The Denver Broncos did well to address the weakest position on their offense this offseason when they signed free agent tight end and 2-time Pro Bowler Evan Engram to a 2-year, $23 million contract on March 12.
Unfortunately for Engram, he’s basically on an island at the position, which was a bare cupboard at the end of 2024 for all intents and purposes. The Broncos tried to address that lack of depth with a seventh round draft pick in Utah’s Caleb Lohner, but he’s only in his second year of playing organized football after playing college basketball at BYU, Baylor and Utah for 5 seasons before switching sports.
That’s why the Broncos probably need to bring in at least one more legitimate threat at the position, and there might be one available in a trade for Tennessee Titans tight end Chigoziem Okonkwo.
Through no fault of his own, Okonkwo has been market corrected on the Titans as the franchise starts over from with a new quarterback in No. 1 overall pick Cam Ward and, in all likelihood, a new tight end in fourth round pick Gunnar Helm.
“Tennessee took Okonkwo in the fourth round of the 2022 NFL Draft, and thanks to his freakish athleticism, there were heavy expectations for the University of Maryland product,” Sports Illustrated’s Matthew Schmidt wrote on April 28. ” … Okonkwo is still just 25 years old, so he could also represent a potential trade candidate in the coming months, and he would certainly have some value. Maybe Tennessee is considering making sweeping changes as the (Cam) Ward era begins.”
Bleacher Report’s Alex Ballentine listed Okonkwo, 6-foot-3 and 238 pounds, as one of Tennessee’s top trade assets this offseason on May 23.
Titans Seem Like Franchise Without Direction
Making a deal for Okonkwo would also mean the Broncos get to do the thing smart teams do when they’re on their way up — like the Broncos are — by identifying a team in total rebuilding mode and essentially stripping it for parts like a busted out 1995 Toyota Celica. That’s the Titans right now.
The Titans have been on a downhill slide the last 3 seasons. They went 7-10 in 2022, 6-11 in 2023 and finally bottom out with a 3-14 record in 2024 — Okonkwo’s first 3 NFL seasons — which led to them getting Ward with the No. 1 overall pick in 2025.
In the case of making a deal with the Titans, the Broncos don’t really have any roster assets a rebuilding team would want and Tennessee is basically in Year 1 of a multi-year rebuild in 2025. That means they’ll want draft picks, and in the case of Okonkwo, that could mean the Broncos offer their 2026 fifth round pick, straight up.
In return, Denver gets a player who should be super motivated to perform and is playing for big money. Okonkwo is in the final season of his rookie contract and could be an unrestricted free agent next spring.
Okonkwo has been quietly productive and consistent over his first 3 seasons. He has 17-game averages of 46 receptions for 486 yards and 2 touchdowns and has never missed a game — 51 consecutive games to start his career with 30 starts.
