Ever since the Denver Broncos bowed out of the NFL playoffs in January with a 31-7 loss against the Buffalo Bills, the biggest question surrounded how the organization would get Bo Nix more assets on the offensive side of the ball. Sean Payton and George Paton didn’t wait around when the right opportunity presented itself, as they went out and signed Evan Engram, a versatile, experienced tight end, to pair with Nix.
Will he be the ‘joker’ that Payton has yet to find for his offense during his tenure in Denver? Will he be the Evan Engram that caught 114 balls for nearly 1,000 yards in 2023, or the guy who caught just 48 passes for 408 yards in 2021?
Obviously, Payton, Nix, and the rest of the team are hoping for the 2023 Engram to show up in Denver, as that version of himself is a guy who can help Denver out in a wide variety of offensive situations, especially on third downs and in the red zone. For Nix, he’s been doing everything he can to get to know his new pass-catcher.
“It starts by getting to know him, see what makes him tick, what makes him go, what his passions are and it’s very clear from the beginning that he’s all about football, he’s all about taking care of himself … I’ve been around him a lot,” Nix said after Broncos practice on Thursday.
Nix has proven time and time again that he’s all about building personal relationships with his new teammates, as Pat Bryant recently said that Nix reached out as soon as he was drafted. Nix is also the mastermind behind a quarterback/wide receiver vacation coming up in the offseason, a chance for players to workout and have some fun simultaneously.
While creating relationships is nice, what matters at the end of the day is the product out on the field, and Nix is making sure to build some chemistry with his new tight end throughout OTAs and the rest of the offseason.
“We just start working on the field, early OTAs you get to come out here and throw routes and see what he’s like, see what kind of routes he runs, see what he’s thinking,” Nix said. “We talk a lot, he’s always asking me about certain things, and then when you get him out to practice, it’s just seeing how he reacts. I’m excited to include him and add him to what we already got and I think it will be good for us.”
The ‘joker’ term was coined by Payton back in New Orleans to signify a player who can be a weapon in so many different ways for an offense. Whether it’s a tight end lined up on the end of the line or out wide, or a running back that slips out of the backfield, the position was always a vital aspect of Payton’s best teams in the Big Easy.
Payton is ready to have a weapon like Engram in Denver, and emphasized how much easier he can make high-pressure situations.
“I think [Engram’s presence] helps a lot. Depending on the coverages you’re getting, but your third down, your red zone game plans, I think it really helps,” Payton said Thursday.
If Engram can stay healthy, which was his biggest fault in 2024 as he only played nine games for the Jacksonville Jaguars, he should be a massive addition to a Denver offense that didn’t have enough weapons to compete with the top dogs in the AFC a season ago. He’s had three seasons so far in his eight-year career in which he played 11 or fewer games, so if he can get past those woes, the Broncos offense will benefit as a whole.