Draft Guru Sends Message to Broncos Ahead of Crucial NFL Combine Week

The Denver Broncos heard from one of the most respected minds in NFL draft media on a very important subject.

Chad Jensen | Feb 23, 2025

Michigan tight end Colston Loveland makes a catch against Washington during the second half of U-M's 34-13 win in the College Football Playoff national championship game in Houston on Monday, Jan. 8, 2024. / Junfu Han / USA TODAY NETWORK

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Denver Broncos

The Denver Broncos have been linked to multiple tight ends since the 2025 offseason began. Whether it be pending free agents like Juwan Johnson in New Orleans or draft prospects like Penn State's Tyler Warren or Michigan's Colston Loveland, there's a reason tight end is on the brain at Broncos HQ.

NFL Network draft guru Daniel Jeremiah recently held his pre-draft press conference, laying out his big board and answering questions. Taking Loveland at No. 20 for Denver in his latest mock draft, Jeremiah's strategy behind connecting a top tight end to the Broncos illustrated why it's a genuine priority for the team.

"I like the idea of having a young quarterback in Bo Nix having a chance to grow and play with the same tight end for a long period of time," Jeremiah said via Aric DiLalla of the team website. "I think, as we've seen with [Chiefs quarterback Patrick] Mahomes and [tight end Travis] Kelce, that's a chemistry thing with those two positions connected. So I would love to see them get a premier tight end like that and get those guys [to] grow together because Loveland is excellent. Again, he is one of the top 10 players in the draft for me."

Nix has a great X receiver in Courtland Sutton, and a few other young receiving weapons poised to grow with the young quarterback in Sean Payton's offense. But last season, the Broncos' woeful lack of a running back and a threat at tight end limited the offense, and how the Buffalo Bills exploited those deficiencies in the Wildcard Round of the playoffs served as a cautionary glimpse of the future if the team doesn't add weaponry to Nix's arsenal.

In Jeremiah's latest mock draft, Boise State running back Ashton Jeanty — who's also been heavily linked to Denver — was still on the board, but he selected Loveland for the Broncos. Most fans would be ecstatic with either Jeanty or Loveland at No. 20, but with how highly Jeremiah has both prospects ranked on his big board, there's a growing concern that both will be long gone by the time the Broncos go on the clock, along with Warren.

"Jeanty is my third-overall player," Jeremiah said via DiLalla. "Loveland is my seventh-overall player. I think they both would be home-run picks. I think you go Jeanty over Loveland just based off that for me in that situation, but Loveland, when I think about 'Jokers' and chess pieces and mismatch players, he would be a fun one in that offense."

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Payton and Nix could make a lot of hay with Loveland, no doubt. John Elway had Shannon Sharpe, Peyton Manning had Dallas Clark in Indianapolis and Julius Thomas in Denver, Tom Brady had Rob Gronkowski in New England, and Drew Brees had Jeremy Shockey before Jimmy Graham in New Orleans. In modern times, Mahomes has had Kelce, Lamar Jackson has Mark Andrews, and Josh Allen has Dawson Knox and Dalton Kincaid, among other top-level quarterback/tight end combinations across the NFL.

This time last year, Payton and the Broncos hoped they had their receiving tight end in waiting in Greg Dulcich. If the team could just keep him healthy, the plan was for the former third-round pick to finally take his place as a key lynchpin in Payton's offense.

Alas, while Dulcich did manage to fend off the injury bug, something else was missing. What that was, exactly, is up for debate, but after a couple of lackluster performances early in the season, Dulcich was rendered a spectator as a healthy scratch for weeks before the Broncos finally waived him.

The Broncos had little choice in-season but to embrace the it-takes-a-village approach at tight end, rolling with the trio of Adam Trautman, Lucas Krull, and Nate Adkins. While each tight end made the occasional play, none was able to rise to the level of being a consistent weapon for Nix or a chess piece opposing defenses had to game-plan for.

So, it's back to the tight-end drawing board for Payton and company. And that's not the worst thing; Dulcich was drafted in 2022 under the previous head-coaching regime, after all. Dulcich was a George Paton draft pick, but he wasn't a Payton guy.

The silver lining is, much like quarterback, Payton now gets the opportunity to hand-pick the ideal guy for his scheme. Only this time, the Broncos have acquired the biggest missing puzzle piece in the form of Nix, which actually makes identifying the right tight-end targets a little simpler.

Even better, it happens to be a great year to be in the tight end market. So if it turns out that the likes of Warren, Jeanty (a running back), and Loveland are off the board before No. 20 overall, the Broncos could zig in Round 1, whether that's taking a different player at a premium position, and zag on Day 2 and 3 by dipping into a very deep pool of tight ends in the 2025 NFL draft class.

Tight ends likely to be available beyond the first round include Miami's Elijah Arroyo (fringe), Bowling Green's Harold Fannin Jr., LSU's Mason Taylor, Texas' Gunnar Helm, Clemson's Jake Briningstool, and Oregon's Terrance Ferguson. Again, it's a good year to be in the tight end business.

The next step comes this week in the form of the NFL Scouting Combine. Mile High Huddle/Denver Broncos On SI will be there to ask these tight end prospects about any interactions they have with the Broncos in Indianapolis.

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