ENGLEWOOD, Colo. -- After some offseason film study and number crunching, the Denver Broncos made an educated bet. They believe they can boost their tight end production by adding two rookies to the returning players at the position group. If they win that bet and get a bump from the seven tight ends on the roster, the most glaring weakness on their Super Bowl-contending team will be fixed.
As the Broncos exited three days of on-field practices at their rookie minicamp this past weekend, coach Sean Payton dropped some optimism. That sentiment was echoed by one of the rookie tight ends -- fifth-rounder Justin Joly -- who said he was ready for whatever was asked of him.
"So, it's like, 'If you want to put me in the backfield, do you want to put me anywhere on the field? I'll do it,'" Joly said. "Even if they want [me] to play defense, just let me know -- I got you guys."
Even if Joly's contributions are exclusively at tight end come September, that will be more than welcome for the Broncos. In a league in which offenses are increasingly using two- and three-tight-end sets to punish nickel defenses, Denver's tight end production fell short in 2025. The Broncos got only three combined touchdowns from the position group, and no tight end averaged more than 9.8 yards per reception.
Three of last season's top scoring offenses -- the Rams (No. 1), Patriots (No. 2) and Bills (No. 4) -- got at least nine touchdowns and 1,025 yards receiving from their tight ends. Only the Jets and Buccaneers had fewer tight-end touchdowns than the Broncos' three, and the Broncos were 26th in tight end receiving yards (719).
"I do think the tight end position can bring a lot more than it did," starting tight end Evan Engram said at the start of the offseason. "There's a lot more we honestly could have helped with."
Engram, who has a year left on the two-year deal he signed last offseason, had 64% of the tight end room's receptions and receiving yards last season, finishing with 50 catches for 461 yards and a touchdown. The Broncos elected to re-sign Adam Trautman, Nate Adkins and Lucas Krull to return alongside Engram. Then they selected Joly and Dallen Bentley (seventh round, 256th overall) on Day 3 of last month's draft.
Payton also considers Caleb Lohner a newcomer, too. The 6-foot-7, 250-pound Lohner was a seventh-round selection in the 2025 draft and spent his rookie season on the practice squad. He participated as a veteran player at rookie minicamp, where he was singled out by Payton.
"He looks entirely different in this camp," Payton said. "One year into the program, and how he's moving, what he's doing, everything looks entirely different. ... It's entirely noticeable, and he's in great shape. You see his athleticism."
Lohner played basketball at Baylor, BYU and Utah before playing one season of football for the Utes in 2024. He has the physical ability to challenge defenders in a crowd with the mass to work as a blocker if he can show enough progress this summer to carve out some snaps.
Joly described Lohner as "uber-athletic, he can jump out of [the] sky, quick-twitch." But while Lohner still has some development, the 6-foot-4, 245-pound Joly could be in position to find an immediate role on an offense which returns every starter from a squad that went 14-3 last season.
Many league evaluators pegged Joly as a Day 2 prospect because of his ability to win the ball through contact. Payton said the NC State product fits as more of the F, or move, tight end in Denver's offense. That could result in him being lined up more in the slot, the backfield or out wide, and he could be put in motion at times.
As for the other rookie, Payton said Bentley is more of a traditional in-line prospect at this point of his development. A teammate of Lohner's at Utah, the 6-foot-4, 253-pound Bentley had 48 of his 51 career receptions and six of his career touchdowns this past season.
"You just have to take every opportunity that you can to get better, it's something that I take a lot of pride in," Bentley said. And when asked about his comfort level as a blocker at the position, he said "I've got the body for it."