Denver Broncos biggest steals of the 2023 offseason

2. Chris Manhertz, TE

One area the Denver Broncos needed to overhaul a bit in the 2023 offseason was the tight end position. Last year, the team banked a lot on Greg Dulcich being healthy, and it didn't work out. Eric Tomlinson and Eric Saubert were the primary mainstays at the position, and although both players were decent, it's safe to say that neither was dynamic nor much of a true solution to an offense really struggling to put together any sort of consistency.

Even with a deep free agent class at the position, and even with a deep NFL Draft class at the position, Sean Payton went with familiarity among his primary acquisitions at tight end. It started with Chris Manhertz in free agency coming over from the Jacksonville Jaguars. Manhertz spent time with the Saints in 2016 and is known for his tremendous blocking abilities.

With that said, he also caught the first ever touchdown pass from Trevor Lawrence...

Manhertz has caught very few passes in his NFL career. In over 100 career games, that touchdown from Trevor Lawrence is one of just two scores to Manhertz's name. Funny enough, the other TD he caught was on a pass from legendary Denver Broncos fan Christian McCaffrey. He has 24 career receptions in total, which leads to the question -- why is he still getting gigs in the NFL?

The answer is simple -- very few tight ends can block like Chris Manhertz.

The Broncos got Manhertz on a two-year deal worth $6 million in total money. Although a bargain price on paper, that's actually a decently hefty price to pay for a guy who has 24 career receptions in over 100 games. It speaks volumes to the important role Manhertz will play as a blocker this coming season, and not only that, but on special teams as well.