This is the fourth in a series of NFL Draft previews assessing the Broncos’ positional needs.
Broncos’ in-house offseason moves: Re-signed Adam Trautman (three years), Nate Adkins (one year) and Lucas Krull (one year).
Under contract: Evan Engram, Trautman, Adkins, Krull and Caleb Lohner.
Need scale (1-10): 9. The Broncos have turned their roster into one of the strongest and deepest in football over the past three years. They’ve largely hit on free agents, added impact in the draft and done a good job in the trade market. Perhaps Engram will be more productive in his second season in Denver, but overall, the Broncos have lacked playmaking punch from the position since well before Sean Payton was the head coach or George Paton the general manager. They loved Colston Loveland and liked Tyler Warren a year ago, but both were off the board well before No. 20. Now, they’re tasked with finding and developing a mismatch weapon who can also be a plus in the run game.
The Top Five
Kenyon Sadiq, Oregon
Sadiq is likely the lone first-round tight end in this class, but he’s a good one. He’s not 6-foot-6 and 260 pounds, but he’s strong, he’s a willing blocker and he is dynamite in the passing game. Sadiq checked into the NFL Combine at 6-foot-3 and 241 pounds and then ran a blistering 4.39-second 40-yard dash and leaped 43.5 inches vertical and 11-foot-1 broad. His usage in an NFL offense will likely look different than at UO, but once Sadiq is up to speed, he’s a heck of a weapon.
Eli Stowers, Vanderbilt
Denver’s list of targets basically starts here. No guarantee Stowers will still be on the board, but the Broncos could certainly be a landing spot if he is. Stowers is similarly sized to Sadiq (6-4 and 239 at the Combine) and put up high-grade athletic testing marks. He ran 4.51 in the 40 and had incredible jumping numbers at 45.5 inches vertical and 11-3 broad. A converted quarterback, Stowers is further along as a receiver than blocker and he took off the past two years at Vandy, catching 111 passes for 1,407 and nine TDs in 25 games. A Broncos 30-visitor.
Max Klare, Ohio State
Klare is regarded as a more balanced player, but like many collegiate tight ends, he’s more accomplished as a receiver than a blocker at this point. With some development in the run game, he could be an all-around type of guy. He hasn’t had any publicly available athletic testing in the pre-draft process, but is regarded as a terrific athlete at 6-5 and 246. Spent one year at Ohio State and caught 43 passes for 448 yards after a standout 2024 season at Purdue. A Broncos 30-visitor.
Justin Joly, NC State
If you’re sensing a theme in this class… Joly is 6-3 and 240 and did his best collegiate work catching the football at NC State and UConn. Joly’s got a long track record of production, catching at least 43 balls and going for at least 489 yards each of the past three seasons. He’s got a ton of versatility in the passing game, from screens and quick game to the middle of the field. His tape looks like that of a power wide receiver. If you think there’s blocking upside or want to use him more as primarily a pass-catcher, he’s very intriguing. A Broncos 30-visitor.
Oscar Delp, Georgia
For a guy who played 55 games at one of the preeminent football schools in the country, Delp might be a little bit under the public radar. Thatap likely because he never caught more than 24 passes (2023) in a season and the past two years combined for 41 receptions and 509 yards. All the same, Delp has the league’s attention. He checked into the combine at 6-foot-5 and 245 and ran in the upper 4.4-second range at Georgia’s pro day, according to various news reports. He reportedly played the 2025 season with a hairline fracture in his foot. He’s a candidate to be the mid-round pick that in a couple of years nobody can believe was picked as late as he was. No guarantee he’s available when Denver selects at No. 108.
Broncos options
Eli Raridon, Notre Dame
Raridon is a tall, rangy player at 6-foot-6 and 245 pounds. He, at this point, is not a particularly refined blocker, but given his size and strength, there’s a chance he can be one. Beyond that, Raridon’s a good athlete — 4.62 in the 40 – who caught 32 passes for 482 yards in 2025 but somewhat curiously did not find the end zone in 12 games. A player you can dream on, particularly on a roster like the Broncos, where there’s not necessarily a big rookie year role waiting for a tight end.
Nate Boerkircher, Texas A&M
Boerkircher is a Broncos 30 visitor and, like Raridon, has a frame and skill set that, if you squint, look like a good all-around player down the road. He wasn’t much of a pass-catcher in four years at Nebraska and had modest career highs of 19 catches and 198 yards for the Aggies last year, but he’s athletic and a good blocker at 6-foot-6 and 245. If a team thinks he can develop into a quality receiver, then you’re really working with something.
Marlin Klein, Michigan
Klein is one of the best blockers in the class, and a team that wants to be sold can come up with plenty of reasons why Klein didn’t put up more numbers in the passing game at Michigan. Born in Germany, Klein had 13 catches in 2024 and then 24 for 248 last year. He ran 4.61 in the 40 and jumped 36 inches vertical and 9-9 in the broad jump, measuring in at 6-foot-6 and 248 pounds at the combine.
Sam Roush, Stanford
Perhaps the best blocking tight end in the class, Roush is the opposite of some of the top guys in the group: You know what you’re getting in the run game and you’re betting you can develop the pass-catching part further. Thatap not to say Roush did nothing as a receiver. In fact, he had 49 catches for 545 and two TDs in 2025 and 40 catches the year before. He ran a 4.7 in the 40 at the combine but is a bigger player at 6-foot-6 and 267 pounds.
Carsen Ryan, BYU
If the Broncos make it past the fourth round and haven’t yet taken a tight end, perhaps Ryan is the kind of player who will be available in the later rounds. Ryan wasn’t invited to the combine but is listed at 6-4 and 250 pounds and showed in college he can play in-line or in the slot. Ryan played two years at UCLA, then one at Utah, before catching on at BYU in 2025. He never had more than 13 catches in his first three seasons, but then went for 45 and 620 yards for the Cougars last fall. There aren’t a ton of surefire options in this class, but there are a ton of interesting ones. This project could have been extended to include the likes of Texas’ Jack Endries, Ohio State’s Will Kacmarek, Utah’s Dallen Bentley, Baylor’s Michael Trigg, LSU’s Bauer Sharp and several more. Denver should find a tight end it likes somewhere along the way.
