The Denver Broncos used a late-7th-round selection in the 2025 NFL Draft on one of the most interesting players in their incoming rookie class. Utah tight end Caleb Lohner was a collegiate basketball player who took his skills on the court and applied them to the game of football, and even with a limited sample, he put forth a pretty impressive proof of concept.
Lohner is 6-foot-8, 256 pounds with outstanding explosiveness, strong hands, and the ability to shield off or box out defenders for the football. His rare physical and athletic gifts are what drew the Broncos in the first place, but his production -- despite only having 56 snaps to evaluate -- was outrageous.
In fact, I don't think I have ever seen another NFL Draft prospect with the ridiculous stat Lohner can lay claim to. Every single pass he caught at the college level was for a score.
Broncos rookie tight end Caleb Lohner has incredible stat
Lohner only caught a total of five passes at Utah. Four of them went for touchdowns and another one was a two-point conversion.
You can see the raw physical traits in this highlight reel for Lohner, who uses his size to his advantage and also has some nice build-up speed. Even if you can't create separation from a defender during your route, this guy has a rare ability to create separation at the catch point.
There is a clip in that highlight reel from Utah's game last year against Colorado in which Lohner has a one-on-one opportunity out wide against Colorado cornerback DJ McKinney, a 6-foot-2 cornerback who gets absolutely dwarfed in the matchup.
There's already not much you can do about the guy's length out there, but when he adds in natural ball skills and catch point dominance? Forget about it.
This was a really fun pick by the Broncos, even more fun when you see Lohner in action as a red zone threat. The Broncos loved his movement skills at the Utah pro day and we've now seen them look to that Utah program once again for a skill position player offensively. Last year, the team used a 7th-round pick on wide receiver Devaughn Vele but they also brought in developmental tight end Thomas Yassmin, another player who had a pretty ridiculous rate of touchdowns per reception (22 receptions, seven touchdowns).
The Broncos did exactly what you are supposed to do in the 7th round of the NFL Draft. Take a shot on one of your favorite low-risk, high-reward players on the board.