On March 13, he donned a digital mask, the last post on Evan Engram\u2019s X feed the beginning of a new identity in Denver.<\/p>\n
It was a simple GIF, after months and years of talk of Sean Payton\u2019s need for a \u201cJoker,\u201d of Heath Ledger leaning his head out of a police car in \u201cThe Dark Knight.\u201d<\/a> Stringy hair. Iconic face paint. The message was clear.<\/p>\n The tweet has been viewed nearly two million times since. It was fan service, maybe. It was also a sort of self-challenge after Engram inked a three-year deal with Denver in March<\/a>. Payton\u2019s idea of The Joker isn\u2019t simply a cute moniker. It\u2019s an identity, a specific utilization of a matchup nightmare, and a \u201cbig part of the pitch\u201d for the veteran tight end to come to Denver.<\/p>\n \u201cIt\u2019s definitely something that I\u2019d like to embrace,\u201d Engram said Thursday in his first availability with Broncos reporters since signing with the team. \u201cIt\u2019s something I\u2019m gonna go earn, too.\u201d<\/p>\n It\u2019s also something that he\u2019s never quite experienced. Across an eight-year NFL career, Engram\u2019s always wanted to be seen in that vein as an offensive weapon, longtime trainer Drew Lieberman told The Denver Post in March. He wanted to be a wild card. Wanted to wear different hats. At Broncos OTAs, the 6-foot-3 Engram has worked frequently with Denver\u2019s receivers \u2014 not tight ends \u2014 in positional drills.<\/p>\n It\u2019s a new era as The Joker, then, for the two-time Pro Bowler. But underneath that mantle is a different, longstanding identity, one he\u2019s carried from Georgia to New York to Jacksonville, through early years of shaky hands and later years of nagging injuries.<\/p>\n \u201cI like to call myself \u2018The Cleaner,’\u201d Engram said Thursday.<\/p>\n \u201cThe guy that\u2019s gonna come in every single day, and do what he\u2019s asked at the highest level possible,\u201d he continued. \u201cLike I said \u2014 the guy that\u2019s gonna embrace adversity, embrace challenges, but also bring a great amount of energy and leadership even in those times of adversity, and humbleness in times of success.\u201d<\/p>\n Through a rocky five-year start to his career in New York \u2014 first-round draft choice in 2017, Pro Bowler in 2020, and subject of intense vitriol amid struggles with drops \u2014 Engram\u2019s attitude and leadership \u201cnever wavered,\u201d former Giants tight end coach Derek Dooley told The Post. He played more free for three years in Jacksonville, submitting a 114-catch season in 2023. After an injury-plagued 2024, the Jaguars cut bait early enough to give Engram a long runway to explore free-agent options.<\/p>\n The Broncos, Engram said Thursday, were the first team to call him.<\/p>\n \u201cJust the expectations that are here, the team that\u2019s here, the quarterback that\u2019s here, coach that\u2019s here \u2014 I mean, I can literally go on for days,\u201d Engram said when asked what drew him to Denver. \u201cSo, blessed to be here.\u201d<\/p>\n About that quarterback: Nix played a direct role, both active and passive, in Engram\u2019s arrival in Denver. The two got lunch together on his initial visit in March, with the 25-year-old Nix walking him through his \u201cprocess\u201d and offseason work<\/a>, as Engram described. And as the tight end flew around the western United States on free-agent visits, heading to Los Angeles to meet with the Chargers after he stopped in Denver, he downloaded some of Nix\u2019s 2024 tape on his laptop.<\/p>\n The two have been around each other \u201ca lot\u201d since Engram arrived in Denver, as Nix said last week. And the veteran tight end will instantly step in as the most senior member of Denver\u2019s receiving corps \u2014 a long-developed arc of early-career struggle into mid-career breakout under Engram\u2019s belt.<\/p>\n \u201cThe potential is through the roof,\u201d Engram said of Nix. \u201cAnd I like to see myself as someone that can come in and help his development and take this team to another level.\u201d<\/p>\n Engram\u2019s past and future are coalescing, now, on his very jersey in Denver. He wore No. 1 for years in high school football in Georgia, where he starred at Hillgrove High but floated as an under-recruited pass-catcher<\/a>.<\/p>\n After signing with the Broncos, Payton sent Engram a list of available numbers. Engram, in turn, relayed them to his family for advice. The consensus was unanimous: No. 1.<\/p>\n It sits proudly on the back of his orange uniform in OTAs, the 30-year-old Engram\u2019s role now both unlocked and defined.<\/p>\n \u201cWhere I\u2019m at in my career, and how much I\u2019ve learned, and the talent I\u2019ve worked for and the experiences I have \u2014 to be able to bring that here and wear that jersey number again, I don\u2019t take that lightly,\u201d he said Thursday.<\/p>\n