The Denver Broncos made a huge addition to their offense at the start of the NFL new league year, specifically by signing Pro Bowl tight end Evan Engram to a one-year deal in free agency. The former first-round pick from the Giants gets a fresh start in the Mile High City after being released by the Jacksonville Jaguars.
Engram fills the much-needed hole at the tight end position, as Denver's room has been bad in the past couple of seasons. During the 2024-25 season, the room had less than 500 combined yards. Specifically, 188 yards from Trautman, 152 from Krull, 115 from Adkins, and 28 from Dulcich (who was cut midseason). Evan alone had 395 yards in nine games last season, which is more than twice the total number the Broncos' leader had in the entire season (Adam Trautman - 188).
On Monday, head coaches, general managers, and some owners spoke to the media during the annual league meetings in Florida. GM George Paton mentioned that he is happy about the three key free-agent signings the team has made so far (Talanoa Hufanga, Dre Greenlaw, and Evan Engram) and made an important statement about the 'joker' position head coach Sean Payton has been talking about since the season ended.
Broncos GM George Paton says the search for the "Joker" is not yet over
""I don’t think the search (for a joker) is ever over. I do think we have a homer. We have a mismatch tight end""Broncos GM George Paton
Evan Engram, who on paper is the 'joker' on Denver's offense (as of today), can fill the role, but Sean has mentioned that it can be a tight end or a running back, overall a 'can-do-it-all' guy. Engram could be the present joker, but he has missed games in the last few seasons due to injuries, and his health could affect the Broncos. You cannot rely on only one player. The Draft gives Denver a perfect opportunity to provide Bo Nix, your young franchise quarterback, as many weapons as possible, especially with how loaded these two positions that can fill the 'joker' role are in the 2025 NFL Draft class, and be 'the guy' for the future while developing behind an experienced guy such as Engram.
The receivers struggled to get open when Courtland Sutton was double-teamed, and the same can happen at both the running back and tight end position, so giving Nix as many weapons as possible is the key to success for this young Broncos team.
Some playmaker options for Denver in the upcoming draft include Ashton Jeanty, Omarion Hampton, TreVeyon Henderson, Quinshon Judkins, Emeka Egbuka, Luther Burden, Jayden Higgins, Tyler Warren, Colston Loveland, Elijah Arroyo, Mason Taylor, and Terrance Ferguson, among others.
It will be interesting to see how the front office and coaching staff decides to address the upcoming Draft.