The Denver Broncos head into the 2026 campaign with veteran tight end Evan Engram as their starter, but questions already swirl about the position’s future.
Engram signed a two-year deal during the 2025 offseason and now enters the final season of that contract. At 32 years old, he produced 50 receptions for 461 yards and one touchdown last year, numbers that fell short of expectations.
Sports Illustrated writer Gilberto Manzano addressed the situation in his 2027 NFL mock draft. He has the Broncos selecting LSU tight end Trey’Dez Green with the 25th overall pick as Engram’s eventual successor.
Green earned second-team All-SEC honors last season after recording 33 catches for 433 yards and seven touchdowns. The 6-foot-7, 244-pound prospect ranks among the most highly regarded tight ends in college football.
“The Broncos could use an upgrade at tight end after Evan Engram’s somewhat quiet first season in Denver,” Manzano said. “Also, coach Sean Payton is known for taking chances on athletic versatile playmakers. There has been plenty of hype regarding what the 6’7″, 244-pound Green could do with Sam Leavitt, the ASU transfer, as his quarterback in 2026. Green’s size and basketball background help him come down with many contested catches, but drops were a problem at times last season.”
Entering his junior year, Green is viewed as a consensus first-round talent. In Manzano’s projection he would come off the board as the second tight end selected, behind Oregon’s Jamari Johnson.
Green also played basketball at LSU and appeared in six games as a true freshman. Scouts praise his rare combination of size and athleticism.
NFL Draft Buzz noted five drops on 51 targets last season and pointed out that Green still needs to refine his blocking. The site emphasized that those concerns do not diminish his long-term potential.
“Not one of those cautions touches the ceiling,” NFL Draft Buzz wrote.
“Tight ends with this frame, this speed and this production this young carry first-round conversations through every spring they stay healthy, and a full junior season as the centerpiece of a new-look offense should answer the hands and blocking questions one way or the other. He projects as a move-Y matchup weapon a creative coordinator can post up anywhere, with All-Pro upside if the catching mechanics tighten.”
Quarterback Bo Nix has thrown for 33 touchdowns as a rookie and 30 more last season. A reliable red-zone target of Green’s stature could give Nix another dimension.
Engram made the Pro Bowl in 2020 and 2023, yet he has scored only two touchdowns across the past two seasons. He has exceeded four touchdowns in a single year just once, during his 2017 rookie campaign.
Broncos coaches have long valued versatile athletes who can create mismatches. Green’s basketball background and contested-catch ability fit that profile.
A productive junior season at LSU would likely lock in Green’s first-round status and give Denver a clear target if it chooses to address tight end early in the 2027 draft.
Until then, Engram remains the starter. His performance this fall will determine how urgently the Broncos pursue a younger, bigger option at the position.
