The Denver Broncos did not address the tight end position until Day 3 of the 2026 NFL Draft, using a fifth-round pick on Justin Joly from NC State, and a seventh-round pick, the second-to-last pick in the draft, on Dallen Bentley from Utah.
Funnily enough, even though the Broncos didn't give this position any love until the draft was essentially over, the two tight ends truly both have a shot to make the roster, and that isn't just because the Broncos existing tight end room is so weak.
But both Joly and Bentley have a ton of upside in what they do best, and it's really refreshing to see that the front office set the foundation for the future at this position. As early as 2027, the Broncos could see Joly and Bentley as the TE1 and TE2, with Adam Trautman in more of a reserve role. Both of the rookies are also sound pass-catchers, which has been a huge missing piece of the room as a whole.
Denver Broncos rookie tight ends had some of the lowest drop rates among draft tight end prospects
There were five draft tight end prospects with 50+ targets and a drop rate of below 3 percent last season:
2026 NFL Draft TE prospects with 50+ targets AND a drop rate below 3% last season, per TruMedia:
— PFSN (@PFSN365) April 14, 2026
📌 Dan Villari, Syracuse
📌 Dallen Bentley, Utah
📌 Jaren Kanak, Oklahoma
📌 Tanner Koziol, Houston
📌 Justin Joly, NC State
Recent draftees who did it in their final college… pic.twitter.com/LboIcBrFKp
And the Broncos landed two of them with Joly and Bentley. This statistic also applied to the following tight end prospects from last year's draft, as noted in the above tweet:
Mason Taylor
Tyler Warren
Colston Loveland
Harold Fannin Jr.
Oronde Gadsden II
That's a pretty good list to be a part of, and this does really give the Broncos even more reason to believe that the duo of Joly and Bentley could work out. What has been missing from Denver's tight end room in recent years is simply good players and a complete skillset.
In theory, the skillsets of Evan Engram and Trautman work well together - Engram is more of an F tight end, meaning he can be moved all over the formation and is a plus receiver. Trautman is more of a Y tight end, meaning he's got the ability to line up next to an offensive tackle and act as blocker.
While having those types of players in the room is ideal, Denver doesn't necessarily get good enough play from either. Ideally, Joly and Bentley solve this, but having a tight end who can do both is also something that the Broncos have been missing.
Engram is a plus receiver at the position, but doesn't offer much as a blocker. Trautman is a fine blocker, but his receiving ability is lackluster. Joly is the one to keep an eye out for in this regard. He's still just 21 years old with a strong receiving skillset. The foundation is also present with him as a blocker.
Bentley actually turns 26 years old in December, so the Broncos would probably want him to hit his stride at some point in year one, but Bentley also does possess upside in both receiving and blocking, and both rookies being sound pass-catchers is really the icing on the cake here.