It’s no secret the Denver Broncos are in desperate need of a tight end. Head coach Sean Payton looks at the position — if it’s the right player — as one that can change the trajectory of their offense moving forward.
Unfortunately for the Broncos, they only have one first round pick in the 2025 NFL draft and have pressing needs at safety and running back as well. So, as much as Payton loves the tight end position, the NFL is moving toward more of a ground and pound style. That means drafting a tight end in the first round might not be the smartest move.
That’s why ESPN’s Jordan Reid has the Broncos taking a tight end in the second round (No. 51 overall) in his latest mock draft with the University of Miami’s Elijah Arroyo.
Arroyo, 6-foot-5 and 250 pounds, is coming off a breakout season in which he had 35 receptions for 590 yards and 7 touchdowns while averaging 16.9 yards per reception. Arroyo had just 11 receptions for 163 yards and 1 touchdown in the previous 3 seasons.
“A versatile tight end has been a staple of Sean Payton’s offenses, dating to his New Orleans days,” Reid wrote on March 4. “Arroyo has plenty of potential at 6-foot-5, 250 pounds. His breakout 2024 campaign showed how he can put linebackers in a bind by beating them in man coverage, while also scoping out holes in zone coverage.”
Arroyo Thrived in Offense With Potential No. 1 Pick
Arroyo’s career came to life in 2024 with one high profile transfer in quarterback Cam Ward, who is a potential No. 1 overall pick in the 2025 NFL draft. In one season at Miami after stops at FCS Incarnate Word and Washington State, Ward won the Davey O’Brien Award, Manning Award and was named ACC Player of the Year and a consensus All-American.
“Arroyo and Ward’s connection this season was seamless,” Sports Illustrated’s Justice Sandle wrote on February 27. “Ward threw to his tight end often and found a lot of usage out of him. He had over 500 yards and seven touchdowns and could have been more had the season been prolonged into the playoffs.”
The biggest question around Arroyo and the reason behind his delayed development was a knee injury that led to him only playing 11 games across the 2022 and 2023 seasons.
“Arroyo enters the evaluation process with questions to answer after a knee injury took chunks of two seasons from him,” NFL draft analyst Lance Zierlein wrote. “He displayed a willingness as both a point-of-attack and move blocker, but his technique and play strength will need upgrading. He’s an average athlete who struggles to beat man coverage but appeared to get faster and more fluid as the 2024 season wore on. He plays with awareness in space and secures throws with sure hands in traffic.”
Broncos Tight Ends Were Terrible in 2024
What the Broncos don’t have right now is a sustainable situation at tight end — they made the playoffs for the first time in a decade in 2024 despite the position being a glaring weakness Denver’s tight end trio of Adam Trautman, Lucas Krull and Nate Adkins combined for 46 receptions for 455 yards and 5 touchdowns.
