The Denver Broncos roster is among the best in the NFL and plenty good enough for the team to win Super Bowl LXI this year. No roster in the league is perfect, as even the best have some iffy positions here and there.
Both George Paton and Sean Payton have done an absolutely outstanding job at tweaking this roster the past few seasons and putting the team in a position to be viewed as one of the best in the league. Denver had a Super Bowl-caliber team last year and will this year, but the tight end position is one that has been a thorn in their side for what feels like much of this century, even.
The Broncos once again whiffed at this position, and it's now to the point where the offense could be derailed in 2026 due to the overall lack of talent in the room.
Denver Broncos still have major question marks at tight end entering 2026
The Broncos very much embraced a 'run it back' mentality across the roster this offseason, and while certain players returning were solid moves, other contracts that the team handed out felt misguided, at best.
Adam Trautman scored a three-year extension with the team, but Trautman has largely been a non-factor for the Broncos during his tenure with the team, and his blocking even took a step back in 2025. Not only does he offer next to nothing at the position, but with a regression in blocking from 2024 into 2025, there really didn't appear to be a viable reason to bring him back.
The team also brought back Nate Adkins and Lucas Krull, but more on that later. Denver picked two tight ends in the 2026 NFL Draft in Justin Joly and Dallen Bentley, not taking the position until the fifth round, which felt about three rounds overdue.
Joly got cut and didn't make the roster in what was a shocking development, as the Broncos instead elected to keep Bentley. The main issue with Joly being cut, as some have said, is that the Broncos clearly didn't want to bank on any sort of development or untapped potential with Joly, despite him only turning 22 years old earlier this summer.
Tight end is a position that does take some time for players to hit their stride, so Joly needing this made sense, but that didn't feel like a reason to cut him outright. Bentley does have an enticing skillset, but he was the second-to-last pick in the draft for a reason, and he also turns 26 years old near the end of the season, so he's rather prehistoric for being a rookie.
In the end, the Broncos decided to roll with a room of Evan Engram, Trautman, Adkins, and Bentley. Adkins played in just nine games last year due to injury and has dealt with a handful of ailments during his time with the Broncos.
When you look at the depth, or the lack of it, the Broncos may end up relying too much on Engram, a receiving tight end with little, if any, blocking ability. He turns 32 years old today and is obviously someone who isn't getting younger. Not only is the age a concern, but Engram failed to hit 500 receiving yards last year despite hauling in 50 passes.
His athleticism, for all we know, could be declining, and if Engram isn't able to be that reliable option for Denver in 2026, the Broncos really won't have a 'backup' plan. While adding Jaylen Waddle to the mix does help out a lot, the Broncos will still need someone at tight end to be, if nothing else, a short yardage security blanket for Bo Nix.
With the overall lack of talent in the room, the team once again failing to fix the position this offseason could end up derailing the offense at the worst possible time.
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