![\"Justin](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/07\/GettyImages-2183213203-e1777731205115.jpg\")
\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/p>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/p>\n
\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\tGetty\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/p>\n
Denver Broncos tight end and former North Carolina State tight end Justin Joly. <\/p>\n
Since hiring Sean Payton almost 4 years ago, the Denver Broncos<\/a> have gone position-by-position in improving the roster on the way to building a Super Bowl contender.<\/p>\n That\u2019s with 1 notable exception \u2014 at tight end.<\/p>\n The Broncos took a relatively big swing in free agency before the 2025 season with 2-time Pro Bowl tight end Evan Engram<\/a> on a 2-year, $23 million contract that blew up in their faces when he couldn\u2019t produce.<\/p>\n Headed into 2026, NFL.com singled out tight end<\/a> as the \u201cbiggest remaining roster issue\u201d but also dropped the idea that the answer to the issue might already be on the roster in rookie tight end and 5th-round pick Justin Joly<\/a>.<\/p>\n \u201cThe Broncos arguably saw the least turnover in the league this offseason and have a Super-Bowl-contending roster in my book,\u201d NFL<\/a>.com\u2019s Matt Okada wrote. \u201cBut they also did next to nothing to improve at tight end after a disappointing 2025 campaign from Evan Engram (461 yards, one TD) and the entire tight end room (seventh-fewest receiving yards in the NFL). Adam Trautman is used primarily as an in-line blocker, so unless Engram posts a bounce-back season or fifth-round rookie Justin Joly is a surprise breakout, Sean Payton will likely go another year without his coveted versatile tight end in Denver.\u201d<\/p>\n Broncos Won\u2019t Invest at Tight End in Draft<\/p>\n If the Broncos really wanted to improve at tight end, they could have drafted 1 in the earlier rounds at any point since hiring Payton, which they haven\u2019t.<\/p>\n The Broncos have shown little backbone when it comes to drafting tight ends, actually. They used a 7th-round pick on 6-foot-7, 250-pound Caleb Lohner<\/a> in 2025 and stashed him on the practice squad. In 2026, Denver used a 5th-round pick on North Carolina State\u2019s Joly and a 7th-round pick on Utah\u2019s Dallen Bentley<\/a>.<\/p>\n Critics Focused on Justin Joly\u2019s Shortcomings<\/p>\n The reason Joly dropped to the 5th round<\/a> \u2014 outside of playing for North Carolina State \u2014 was over concerns surrounding his size and blocking ability.<\/p>\n The Athletic\u2019s Nick Baumgardner<\/a>\u00a0is more focused on what Joly\u00a0can\u00a0do and how he thinks the former North Carolina State star can contribute when he finally gets on the field for the Super Bowl contenders. It\u2019s Joly\u2019s upside that landed him at the top of The Athletic\u2019s list of the\u00a0\u201cBiggest Sleepers\u201d coming out of the NFL draft<\/a>.<\/p>\n \u201cJoly is a bit of a project \u2014 you might never get true first-down, run-blocking power out of him,\u201d Baumgarnder wrote. \u201cBut he\u2019s a bit of a mutant athletically (6-3, 241), with great vertical speed and enough wiggle to separate at the top of routes. He could be a potential matchup problem in the NFL.\u201d<\/p>\n Any offensive pick for the Broncos the last 2 years comes with 1 question off the bat \u2014 how will they fit with starting quarterback\u00a0Bo Nix<\/a>?<\/p>\n \u201cBroncos use No. 152 for TE Justin Joly,\u201d\u00a0Broncos reporter Mike Klis wrote<\/a>\u00a0on his official X account after the Broncos selected Joly. \u201cOffensive weapons continue to stack up for Bo Nix.\u201d<\/p>\n Joly spoke with DNVR\u2019s Zac Stevens<\/a>\u00a0about playing for the Broncos, saying head coach Sean Payton and offensive coordinator\u00a0Davis Webb<\/a>\u00a0envision him as a \u201cSwiss Army Knife\u201d in the offense.<\/p>\n Joly also spoke about playing with Nix, who has become 1 of the NFL\u2019s elite quarterbacks over his 1st 2 NFL seasons. The Broncos missed the playoffs in 8 consecutive seasons before Nix was drafted in the 1st round (No. 12 overall) of the 2024 NFL draft.<\/p>\n In 2 seasons with the Broncos, Nix has led the team to consecutive playoff berths, including a 14-3 regular season and a spot in the AFC Championship Game following the 2025 season.<\/p>\n \u201cLeadership and knowing what to do at all times,\u201d Joly said when asked what he expected of playing with Nix. \u201cHe\u2019s such a smart quarterback. Be reliable and be there when he needs you.\u201d<\/p>\n \n\t\t\tTony Adame<\/a> covers the NFL for Heavy.com, with a focus on the Tampa Bay Buccaneers, Washington Commanders, Dallas Cowboys, Baltimore Ravens, Philadelphia Eagles and Denver Broncos. A veteran sports writer and editor since 2004, his work has been featured at Stadium Talk, Yardbarker, NW Florida Daily News and Pensacola News Journal. More about Tony Adame<\/a>\t\t<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Getty Denver Broncos tight end and former North Carolina State tight end Justin Joly. Since hiring Sean Payton…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":811190,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[559],"tags":[64,63,593,85],"class_list":["post-811189","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-nfl","tag-au","tag-australia","tag-nfl","tag-sports"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/811189","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=811189"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/811189\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/811190"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=811189"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=811189"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=811189"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}