Denver Broncos coach Sean Payton prioritized finding a "Joker" player this offseason to help open the offense for quarterback Bo Nix.
The team believes it added that player in tight end Evan Engram.
"I would put him in that category or that family," Payton said Monday at the NFL's Annual League Meeting, via the team's official website. "He is someone who has those skill sets."
The Jacksonville Jaguars released Engram this offseason. Denver scooped up the athletic tight end, adding him to a room that desperately needed an upgrade.
"The vision was pretty clear," Payton said. "Obviously, he's someone that we feel like can run and give us a passing threat on third down and [in the] red zone. I think he has good body control, and I think he is really good when he gets the ball into his hands. His run-after-the-catch numbers, statistical-wise, have been good."
Engram is coming off an injury-plagued 2024 in which he played in just nine games, catching 47 passes for 365 yards and one touchdown. In 2023, he generated 114 grabs for a career-high 963 yards and four scores en route to a Pro Bowl campaign.
Payton's offense has always excelled with an athletic playmaker who can win over the middle. Tight ends like Jimmy Graham and Jeremy Shockey have thrived in Payton's offense. The Super Bowl-winning coach had yet to find such a player in Denver.
"We've talked about it for two years now, the interior triangle of your passing game [is] the tight end, the running back and the third receiver," Payton said. "When you're seeing a lot of these coverage shell looks, those positions have to thrive. The very logistical answer to your question is Engram is closer to Bo than the receivers sometimes. The matchups inside -- it's hard to play that position if you're not able to attack the interior triangle of some of the looks we're getting defensively. This helps Bo."
Added Payton: "It's helpful for the entire offense. It just opens up the middle of the field a little more. That's something that we lacked -- the explosive element that we've lacked in the middle of the field. As we've talked about, he's a mismatch-type player, so that only helps the quarterback."
One of Payton's top priorities this offseason was adding a "Joker" or two to the offense. He's found one. The Broncos could add another in the draft later this month.
