The biggest addition the Denver Broncos made to their offense in the 2025 offseason was adding veteran tight end Evan Engram. Engram was signed to be the "joker" for Sean Payton's offense, an elite receiving weapon at the tight end position who brings to the team something they simply have not had in the Sean Payton era.
Or for a long time, in general.
Engram was not overly involved for the team's preseason opener as a receiving option, and Payton wanted to get him some more action in that regard. It only took one target to prove why the Broncos competed so hard to sign him in the first place.
Evan Engram quickly proves why Broncos gave him a big-money deal
Evan Engram picked up 38.5 YACOE (yards after catch over expected) on this 58-yard play, per @NextGenStats
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The Denver Broncos did not have a player like Engram or playing this type of role whatsoever last year. Engram achieved on one play in the preseason what was borderline impossible for the team last season.
The role Engram is going to play in the offense this season for the Broncos did not exist last year or the year prior. Sean Payton has confirmed that by basically saying they had to completely add that wrinkle in with the arrival of a player like Engram.
Why did the Broncos so heavily prioritize him in free agency? Well, Adam Trautman actually led the team last year at the tight end position with 188 receiving yards. Lucas Krull led the tight end position with 19 catches. It's not impossible to think Engram could blow those numbers out of the water in the first few weeks of the season.
It's clear that he's a game-changing weapon at the tight end position, and his catch and run against the Arizona Cardinals was an indicator that he's not lost a single ounce of his long speed or ability to make plays after the catch, not that anyone was really worried about that. He gets to another gear so quickly unlike many big tight ends, who need a lot of build up to get to their highest gear.
This is such an exciting development for Denver Broncos fans after a quiet week or so of camp from Engram, along with the inactivity in the passing game in the preseason debut. We've now got a significant example of exactly why the Broncos decided to make an all-in push to sign him shortly after he was cut by the Jaguars.
Thankfully, he signed in Denver and not with his other suitor in the offseason, the Los Angeles Chargers.