Sean Payton Talks Up the Development of Broncos' Towering Rookie TE Weapon

The Denver Broncos took a flyer on Utah tight end Caleb Lohner with their last pick in the 2025 NFL draft. At least, it seemed like a flyer.

Since the Lohner pick was made, though, Broncos head coach Sean Payton has sounded a lot more enthused than you'd expect of a seventh-round we'll-see-how-it-goes lark. A former basketball star, Lohner brings with him exactly 57 snaps of Division I experience at tight end, but all four of his collegiate receptions went for a touchdown.

A lot of projection went into the Lohner selection. At 6-foot-7 and 250 pounds, the tools are there, but one year removed from working wonders on the Broncos' youthful roster, Payton and his coaches have their work cut out for them when it comes to getting their inexperienced but talented rookie tight end up to speed.

So far, so good, though — according to Payton.

“He’s coming around. He’s doing well," Payton said of Lohner earlier this week. "There are some things that are new to him, and then there are some things that he gravitates to that I think he’s further along with. He’s doing well.”

Starting back in May at rookie minicamp, spending time in Lohner's presence, with the way he's able to move at his size, had a "holy cow" effect on the Broncos' head coach. But the enormity of the developmental job ahead of the Broncos was never lost on Payton when the Lohner pick was made.

"Yes, we have to coach and develop," Payton said of Lohner following the draft. "There are traits there that excite me."

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Lohner makes for one heck of a red zone weapon. That's how Utah utilized him, and at the next level, Payton probably has similar visions of two-tight-end red-zone sets dancing in his head.

Lohner will always be compared to Jimmy Graham, not just because of the Payton connection, but because of their basketball history, relatively minimal college experience, and size. Lohner has a long way to go before even sniffing Graham's level in the NFL, but he has an excellent role model to shadow in Evan Engram.

Engram's presence hasn't precluded Payton from giving Lohner cut-ups of Graham's film to study, or even putting him in touch with former New Orleans Saints' All-Pro tight end. Despite his inexperience, the Broncos are trying to give Lohner every tool and tip to succeed.

When Payton talks about the "new" things for Lohner, a good chunk of that is surely his blocking chops. That's something that will have to come along relatively quickly, too, if he wants to see the field as a pro, because no one's on scholarship at Broncos HQ.

Beyond Engram and Lohner, the Broncos still have the veteran Adam Trautman, Lucas Krull, and Nate Adkins, as well as newcomer Caden Prieskorn. If Lohner wants to avoid the practice squad and stick on the 53-man roster, he'll have to leapfrog Adkins and Krull to guarantee it.

Denver carried four tight ends on the initial 53-man roster last season, but Greg Dulcich didn't last long into the campaign. There's next to no chance that five tight ends are kept this year, so Lohner can help his odds of making the 53-man roster by usurping either Krull or Adkins, but to be sure of it, he's got to get in front of both.

As talented and blessed he is with his size, that won't be easy for Lohner simply because he's barely played the position. Again, 57 total snaps as a college football tight end and they all came in his senior year after a long career as a basketball player at Utah, BYU, and Baylor.

Then again, if Payton has a soft spot for Lohner and doesn't want to risk him on the waiver wire, exceptions could be made, but such concessions are few and far between in the production-based business that is the NFL.

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Still, Payton says that Lohner's early NFL assimilation is "coming around." We'll see what's what when the pads go on and the cleats hit the grass at Broncos training camp next month.