Tankathon’s latest 2027 NFL mock draft has the Denver Broncos selecting Oregon tight end Jamari Johnson with the No. 17 overall pick, projecting a mismatch weapon for Bo Nix a year after the club’s tight ends combined for just 78 catches.
Johnson is listed at 6-foot-5 and 255 pounds. Tankathon ranks him 16th overall and first among tight ends.
He missed two games, then returned Saturday with seven catches for 119 yards in Oregon’s 41-27 win at USC. He opened the season with four receptions for 57 yards and a touchdown against Boise State. Through two games played: 11 catches, 176 yards, one score.
That follows a 2025 season in which the Louisville transfer caught 32 passes for 510 yards and three touchdowns, sixth-most receiving yards in a season by an Oregon tight end. Two of those scores came in the College Football Playoff.
His career totals are: 56 catches for 844 yards and five touchdowns in 23 games.
“Jamari is a dynamite player that can line up as a wide out, he can line up in the backfield, he can line up at tight end,” Oregon coach Dan Lanning said this summer.
Nix already has Courtland Sutton and Jaylen Waddle on the perimeter. What Denver has not had is a consistent tight end who can win down the seam. Evan Engram is the receiving option. He had five catches for 60 yards and a touchdown through two games.
Adam Trautman is the blocker on a three-year deal. Nate Adkins and rookies Justin Joly and Dallen Bentley fill out a crowded, modestly productive room.
The Broncos drafted two tight ends last April. Tankathon still treats the position as a need and has them taking the highest-ranked tight end in the class in the middle of Round 1.
Johnson’s 15.9 yards per catch last season is the trait that shows up in first-round conversations: a 255-pound target who can run after the catch. Blocking grades lag the receiving tape. That is the trade-off Sean Payton’s staff would weigh against a mid-round developmental pick.
Nix’s offense has lived on timing throws and play-action. A tight end who can split out or stay attached gives coordinators another way to stress linebackers. Engram is 32. Trautman’s contract runs through 2028 as a complementary piece, not a featured receiver.
Tankathon updates after every game and factors team needs. Denver’s record will move the pick. Tight end production will not stop being a talking point if Engram’s usage stays modest.
Johnson is not a finished blocker. He is the biggest, most explosive pass-catching tight end on the board. The mock has the Broncos giving Nix that look at 17.
