One of the weakest position groups on the Denver Broncos has to be tight end.
The room is made up of two undrafted free agents, a journeyman that was available for extremely cheap, and a receiving-only option that can’t get on the field.
It’s easy to see why Denver has been so frequently tied to Brock Bowers.
But how does the room stand now, before we enter the NFL Draft? Let’s look.
Adam Trautman, 27 years old
Remaining Contract: Two years, $7.5 million ($3.75 million in average annual value (AAV)), with $5 million fully guaranteed.
The fact Adam Trautman is the unquestioned leader of this position group is an incredible indictment of the current standing of the Denver Broncos’ tight end group.
Trautman is a serviceable enough blocker, a fine enough receiver and he knows Sean Payton’s offense, so they’re bringing him back on a new deal to be a placeholder, but it’s also very clear they don’t view him as a long-term answer.
What else is there to even say about Trautman?
The one positive slant might be that, at age 27, he should just now be hitting his prime at the tight end position and has enough of an athletic profile to make that semi-intriguing.
Greg Dulcich, 24 years old
Remaining Contract: Two years, $3.1 million ($1.05 million in AAV), with $500,000 fully guaranteed.
It’s so hard to have faith in Greg Dulcich at this point in his career, and that’s especially tragic, as it has nothing to do with his on-field ability.
Once he finally got on the field for his rookie season, he lit it up. On a per-game basis, Dulcich’s first year was the 11th-most productive rookie campaign we had ever seen from the tight end position.
But he just can’t stay on the field.
Hamstring issues shortened his rookie run by a great deal, and then forced him to miss all but 32 snaps over two games in his second season.
While sidelined for almost the entirety of last year, Dulcich spent much of his time visiting hamstring specialists who searched for what the culprit could be, including Dulcich’s weight and even the way that he runs.
So far, we’re still without a clear answer, and, as a result, it’s hard to have any faith that the hamstring problems won’t reemerge when Dulcich returns to the field.
Lucas Krull, 26 years old
Remaining Contract: One year, $915,000, with $0 guaranteed.
Lucas Krull emerged for the Denver Broncos late down the stretch in 2023 as a depth tight end, with all 196 of his snaps coming after Week 9, and 176 of those coming after Week 12.
Krull’s role on the team is fairly difficult to pin down.
With Chris Manhertz off the roster, the Broncos need to find another tight end that can at least be serviceable in the run game. Unfortunately, Denver was reluctant to trust Krull in those spots, as a mere 16% of his snaps came on run plays.
This is further demonstrated by the fact that 40% of his snaps from the slot. That’s not something you do with Chris Manhertz
He could be insurance for Greg Dulcich, as a pass-catching tight end, but it’s also hard to view him as much of a threat through the air. He reeled in eight of his 13 targets for 95 yards and a touchdown last season, but he struggled to separate frequently and was often used by Russell Wilson as more of a jump-ball target than anything.
For now, it’s nice to have that safety net, especially considering Dulcich’s injury history, but if the Broncos are forced to play Krull a large number of snaps this season, it will speak volumes about just how low-wattage this room is.
Nate Adkins
Remaining Contract: Two years, $2.05 million ($1.03 million in AAV), with $7,000 fully guaranteed.
While Krull is serving as Greg Dulcich insurance, Nate Adkins projects as the logical replacement for Manhertz’s block-first role.
In dramatic contrast to Krull, Adkins saw 46% of his snaps come on run plays, and on top of that, he was kept in to block on more than 20% of his pass-play snaps.
It wasn’t just a usage thing either, as Adkins performed well in this role, and even boasts the versatility to take snaps out of the backfield as a fullback.
The sharp decline Manhertz displayed over the final half of the season, along with how Adkins performed makes this swap look prudent.
Overall
Tight end is a serious problem for the Denver Broncos, as it stands now.
That said, given the low-value nature of the position and the state of Denver’s rebuild, it isn’t the most pressing problem. Adam Trautman is a fine stopgap that can gobble snaps for the Broncos until a true long-term answer emerges, but they will have to address it at some point, barring a miraculous return from Greg Dulcich.
With that in mind, it absolutely makes sense that the Broncos are so heavily connected to Brock Bowers. They don’t need their answer right now, but if one of the best tight end prospects ever is available to them, why not secure it now?
Not only does this team need a tight end, but it needs difference-making pieces on offense. This position group embodies that drought of offensive talent well.
