Do the Broncos have room for two rookie tight ends on their 53-player roster?

Is there room for the Broncos to keep two rookie tight ends on the 53-player roster?

Once they selected Utah’s Dallen Bentley with the penultimate pick of the 2026 NFL Draft, that became the pertinent question regarding roster construction at a position that has potential answers to to longstanding queries — just perhaps not the responses that some in Broncos Country would hope to hear.

After all, the team ultimately decided to run it back with most of their complement of tight ends, re-signing dependable Adam Trautman, bringing back Evan Engram for the second year of his deal and inking one-year deals with Nate Adkins and Lucas Krull, the latter of whom ended the season on injured reserve.

Krull surprised some by making the 53-player roster last year after a stellar training camp. Unfortunately for him, a practice-field injury in Week 5 torpedoed his progress. And now he looks around to see Joly, a prospect the Broncos eyed throughout the pre-draft process, and a proficient route-runner and short-to-intermediate target. He’s not yet a seam-ripper-type, but he had a chance to flourish in the offense long-term.

As a fifth-round pick, Joly is a near-lock for the 53-player roster. The same is not the case for Bentley, who’ll work more as a blocker on the inside early. But are the Broncos willing to have 40 percent of their tight-end room be comprised of rookies — or players who otherwise lack regular-season experience?

BRONCOS HAVEN’T FORGOTTEN ABOUT CALEB LOHNER, EITHER

And the 2025 seventh-round pick is the wild card in the group.

Last year, the Broncos rolled the dice that Caleb Lohner would pass through waivers unclaimed, even though the Indianapolis Colts had eyes on signing him had he gone undrafted four months earlier. He did, and the Broncos got a developmental season out of the raw erstwhile basketball player, who caught just four college-football passes.

Lohner didn’t take part in OTAs due to injury, but his during the rookie minicamp in May, when he was eligible to participate on account of not accruing a season last year since he didn’t make it onto the 53-player roster made an impression.

“He looks entirely different in this camp,” Broncos coach Sean Payton said in May. “Now, he was here in this camp a year ago as a draft pick, but he stood out.”

And when asked what Lohner was doing better than he was in 2025, Payton’s response was simple: “Everything.”

“One year into the program, and how he’s moving, what he’s doing, everything looks entirely different,” Payton said. “That learning curve and growth curve was greater for someone who had far less experience maybe than others, if that makes sense. It’s entirely noticeable, and he’s in great shape. You see his athleticism.”

And on the practice field last year, the Broncos saw his aggression, too.

“Bill [Parcells] used to say, ‘If they don’t bite when they’re puppies, they’re probably never going to bite,'” Payton said. “There’s a physical aspect to the way [Lohner] plays. Even on look team last season, he’d play an outside linebacker rushing our tackles. He’s 6-foot-7, 265 pounds and he’s not afraid of the contact.

“So, it’s been good to see him in Year 2. You knew there was going to be a developmental upside, but that was encouraging.”

Payton added that for Lohner, the blocking aspect of his game has been “a little bit easier to develop” than his work as a pass catcher. That’s notable, because with that skill set and frame, Lohner would initially project more as a “Y” tight end working in-line than as an “F” in space. Which means he and Bentley could be fighting for the same spot and the same type of repetitions, joining a mix that will include Adkins and Trautman.

Trautman leads the “Y” tight ends, just as Engram sits atop the “F” group. The Broncos’ three-year contract extension to Trautman consolidates his position. So, barring injury, he’ll be on the 53-player roster, bringing not only his on-field skills, but his leadership and veteran presence — both of which are especially valuable with so many young players in the position group.

Adkins isn’t just a “Y” tight end, of course; he’s a potential fullback, too. So he occupies another unique space in the equation. But if Bentley and Lohner impress, the Broncos could be faced with a difficult question: Is there room for one or both of them — as well as Adkins?

If the decision becomes excruciating, it means the summer went well. After the last few years, a tight-end surplus would be a nice problem to have for the Broncos.

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