It's not a mystery that the Denver Broncos are going to be searching for some major offensive upgrades this offseason. After an encouraging, but heartbreaking 2025 season, the Broncos really have no choice but to be aggressive this offseason in filling key roster needs.
The team did attempt to do this on offense last offseason with J.K. Dobbins and Evan Engram being signed in free agency, but Dobbins got hurt after 10 games, and Engram's receiving impact was not as notable as many of us hoped. The team also drafted Pat Bryant in the third round, but he struggled to stay on the field at times and is definitely someone who could ideally be a long-term solution.
At the end of the day, the swings that the front office took on certain players last offseason did not work out, so the pressure is really only mounting for general manager George Paton and his staff to truly find solutions to issues on offense, and the defense also needs some help. We'll focus on the offense here, as there is another Bo Nix collegiate teammate that the Broncos must draft in 2026.
Broncos should seriously think about drafting Oregon tight end Kenyon Sadiq
Kenyon Sadiq has largely been viewed as the best tight end in the 2026 NFL Draft class, and he'd be an ideal first-round target for the Broncos if the team doesn't trade that pick for a weapon. Here is part of Lance Zierlein's NFL.com draft profile on Sadiq, and in reading this, it's hard to not get excited about the idea of Sadiq on the Broncos:
"A versatile tight end with a shredded physique and alluring potential as a volume target, Sadiq’s route tree will be full of branches. His athleticism and break quickness should allow him to uncover against man coverage on all three levels. He’s talented after the catch, with the ability to make things easier for play-callers and quarterbacks looking to move the sticks. He has the body control and hand strength to win contested catches but will occasionally allow balls to hit the ground on lower-difficulty plays. He’s adequate as a blocker, giving good effort in-line and locating and landing on linebackers as a move blocker. Teams looking to diversify their passing game options with a talented pass-catching tight end could make Sadiq a priority."
Two major things stick out to me with Sadiq. Firstly, he's not only an excellent receiver, but he's already viewed as an adequate blocker. Most of the time, when collegiate tight ends come into the NFL, they're good at either one thing or the other - rarely does a tight end prospect come into the league as an adequate receiver and blocker, and, usually, the blocking is where they struggle.
Not only can Sadiq do both, but Zierlein also compares him to Trey McBride of the Arizona Cardinals, arguably the best tight end in the NFL. Sadiq feels like a slam-dunk day one starter and instant contributor on the Broncos. He and Bo Nix were both at Oregon in the 2023 season, which was Nix's final year in college and Sadiq's first.
Denver already took Troy Franklin and Alex Forsyth in the 2024 NFL Draft, two previous Oregon teammates of Bo Nix. Tight end might not be the biggest need on the Broncos roster right now, though, as an efficient run game is more important, and Evan Engram was at least modestly productive in 2025.
However, the Broncos do not have a complete, in-line tight end, and that is something Sadiq can develop into, perhaps rather quickly. Denver has to ensure the 2026 offseason is centered around maximizing the Bo Nix era, and drafting Sadiq would go a long way in doing that.