Can Justin Joly be the answer to the riddle of the ‘joker’ for the Broncos?

ENGLEWOOD, Colo. — The Broncos have spent over three years searching for a “joker.”

They’ve sifted through internal options like Albert Okwuegbunam and Greg Dulcich, both of whom were already on hand when Sean Payton arrived. They gave Lucas Krull a look after a strong finish to 2023 and a promising 2024 offseason, but he couldn’t find the end zone. And Evan Engram had some spurts of success last year, but was undercut by the second-highest drop rate among tight ends with at least 25 targets.

Still, if Engram can correct that, he should be reasonably effective in the final year of his contract — which is long enough to give a runway for the Broncos to gradually bring along a rookie who could develop into that viable, pass-catching “F” tight end for which Payton uses the afore-mentioned term.

And that’s why the Day 3 trade up for N.C. State’s Justin Joly made sense.

Myriad other teams were looking for the larger “Y” tight ends to align next to the tackle. Thus, for most teams searching for tight ends, that became the priority, pushing Joly down the board.

But the three-year contract the Broncos gave to Adam Trautman established him as the primary “Y” option. At 6-foot-3 and 241 pounds, Joly doesn’t have the body type or the size to be the “Y,” even though he did briefly play at near 260 pounds during his college career.

Two-hundred and sixty pounds isn’t the ideal size for him to maintain his quickness, although he should be able to add five to 10 pounds and not lose a step. But as an “F” tight end in space, he can cause matchup problems and will win one-on-one duels at the catch point.

And while Joly is a willing blocker, that’s not going to play to his strengths, and it’s also not where the clearest path to playing time exists.

As a pass-catching threat from the F TE spot, Justin Joly was right behind Eli Stowers on my list. Dynamic, soft hands. Upside; he can get better as a downfield target. Willing blocker. The value would have been good in R3. Truly a “great value” in R5. pic.twitter.com/cQiME1sGXC

— Andrew Mason (@MaseDenver) April 25, 2026

Rarely can you find such an ideal roster, scheme and situation fit at the 152nd pick. It’s no wonder the Broncos were willing to sacrifice their only sixth-round pick to get him, effectively taking them out of the draft mix until the final handful of selections. Once Joly fell into the 140s, the value was too good to decline.

BRONCOS PICKED A PASS CATCHER WITH SECURE HANDS

When asked about his strengths, Joly mentioned that his hands “work really well,” and the numbers back him up: He dropped just one of 50 catchable passes last year for the Wolfpack, per data compiled by Pro Football Focus.

Joly’s reliability improved after landing in Raleigh following two years at UConn. His drop rate in 2024 was one every 15.3 catchable passes, giving him a stellar two-year rate of one every 24 catchable passes. At UConn, Joly dropped one of every 11.7 catchable passes.

“I’m a security blanket for my quarterback,” Joly said. “When you have a great quarterback like Bo Nix it’s — well, you live life a little bit easier, but overall, you get better, in the run game. But, I’m just here to do whatever they need me to do.”

In Joly’s rookie season, that shouldn’t be much. Engram’s presence should give Joly time to acclimate. But by 2027, don’t be surprised if Joly is a game-changer for Denver’s attack — and the answer to the question that has bedeviled the Broncos and Payton since he arrived.

 

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