For the Denver Broncos, just a little bit of effort when it comes to improving their much maligned tight end spot has gone a long ways.
The Broncos drew raves for staying on top of the transactions wire and successfully wooing and signing 2-time Pro Bowl Jacksonville Jaguars tight end Evan Engram to a 2-year, $23 million contract on March 12 after he was released in a salary cap move.
Engram, by all appearances, has looked like the player who was once one of the NFL’s premiere tight ends since joining the Broncos and will take over the vaunted “Joker” role in head coach Sean Payton’s offense.
“The Joker isn’t just Batman’s arch nemesis,” Bleacher Report’s Gary Davenport wrote on June 14. “It’s also a big part of what Sean Payton wants to do offensively this season.”
The only problem is that, while the Broncos added another tight end in seventh round pick Caleb Lohner, that was an almost entirely experimental move. Lohner only played one season of college football and only had 4 receptions — although all 4 were touchdown catches.
So, the Broncos need more tight end depth. They might be able to find it with veteran free agent Jordan Akins, who has been a reliable TE2 or fill in TE1 option throughout his career. Akins had a respectable 40 receptions for 390 yards and 2 touchdowns in 17 games for the Cleveland Browns in 2024.
Akins is also the No. 1 remaining free agent tight end, according to Sharp Football Analysis, although he shouldn’t be too expensive. The Broncos might start off with a 1-year, $1.5 million offer, with the willingness to go up to $2 million. Akins has 10 career touchdown receptions over 7 seasons and $10.2 million in career earnings.
Akins Had Unusual Path to Making NFL
Akins, 6-foot-4 and 245 pounds, committed to play football at UCF out of high school but decided to put his football career on pause after he was drafted in the third round of the 2010 MLB draft by the Texas Rangers.
Akins struggled through 4 seasons playing center field in the minor leagues before finally turning back to football in 2014, and back to UCF. He capped his career as an All-AAC pick on UCF’s undefeated 2017 squad with 32 receptions for 515 yards and 5 touchdowns in 11 games.
Akins was already 25 years old when he was drafted in the third round (No. 98 overall) of the 2018 NFL draft by the Houston Texans, where he played his first 5 seasons before he signed a 2-year, $3.9 million contract with the Browns in March 2023.
Broncos Have Struggled Mightily at TE
It’s been over a decade since the Broncos had a tight end worth writing home about, and over a generation since they had a tight end that was unquestionably “elite” in NFL circles.
The Broncos haven’t had a tight end make the Pro Bowl since Julius Thomas made consecutive Pro Bowls in 2013 and 2014 — in 2013 Thomas had career highs of 65 receptions for 788 yards and 12 touchdowns.
It’s been even longer since the Broncos placed a tight end on the NFL All-Pro Team, with Pro Football Hall of Famer making it 4 times from 1993 to 1998 — a stretch in which the Broncos also won 2 Super Bowls.
