ENGLEWOOD, Colo. -- The Denver Broncos wined and dined only one player during the early free agent blitz.
Even as they were putting the final touches on deals with linebacker Dre Greenlaw, safety Talanoa Hufanga and wide receiver Trent Sherfield Sr., team officials took tight end Evan Engram to a local steakhouse where so many deals have been done through the years.
The Broncos hosted Engram at their facility on back-to-back days and spent the most face time with him before he eventually signed his two-year, $23 million deal. The Broncos need that time to be well worth it, because tight end was one spot where their offense was in the murkiest of depths. A spot where the Broncos could use what general manager George Paton has called a "mismatch guy."
When scrolling down the list of the NFL's receptions leaders in 2024 -- way down -- you won't find a Broncos tight end until Lucas Krull shows up in a tie for 205th place with 19 catches. For context, 16 teams had two tight ends listed before Krull. One team -- Cincinnati -- had three.
One of those players was Engram, whose 47 receptions in only nine games for the Jaguars would have still been the most by a Broncos tight end since Noah Fant had 68 in 2021. That's why coach Sean Payton has said he's on the hunt for players "who are matchup challenges inside."
"It really helps you [on] third down and [in the] red zone," Payton added. "There are ways defensively you can handle the outside receivers and force the ball inside."
That made Engram a perfect fit in Denver. The 30-year-old -- he'll turn 31 right before the start of the upcoming season -- had 161 receptions for 1,328 yards and five touchdowns in 26 games over the past two seasons for the Jaguars.
He has done much of that damage in the slot -- the area of the field where the Broncos have struggled to consistently stress opposing defenses. In his 114-catch season in 2023, Engram had 80 receptions out of the slot, accounting for 729 of his 963 receiving yards. This past season, he had 32 of his 47 catches out of the slot for 231 of 365 receiving yards, which could be a boon for quarterback Bo Nix entering his second season.
"I watched [the Broncos] play a lot because of Bo," said Oregon wide receiver Tez Johnson, who played with Nix in college and lived with the Nix family. "And when he's got the targets, he'll hit them. When they get more and more around him, he'll use everybody, the whole field, it's why he's so hard to defend. He sees everything. Inside, outside, everything."
Jacksonville's quarterbacks had a 75% completion rate to Engram this past season on deep middle routes, crossing routes and hitch routes, all plays that fit Nix's current playing profile. The Broncos ran the sixth most crossing routes in the league in 2024 and the eighth most vertical routes.
Signing Engram doesn't preclude the Broncos from looking for more tight end help in the draft, but he gives them immediate help in satisfying Payton's desire for a more well-rounded player at the position. Payton has said the list of tight ends in the draft who are NFL-ready as impactful receivers and functional blockers is short. And the Broncos might not even have a chance at the top two tight ends in the upcoming draft -- Penn State's Tyler Warren and Michigan's Colston Loveland -- with the No. 20 overall pick.
"You generally don't get both [receiving and blocking ability] coming out of college, and I say that respectfully," Payton said. "They usually typically do one really well [compared to] the other, and that is OK. Historically speaking, it has been a little easier to take the receiving tight end and work with him on his technique relative to run blocking than it is the run blocking tight end and make him a really good receiver."
Toss in red zone and third down -- situations where tight ends are frequently targeted -- and Engram should be a player the Broncos deploy quickly. Especially since Nix went into the offseason eyeing improvement in those situations.
"Just understanding the difference in NFL and what I learned this year with red zone and third downs -- those are the most important parts of the game, and so I feel like the red zone and third-down areas on the field are where I can make growth, and understand, be a little bit more aware of certain situations," Nix said. "Just what can I do differently ... and keep us on the field for longer."