With a crowded roster and fresh draft picks arriving, the Denver Broncos have to figure out what to do in the tight end room.
By now, it is not a secret that Denver Broncos head coach Sean Payton loves to stockpile tight ends on his roster.
He did this with the New Orleans Saints, and he has done it in Denver, even if some of the names are not as talented as others.
This year figures to be no different as the Broncos have Evan Engram and Adam Trautman back in the fold, and they selected North Carolina State tight end Justin Joly in the 2026 NFL Draft while also having Nate Adkins back on the roster.
The Broncos also selected Dallen Bentley in the seventh round of the draft.
But, once the roster cuts come, there could be a tight end released to make way for other positions.
Moe Moton of Bleacher Report named one player from each team who could be cut, and he had Adkins as the player for Denver.
"Nate Adkins isn't a name you see in headlines, though he's had a decent role in head coach Sean Payton's offense. In back-to-back years, the veteran tight end played at least 33 percent of the offensive snaps and scored three touchdowns in 2024," Moton wrote.
Adkins has spent his entire career with the Broncos since coming into the league in 2023, but he is more of a blocker than a pass-catcher.
Still, he plays a good amount of snaps for Denver.
In 2025, he had just eight receptions for 48 yards with a touchdown, and he turns 27 years old in July.
Lucas Krull is also on the roster at tight end, and it seems highly unlikely that Denver releases either of the draft picks or Engram, and Trautman also has a new contract.
Adkins' best year came in 2024, when he played in all 17 regular-season games with 14 catches for 115 yards and three scores.
He played in just nine games this past season, and it might be the easy choice for Denver to part ways with him given the sudden logjam in the tight end room.
Here was Adkins' lone touchdown catch in 2025, which came in the lowly game against the New York Jets.
The fact that the Broncos selected two tight ends in the draft shows two things: Payton loves tight ends, and they don't feel great about the current tight end room they had going into the draft.
That could mean one or both of Krull and Adkins are released this summer.
