For two years now, Denver Broncos fans have heard tell of a mythical, legendary offensive weapon — elusive and coveted — that has served as a traditional hallmark of Sean Payton's offense. The 'joker' — as defined by Payton himself — is a pass-catching tight end or running back who can exploit the middle of the field.
Under Payton's scrutiny, the Broncos have been searching for such candidates, and while there have been guys with a 'joker' propensity, none have been able to meet the standard of the mythos. Cut to the 2025 offseason, and the Broncos have seemingly doubled their search efforts, and for the first time since Payton arrived, the team finally landed a bonafide and already proven joker in the form of veteran tight end Evan Engram, who signed a two-year deal to take his talents to Denver.
On Thursday, not long after the Broncos' official press release had been sent out, Engram took to X (formerly Twitter) to lay down a gauntlet of sorts, declaring in no uncertain terms the vision Payton has for him and the team's expectations for its new weapon.
Posting a GIF of the late Heath Ledger portraying the Joker from the major motion picture The Dark Knight, Engram made it clear that he aims to fill Payton's vaunted role. If Engram can stay healthy, he'll likely do just that, creating new opportunities for Bo Nix to move the chains and giving the Broncos a new card to play in their 2025 hand.
Entering his ninth NFL season, Engram hails from Ole Miss. He's appeared in 108 games with 89 NFL starts, including two postseason starts. He's totaled 496 receptions for 4,922 yards and 25 touchdowns, and has even rushed 16 times for 93 yards with another score.
Having been elected to the Pro Bowl twice, Engram is one of the most prolific pass-catching tight ends of this NFL era. His 496 receptions are the fourth-most among tight ends since he entered the league as a New York Giants first-round pick in 2017, and his 4,922 receiving yards are the fifth-most.
Last season was a bit of a down year for Engram in Jacksonville, but he started nine games and caught 47 passes for 365 yards and a touchdown. For perspective, the Broncos' entire tight-end room combined for 51 catches last year, including Greg Dulcich's five before he was waived, and 483 yards.
25 individual tight ends had more receptions and yardage than the Broncos' entire tight end depth chart in 2024. And while Engram struggled with an injury last year that caused him to miss time, he still nearly matched Denver's total tight-end production at the individual level.
In 2023, Engram caught 114 passes for 963 yards and nine touchdowns, showcasing what he's capable of. That was two years ago, but even entering his age-31 season, he no longer runs a 4.4-second 40, but he plays a position that is seeing the upper-echelon guys play deep into their 30s.
The Broncos are hedging against the possibility of Father Time's inexorable decay with the two-year deal, but that's plenty of time for Engram to ply his wares and help elevate this Nix-led offense to another level. The Georgia native brings a skill set to the tight end position that Denver hasn't had since the heyday of Julius Thomas during the Peyton Manning epoch.
Engram is telegraphing to Broncos Country and the NFL that he's been tasked by Payton to be this team's joker in 2025 and beyond. But remember, nobody said you could only have one joker.
Expect the Broncos to add other candidates in the 2025 NFL draft.
