Near the beginning of the offseason, Sean Payton put a "Joker" for the offense as the lone "must-have" of the offseason for the Denver Broncos. There were other areas this team needed to address, but getting a pass-catching weapon at tight end or running back to affect the middle of the field was the top priority for 2025.
The Jacksonville Jaguars came under new management in 2025 and wound up cutting a bunch of holdovers as a result. They let go of veteran tight end Evan Engram, a player who came just two catches shy of setting the all-time single-season record for a tight end just two seasons ago. The Broncos acted quickly to show interest in Engram, but they had some serious competition from their division rival Los Angeles Chargers.
Engram chose the Broncos.
It's still very early in the offseason program, just one week into OTAs, but the early word is that Engram sounds like he might just be exactly what the doctor ordered for this Broncos offense.
Evan Engram could be Broncos "easy button" in 2025 offensively
Ryan Edwards, who covers the Broncos for 850 KOA in Denver, had a great observation about Engram's first OTAs session with the team:
"Evan Engram is going to be the "easy button" for the offense. Faster than I expected, terrific hands."
- Ryan Edwards (via Twitter/X)
This is a great way of thinking about what Engram brings to the table. Sean Payton said that Engram is going to be able to have a huge effect over the middle of the field as well.
“I think it helps a lot depending on the coverages you’re getting. Your third-down and your red-zone game plans, I think it really helps.”
- Broncos HC Sean Payton (via team PR)
One thing that cannot be overstated is the fact that the Broncos didn't have anything remotely close to Evan Engram in the offense last year. It's difficult to project exactly what his role is going to look like because Sean Payton hasn't had a "Joker" at tight end since Jimmy Graham in New Orleans. They've mostly been running backs in more recent years.
Payton is going to be adding a wrinkle to the offense with the arrival of Engram that will give the Broncos exactly what they didn't have last year: The "easy" button.
The Broncos were among the worst teams in the NFL last year when it comes to three-and-outs offensively, and the arrival of a player like Engram will hopefully help change that. They were still 10th in the NFL in scoring despite their struggles in that particular category. Not having a true "easy" button was a huge reason for that.
Engram was the biggest addition the Broncos made offensively in 2025 and it only took one session at OTAs for people to see why.