The Denver Broncos have found its long-awaited offensive playmaker in WR Jaylen Waddle, but the team still desperately needs to address tight end.
The Denver Broncos set out to do one thing this offseason: add some offensive pop by bringing in a playmaker.
And the Broncos did just that, acquiring star wide receiver Jaylen Waddle and a fourth-round pick (No. 111) from the Miami Dolphins in exchange for Denver’s 2026 first-, third- and fourth-round picks (No. 30, No. 94, No. 130).
Waddle, 27, is the dynamic big-play receiver the Broncos have been searching for since last year. He began his career with three straight 1,000-yard receiving seasons with the Dolphins, including a 1,356-yard effort in 2022 when he led the National Football League in yards per reception with 18.1. Waddle added eight touchdowns that season as well, showcasing his ability to take over games and be a reliable target for polarizing quarterback Tua Tagovailoa.
ESPN’s Jeff Legwold asked the question, did the Broncos hit their free agency goals? While the team spent the first week of free agency re-signing its players, Denver finally went out and made the splash trade to land Waddle, so the Broncos did accomplish what they set out to do.
But Denver still has a huge problem: lack of tight end production. And from the looks of it, it doesn’t seem like the Broncos are going to address that problem in free agency or through the draft.
Tight end is easily the biggest roster hole, and many predicted that the organization would cut ties with Evan Engram after a disappointing first season in Denver, but it seems as though he is sticking around.
The Broncos could get away with that if it brought in a formidable TE2 to do the dirty work since Engram is a receiving tight end (and not a good one last year), but the Broncos re-signed three other tight ends that otherwise would have headed for the open market.
Legwold wrote that unless the Broncos are committed to using a premium draft pick to bring in a better tight end (in this case, its second-rounder), it’s unlikely that the position gets an upgrade.
“It's difficult to see the upgrade plan at the position beyond potential game-plan adjustments unless the Broncos are poised to use a premium draft pick in April,” Legwold wrote Wednesday. “The Broncos have re-signed Adam Trautman (three years), Nate Adkins (one year) and Lucas Krull (one year) to return alongside Evan Engram so far.”
Engram was brought in to be head coach Sean Payton’s “joker,” the jack of all trades guy who can do everything on the field, but Engram was noticeably not used in the role. He caught 50 passes for 461 yards and just one touchdown in 16 games, only two seasons removed from having 114 receptions on 143 targets for 963 yards with four touchdowns.
Legwold noted that Broncos tight ends combined for just three TDs and nobody averaged more than 9.8 yards per reception. Denver needs more production from its tight end corps, and it starts with Engram, the two-time Pro Bowler.