The AFC is loaded with talent, especially at the top of the conference. There are legitimately four MVP candidates in Josh Allen, Lamar Jackson, Patrick Mahomes, and Joe Burrow heading into the 2025 season. It's difficult for young teams like the Denver Broncos to shove their way into the conversation among the elite teams in the conference, but they are on their way in 2025.
The Broncos got a breakthrough last year with the emergence of young quarterback Bo Nix, the team's highly controversial first-round pick at 12 overall in the 2024 NFL Draft. Nix was outstanding as a rookie, and as a result of his emergence, the Broncos won a very significant but underrated free agency battle in the 2025 offseason.
After he was cut by the Jacksonville Jaguars, the Broncos immediately called tight end Evan Engram and began recruiting him to be the "joker" in Sean Payton's offense. The major obstacle? They had competition from their division rival Los Angeles Chargers, who won 11 games last year and finished one spot higher than the Broncos in the AFC West.
But Engram chose the Broncos, adding a desperately needed piece to an offense that lacked in the playmaker department last season.
Evan Engram could be missing piece to Broncos offense in 2025
The Broncos did not have much of an "easy" button offensively last season, and Engram can be exactly that. He's proven over the course of his NFL career that he can be a consistent weapon in the passing game whether he's being targeted deep downfield, if he needs to make plays after the catch, or if he needs to be a high-volume option.
In fact, not many people really talked about it, but Engram finished just two catches shy of the single-season NFL record for receptions in a season by a tight end (114).
Denver struggled in the passing game last season when it comes to consistent options. Courtland Sutton was the only one with any semblance of consistency in that regard, and even his play was streaky. The addition of Engram gives Bo Nix a go-to threat and outlet whose impact will be felt in a variety of ways for that offense.
It's perhaps the most underrated addition made by any team as the Broncos look to re-enter the conversation among the AFC's elite teams in 2025. Engram adds something the Broncos haven't had since Julius Thomas in 2014 and gives Bo Nix a much-needed veteran target who can get open and create offense quickly.