The Denver Broncos made a big bet in 2025 free agency when they signed 2-time Pro Bowl tight end Evan Engram to a 2-year, $23 million contract.
It blew up in their faces. Engram was terrible all season and did little to help the Broncos in any discernible way, and he appears locked in for another season where they’ll hope … he’s not as terrible.
In the interim, the NFL draft might be a way for the Broncos to keep an eye on the future, and ESPN’s Matt Miller predicts they’ll select North Carolina State tight end Justin Joly in the 4th round (No. 111 overall) of the 2026 NFL draft.
“Undersized pass-catcher with the ability to expand the route tree and challenge man coverage around the field,” NFL draft analyst Lance Zierlein wrote in his pre-draft evaluation. “Joly still needs to polish his route-running but he has the footwork and athletic traits to uncover. He doesn’t catch with much hand extension and fights throws on occasion but he makes up for it with impressive body control/catch toughness. His effort and strain as a blocker need to improve. Joly has the ability to contribute as a moveable ‘F’ tight end.”
Transferred From UConn to Power 4 Program
Joly, 6-foot-3 and 241 pounds, played his first 2 seasons at UConn before transferring to North Carolina State for the last 2 seasons. He put up big numbers at both places, including a career-high 7 touchdowns as a senior in 2025 on the way to earning All-ACC honors.
In 49 games over 4 seasons, Joly finished with 116 receptions for 1,978 yards and 15 touchdowns in 49 career games. At the NFL scouting combine, he opted out of almost all of the physical testing but went through position drills and did interviews — for a projected 4th round pick that usually means the 40-yard dash time isn’t probably what you want to see out of a tight end.
Joly doubled down and didn’t run the 40-yard dash at North Carolina State’s Pro Day — a double red flag.
“Joly participated in most of the physical testing (at Pro Day), but not all of it,” Sports Illustrated’s Tucker Sennett wrote. “The tight end jumped 30.5 inches during his vertical jump testing and followed that up with a broad jump of 9-foot-6. The major surprise was the fact that Joly chose not to run a 40-yard dash once again, after declining to do it at the Scouting Combine as well. He explained the reasoning for the decision.”
Evan Engram Called NFL’s Worst Free Agent Signing
Pro Football Focus put Engram’s contract on its list of the NFL’s “Worst Free Agent Signings” in last year’s cycle.
“Sean Payton clamored about wanting a ‘joker’ for his offense, which seemed to be Engram,” PFF’s Bradley Locker wrote. “However, Engram didn’t offer reliable contributions with a 57.6 PFF receiving grade and a 7.0% drop rate. Now, Denver will presumably go back to the well as it searches for a playmaking tight end.”
If the analytics-based critique doesn’t quite hit home, maybe this will: Engram had 50 receptions for just 461 yards and 1 touchdown during the regular season. He capped his year with 3 receptions for 26 yards and no touchdowns in 2 playoff games — a time when his team needed him the most, and an elite performance could have almost justified his entire contract.
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