The Denver Broncos don’t have what it takes at tight end on the roster to be a contender. They just don’t. Doesn’t matter that they spent $23 million on free agent Evan Engram. Doesn’t matter that they just drafted 2 tight ends.
That’s why the Broncos need to take a page from their own book and make another blockbuster trade, and go all-in on fixing the position with a trade similar to the 1 they just made for Miami Dolphins wide receiver Jaylen Waddle.
CBS Sports NFL reporter Garrett Podell recently released a list of 5 NFL superstars who could ask for trades in the near future, and one of those, Arizona Cardinals tight end Trey McBride, would be worth whatever price the Broncos need to pay for him.
Trey McBride 1 of NFL’s Elite Tight Ends
McBride, 6-foot-4 and 246 pounds, is coming off a season in which he finished 2nd in the NFL with 126 receptions to go with 1,239 receiving yards and 11 touchdowns on the way to earning NFL All-Pro honors while playing on 1 of the NFL’s worst teams.
He signed a 4-year, $76 million contract extension before the 2025 season, which might end up being a steal if he can continue to sniff those types of statistics.
“Unfortunately for McBride, he’s playing in the toughest division in football … perhaps ever,” Podell wrote. “The 2025 NFC West became the first division in league history with three 12-win teams — the Seattle Seahawks, Los Angeles Rams and San Francisco 49ers — while the Cardinals became the first team to finish nine games worse than every other team in their respective division. There’s not much hope of that hierarchy changing anytime soon unless Arizona stinks again in 2026 in order to land one of the top quarterback prospects in the 2027 NFL Draft.”
In this case, the Broncos should be willing to part ways with a starter, possibly, to get McBride, along with draft picks, with 1 caveat — no 1st-round picks.
Broncos Are Still Messy at Tight End
The Broncos are still an unmitigated mess at tight end. Harsh but true.
Engram was terrible in 2025 after the Broncos signed him to a terrible 2-year, $23 million contract. He was never worse than when the Broncos needed him most. In 2 playoff games, he had 3 receptions for 26 yards and no touchdowns.
The Broncos tried to improve the position — kind of — in the 2026 NFL draft. They used 2 of their picks on tight ends but, for some reason, didn’t see fit to use anything above a 5th-round pick (No. 152 overall) on North Carolina State’s Justin Joly or a 7th-round pick (No. 256 overall) on Utah’s Dallen Bentley.
Of those 3 options at tight end, Joly probably seems like he has the most potential.
The Athletic’s Nick Baumgardner called Joly 1 of the “Biggest Sleepers” coming out of the NFL draft.
“Joly is a bit of a project — you might never get true first-down, run-blocking power out of him,” Baumgardner wrote. “But he’s a bit of a mutant athletically (6-3, 241), with great vertical speed and enough wiggle to separate at the top of routes. He could be a potential matchup problem in the NFL.”
In 2024, Joly had 43 receptions for 661 yards and 4 touchdowns. In 2025, he had 49 receptions for 489 yards and 7 touchdowns. He was 2nd in the FBS with 48 missed tackles forced over the last 4 seasons, and averaged 5.5 yards after the catch.
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