It wasn’t a secret that Denver Broncos head coach Sean Payton was looking to upgrade his team’s passing game at the trade deadline — in the end the price was just too high for the players he wanted.
For Broncos tight end Evan Engram, that meant the last week being colored by stories about how Payton was specifically looking to get an effective tight end after the 31-year-old, 2-time Pro Bowler has mostly come up short of expectations.
No moves by the Broncos means Engram gets a new lease on life for the second half of the season, and a chance to carve out a more meaningful role for the hottest team in the NFL right now.
Bleacher Report went so far as to call Engram the “Biggest Winner” on Denver’s roster after the Broncos failed to pull off any moves before the November 4 trade deadline.
From Bleacher Report: “Head coach Sean Payton likely wanted to bolster his 17th-ranked passing attack before the trade deadline, possibly at the expense of Evan Engram. This past offseason, Denver signed Engram to a two-year, $23 million deal, and he hasn’t quite played up to the team’s investment in him. The 31-year-old has 26 receptions for 215 yards and a touchdown in eight contests, but he’ll hold on to a significant role.”
Denver has won 6 consecutive games and is 7-2 headed into a Thursday Night Football matchup against the Las Vegas Raiders in Week 10. Engram is coming off his worst game of the season in an 18-15 win over the Houston Texans in Week 9 in which he failed to register a catch for the first time this season.
Broncos Had Major Holes at RB, TE
One of the more incredible aspects of the Broncos snapping a 9-year postseason drought in 2024 was the utter lack of production they got from their running backs and tight ends.
For however much Payton or anyone on the Broncos might think Engram has come up short of expectations to this point, he’s still got an outside chance of matching the total production of 4 Denver tight ends last year who combined for 51 receptions for 567 yards and 5 touchdowns.
CBS Sports’ Jared Dubin singled out Engram as the perfect fit for the Broncos after he was released by the Jacksonville Jaguars on March 6 in a move to free up approximately $6 million in salary cap space.
Engram signed his contract with the Broncos less than a week later — a deal that included $16.5 million in guaranteed money.
“Sean Payton has been looking for a pass-catcher that can work in the short areas of the field,” Dubin wrote. “He would ideally get what he calls a ‘joker’ who can operate out of the backfield as well, but giving Bo Nix another target on underneath passes — and one who has experience creating yards after the catch — is a worthwhile bet.”
Broncos Might Look to Draft TE in 2026
If we’re looking into our crystal ball, it’s not a stretch to see the Broncos drafting a tight end in the early rounds in 2026.
The 2 tight ends taken in the first round of the 2025 draft — Chicago Bears tight end Colston Loveland and Indianapolis Colts tight end Tyler Warren — have both already shown they can be difference makers as rookies.
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