In the NFL, all the interwoven narratives and draft-day subplots are nearly as compelling as the final picks teams make. When you follow the trail of recent evidence, the Denver Broncos' approach to their 2025 draft picks reflected a team that felt confident in the roster additions it had already made during free agency.
In particular, joker-type tight end Evan Engram gave Broncos GM George Paton a critical foundation to work his draft strategy with flexibility. The whispers of a draft-day trade-up for dynamic tight ends Colston Loveland or Tyler Warren did not come to fruition. Only developmental project Caleb Lohner was added in the seventh round.
Ultimately, the Broncos' decision to handsomely pay Engram gives them a plug-and-play option at their disposal. Broncos legend Ed McCaffrey recently highlighted how Engram's presence within the Sean Payton offense will open things up and also provide a valuable escape hatch for second-year quarterback Bo Nix.
"They're going to use him as a big receiver in the passing game, and he can sometimes be a quarterback's best friend," McCaffrey told RG reporter DJ Siddiqi. "Usually, the tight ends run routes that are a little closer to the quarterback over the middle of the field, easy targets for the QB. If he gets pressure, they need a guy that can win one-on-one situations at that tight end position. So that was a big pickup."
Now that Nix has a stud pass-catching tight end close at hand, the ongoing development of his already impressive skill set could be accelerated. In Engram, Nix suddenly has a dynamic weapon that can also hurt opposing teams further down the field, and in those all-important soft spots over the middle.
McCaffrey is viewing the Broncos' new tight end as a supplemental wide receiver in the Payton system when required.
"Having two elite wide receivers on either side of the quarterback really helps open things up," McCaffrey told Siddiqi. "But Evan Engram will help do the same thing."
When you shut out all the outside noise, McCaffrey believes it hinges on exactly how Payton fits his new pieces into the jigsaw puzzle taking shape at Broncos HQ. Payton's handpicked signal-caller holds the key to everything, according to McCaffrey.
"Sean Payton knows where he wants his quarterback to go with the football," McCaffrey told Siddiqi. "When he calls the play, he wants the quarterback to see the field the way he sees it. Bo Nix does that this way, that's why Payton likes him so much, so they'll continue to work with him and the rest of the team. I'd like to see him have a really solid quick passing game, but then be able to stretch it, get the protection he needs and take some shots down the field. That's where having a lot of speed guys on the outside and guys running deep, crossing routes across the middle of the field, I think if he gets the time he needs, will help stretch things."
For all the blusterings over the Broncos drafting Texas cornerback Jahdae Barron in Round 1, the team's numerous offseason maneuvers have undoubtedly built the nest around Nix. The additions of Engram and speedy second-round running back RJ Harvey should, in theory, give Nix a real boost in both the passing and running game.
The more you critique things, the more it all circles back to how comfortable Payton feels with Nix pulling the strings for him. Now that Payton has a cerebral extension of himself out on the field, he's licking his chops over the explosives that could follow from the arm of Nix.
"They'll have some more explosive plays, hopefully, next year than what they had last year," McCaffrey told Siddiqi. "But he's the guy Sean Payton wants taking snaps. He sees the field the way Coach Payton sees it."
