Broncos' Draft Needs: Can Denver land a dangerous tight end to pair with Noah Fant?

Denver is no stranger to having dangerous receiving tight ends the past three decades.

Shannon Sharpe ran his way into the Hall of Fame in Orange & Blue. Julius Thomas had back-to-back 12 touchdown seasons with the Broncos — two more touchdowns per year than Sharpe ever had.

And now the Broncos have Noah Fant, who has already set multiple Denver Bronco tight end records his first two years in the NFL.

But even with Fant’s career still taking off, could George Paton look to strengthen the position in the draft?

Special thanks to Andre Simone for providing draft input.

Current players on the roster

Starters:

• Noah Fant

Depth:

• Albert Okwuegbunam
• Andrew Beck
• Austin Fort

Level of need entering the draft: Low

Strength of position in draft: Top heavy

Round(s) targeted: Day 3

Top players in the draft: Kyle Pitts (Florida), Brevin Jordan (Miami, Fl.), Pat Freiermuth (Penn State)

After not being able to find a threat at tight end since the Peyton Manning era, John Elway used his 2019 first-round pick to solve that problem by drafting Noah Fant. A year later, Elway and the Broncos added another dangerous receiving tight end alongside Fant, using a fourth-round pick to land the ultra-athletic Albert Okwuegbunam.

George Paton could have an opportunity to take that unit to the moon and beyond in the first round if Kyle Pitts falls to No. 9. The tight end out of Florida isn’t just believed to be a top-five player in the draft, many believe he’s a generational talent.

In just eight games in 2020, the 6-foot-6, 246-pound tight end, who looks like a receiver, had 770 receiving yards and 12 touchdowns. Pitts averaged nearly 100 yards per game and 1.5 touchdowns per game. That’s unreal production for a college receiver. That’s unheard of for a tight end.

A Fant and Pitts tight end combo would instantly give Denver the best tight ends in the league, with Albert O. being a cherry on top. But with a great tight end in Fant and a promising Albert O. already on the roster, drafting Pitts would be quite the luxury pick for a team coming off four losing seasons.

After releasing Nick Vannett earlier in the offseason to free up over $2.5 million in cap space, the Broncos are still in need of a blocking tight end. Fortunately, blocking tight ends aren’t highly sought after, which would allow Denver to use a Day 3 pick to add this type of player to their room.

With Fant and a healthy Okwuegbunam, Denver is setup to already have one of the most dangerous receiving tight end duos in the league. A splash on Kyle would undoubtedly make AFC West defensive coordinator’s pits sweat.

As a top-five talent, however, there’s no guarantee Pitts will even be available at No. 9. If he is, Paton will have to decide if a luxury at a position of lesser value is worth a top-10 pick.

In the likely scenario Pitts doesn’t continue his career in Orange & Blue, Denver won’t be looking for a tight end until Day 3 of the draft.