TE Adam Trautman 'Initiated' Broncos-Saints Draft Day Trade

Adam Trautman wanted out of New Orleans and what better place to land than with the head coach who drafted him?

Most NFL players are traded without having much say in the matter, but new Denver Broncos tight end Adam Trautman got exactly what he asked for. The Broncos got to improve their depth and quality at tight end, and with Trautman's desire to jump ship known, the deal was made with the New Orleans Saints.

“Absolutely,” Trautman told 9NEWS' Mike Klis. “I was actually hoping to get moved. This was initiated by me personally. I’ve been waiting for a little bit for something to materialize and it just happened to be the Broncos, obviously.”

Head coach Sean Payton admitted that the Broncos had identified tight end as an area that they had to go after aggressively during the draft process. As events unfolded and the run began on collegiate targets, Payton once again reached for a low-cost addition from the Saints to help him out.

"We felt this was one of the needs for us coming in," Payton said post-draft. "We couldn't force that, and so when we passed that little area or sweet spot of tight ends and maybe drafted another player yesterday, this kind of came up."

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Knowing the book on Trautman should put Payton in a more comfortable position to get the most out of him. That will include tapping back into what Payton identified in Trautman coming out of the small-school Dayton in 2020, principally, the ability to contribute by catching passes and performing blocking assignments.

"We drafted Adam out of Dayton," Payton said. "He played for us for two years. In describing the player, he's that versatile tight end that can play the 'F' [receiving] tight end. He played a lot, most recently, on the ball. Generally when you draft a tight end out of college, they do one thing better than the other. Blocker first, then [catching]. When we drafted Adam, we felt like he was kind of one of those guys that was solid in both areas. We utilized him [in New Orleans] depending on who was up and who was down, who was healthy — both in-line and at the 'F' position. … He's clean, great makeup, great character."

Trautman's ability to catch and block is perhaps overlooked in general, so that was the major reason the 26-year-old was determined to head to a new team — one where perhaps his multi-faceted skill set will be better understood and harnessed.

In an ideal world, that will consist of snagging a few more balls than the 18 catches he had last season in New Orleans, but the trust levels that exist with Payton might see that happen in 2023.

“I feel like I was placed somewhat in a box,” Trautman said to Klis. “They put a limit on what I could contribute and I felt like I could contribute a lot more. I was primarily used as a blocker. I thought I could do more and I didn’t want to get to the end of my career and think I could have done it, caught the ball a little more. . . . Whatever the case was, the team I was playing for just didn’t let me do it. I want a chance to prove I can do it because I believe I can and I have in the past.”

Trautman certainly didn't sound too surprised that it was his former head coach who ended up calling, so now it's up to him to prove he can be trusted to be a complete tight end because it has quickly become a crowded positional group in Denver. 

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