For Broncos tight end Evan Engram, the 2026 season offers a second chance at a first impression.

That’s what the installation of a new primary play-caller — and the addition of a speed threat like Jayden Waddle — can do.

The former, in the form of Davis Webb, provides a voice who has known him since he broke into the NFL as a rookie with the New York Giants in 2017; both were a part of the team’s draft class that year. The latter could draw coverage from safeties and open up space for Engram to operate underneath, providing the chance to make his short and intermediate routes more effective.

And in Broncos OTAs and minicamp, Engram found himself a frequent target during the sessions observed by media.

“He’s doing well. He’s moving well. He’s extending plays,” Broncos coach Sean Payton said at the time. “Again, it’s a little easier for those guys that are further away from the ball in these types of OTAs than the linemen.

“Yet it’s important timing and it’s important for him in his second year. He’s doing a good job with it.”

It probably didn’t hurt that Jarrett Stidham was the No. 1 quarterback during team periods last month; Stidham and Engram displayed outstanding chemistry last summer during training camp and the preseason games, and seemed to pick up where they left off in that regard. But it wasn’t just that Engram was getting the ball, but where — as much downfield as short.

Given that Engram had a career-low figure for average depth of target last season — just 4.4 yards — that was significant. While one doesn’t expect him to be a seam ripper down the field in his 10th year as he was as a rookie, getting him the ball downfield in ways that Webb witnessed as the Giants’ backup quarterback nearly a decade ago could open up horizons for Engram.

BRONCOS TIGHT-END PASSING-GAME PRODUCTION LAST YEAR DIDN’T INCREASE AS HOPED

Denver’s tight-end room still ranked in the NFL’s bottom tier in pass-catching production last season despite Engram’s arrival.

But don’t tell wide receiver Courtland Sutton about that.

“I don’t like the bashing of our tight end room. I say that publicly,” Sutton said last month. ““I think we have great tight ends. I think that they do their job really, really well. I think that they do what’s asked of them to a high level.”

But at the same time, the Broncos used two draft picks at the position, selecting Justin Joly in Round 5 and Dallen Bentley in Round 7. A seventh-round selection by no means has a lock on a roster spot, but Joly is likely in snug position to get a year to develop behind Engram.

Drops were a problem for Engram last year, but in his mind, that wasn’t all.

“I can only do the most with the opportunity that I get,” Engram said one day after the Broncos’ season ended last January.

““There were times I had opportunities, there were times they were slim. I learned to always stay in the moment and wait for my number to be called. I feel like I made a lot of big plays this year. I felt like I always wanted to contribute more, every week. But a lot of it was out of my control, and I had to stop figuring out what that was and focus on what I was asked to do.”

Now the question is this: Will more be asked of him? If June work was a harbinger of what is to come, the answer could be a resounding yes.