playing in the NFL quickly, this could be a big-time steal.