Fourth in a series previewing the Broncos’ 2026 roster in the weeks leading up to the start of training camp in late July. Previously: Quarterbacks, running backs and wide receivers. 

On the roster (seven): Evan Engram, Adam Trautman, Justin Joly, Nate Adkins, Lucas Krull, Dallen Bentley, Caleb Lohner

How many on the 53? Four or five. This is an overstuffed room with several guys who have complementary skillsets, meaning the Broncos will likely whittle the group down through training camp.

Most impactful offseason move: Drafting Joly and Bentley.

The Broncos went double-tight-end in April’s draft, trading up for the athletic Joly in the fifth round and swinging on Utah’s Bentley with the second-to-last pick of the proceedings. The emphasis was clear after Engram turned in a less-than-stellar season in his first year in Denver: add more youth with pass-catching upside at the position.

Both will give Denver options to pad out its roster with two types of TEs. Joly is a versatile “F” tight end similar to Engram, a sort-of hybrid slot receiver who can shift across a variety of alignments; Bentley profiles as a more traditional in-line option, similar to Trautman. In that vein, the Broncos essentially drafted younger versions of the 31-year-old Engram and recently-re-signed Trautman. If Joly and Bentley show in camp they’re ready for roster spots right away, get ready for a bunch of reshuffling in this room.

Biggest question to answer in camp: Can Davis Webb unlock Engram?

On March 13, 2025, a day after agreeing to a two-year contract with Denver, Engram tweeted a GIF of Heath Ledger’s Joker from Christopher Nolan’s “The Dark Knight.” He has not typed out and sent a single tweet since. It was a strange year.

On one hand, Engram finished third on the Broncos in catches (50) and racked up the most receiving yards (461) of any Broncos tight end since Noah Fant in 2021. On the other hand, he finished 13th on the team in offensive snap share and turned invisible for long stretches of games. Looking through any prism, Engram’s 2025 season paled in comparison to fanbase expectations for the franchise’s heralded “Joker” signing last season.

Denver explored alternatives in the TE market in free agency but didn’t find an upgrade at the right price. The Broncos could still save themselves $6.5 million in cap room by cutting Engram; entering training camp, though, he still currently stands as Denver’s best receiving option at tight end, in part because the Broncos feel there’s more they can unlock from the two-time Pro Bowler. Engram signed with the Broncos last free agency in large part because of his relationship with new play-caller Davis Webb, with whom he played in New York at the beginning of his career in 2017 and 2018.

Webb won’t reveal the entire bag of tricks this preseason, but keep an eye on training camp for reports on how Engram’s looking in Denver’s offense.

Battle to watch: Anything involving Caleb Lohner.

Will the 24-year-old Lohner actually compete for a roster spot in camp? Who knows. Impossible to say, actually, because the 2025 seventh-round flier was absent from OTAs and minicamp with injury. But head coach Sean Payton set off a buzz when he talked up Lohner during May’s rookie minicamp, and it would certainly give Denver’s offense a new element of dynamism if the 6-foot-7 Lohner can show he’s grown enough as a blocker and route-runner to earn a roster spot for red-zone work in 2026.

It’s highly unlikely that Lohner beats out Joly, and he’ll have his work cut out for him to shake veterans Krull and Adkins for a spot. But Lohner did substantial work with former Pro Bowl wide receiver Donald Driver this offseason, and is entering just his third full season of full-time football at any level after switching from basketball before his final year of college. The upside will be fun to monitor.

Under the radar: Adkins, the Swiss Army Knife

The 27-year-old Adkins played just nine games in 2025 thanks to a seeming never-ending string of injuries, and his functionality might be diluted with the emergence of fullback Adam Prentice. But Payton has repeatedly talked up Adkins’ importance to the offense as a blocking tight end/fullback hybrid — enough to keep him off injured reserve when Adkins was set to miss multiple games at the start of the 2025 season.

“He’s too good a football player for us,” Payton said last August.

If Adkins is healthy during camp, he should have an early foothold for a roster spot at tight end, which would significantly squeeze the rest of the room.

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