PFF Reveals Broncos' Highest-Upside Move of 2025 & Gets it Wrong

The Denver Broncos made some great free-agent moves, so it's hard to fault Pro Football Focus too much.

Nick Kendell | Mar 24, 2025

Oct 13, 2024; London, United Kingdom; Jacksonville Jaguars tight end Evan Engram (17) during the second half of an NFL International Series game at Tottenham Hotspur Stadium. / Peter van den Berg-Imagn Images

In this story:

Denver Broncos

The Denver Broncos made a number of impressive and savvy moves in free agency. The Broncos were staring at holes along the spine of the defense with defensive tackle D.J. Jones set to hit the market and questions at safety and linebacker.

Denver retained Jones before free agency officially opened and brought along his former San Francisco teammates to join the party in linebacker Dre Greenlaw and safety Talanoa Hufanga. While those signings should raise the ceiling on what was already a very good defense in Denver, the addition of former first-round tight end Evan Engram is the move that has brought the most excitement in the Mile High City.

Sean Payton talked about the “joker” role in interviews prior to the Super Bowl, and both he and GM George Payton discussed the topic at length in their podium sessions at the NFL Combine. From there, the fans and media ran with the need where every other article or mock discussed a “joker."

The Broncos apparently found their guy, with Engram tweeting this image out after officially signing with Denver:

🤫 pic.twitter.com/jwfGNPYZ9i
— Evan Engram (@eazyengram) March 13, 2025

Just how much upside does Engram have in Denver by filling in the desired mismatch niche for Payton’s offense? Pro Football Focus’ Ben Cooper believes the signing of Engram is the organization’s highest-upside move this offseason.

"Much has been made of Broncos head coach Sean Payton saying he wants a 'Joker' player for his offense. Enter Evan Engram. The 30-year-old tight end separated from coverage defenders at a 68th-percentile rate among tight ends in 2024 and ranks eighth at the position in drop rate over the past two years," Cooper wrote. "While the former first-round pick will play on a significant two-year deal, he could be a difference-maker for quarterback Bo Nix and Denver’s offense."

What happens next on the Broncos beat? Don't miss out on any news and analysis! Take a second, sign up for our free newsletter, and get breaking Broncos news delivered to your inbox daily!

What Engram’s exact role will be on this offense remains to be seen. He has suffered a number of lower body injuries — calf strains, pulled hamstrings, MCL sprains, and foot sprains — over the duration of his NFL career and was sidelined for the year after receiving season-ending surgery to fix a torn shoulder labrum in 2024.

Engram, who will turn 31, should be a boon to the Broncos offense and offer another weapon for Payton and Bo Nix to play with, but is he really the “highest upside” player? I would argue that both Greenlaw and Hufanga, each coming with their own list of injuries, have an even larger upside than Engram.

With Greenlaw at 27 and Hufanga at 25 years old, both are on the “right” side of 30 and have massive upside if they can stay on the field. Hufanga, specifically, has incredible production and playmaking ability.

In his healthy 2022 season, Hufanga played at an All-Pro level and forced six turnovers while flying around San Francisco's defense. As an emerging star next to the best linebacker of this generation, Fred Warner, Greenlaw looked like he could become an All-Pro player as well.

Both will need to stay healthy, but given their age and high level of play over their rookie contracts in San Francisco, they can be argued as higher-upside signings.

Hufanga and Greenlaw may be surrounded by more talent, meaning less opportunity to rack up stats as opposed to Engram and the Broncos’ young and unproven weaponry surrounding him. Both defenders are about as boom-or-bust, high-upside signings as any made this offseason.

Recommended Articles