The Denver Broncos will get their first look at rookie tight end Justin Joly this week as the team conducts their rookie minicamp on Friday. While we’ll get to hear from Justin for the first time, I caught up with his college tight end coach to learn a little more.

Denver Broncos rookie tight end Justin Joly brings unmatched competitiveness

For the past two college seasons, Justin Joly played at NC State after previously playing for UConn for the two years prior to transferring. That’s where NC State tight end coach Gavin Locklear first got to notice the competitive nature of Joly.

“The last two years have been a pure blessing to coach Justin,” Locklear said. “One of my favorite things about the kid, I tell people all the time, is how competitive he was, and I think that’s really what makes him a really good football player. And he’s always competing in everything he does. There was one time on the practice field, we’re in one-on-ones, and he doesn’t win a rep, and you can just see the frustration on his face and the anger, actually, that he had, and he’s coming over ‘Where’d I go wrong? Why didn’t this work?’ But that’s who he is, right? You’re talking about a one-on-one rep. But he understands that those one-on-one reps are the reps that win you the games, right? Those are the reps that you make that catch on fourth down against Florida State. And this kid is the ultra competitor. He’ll do whatever you ask him to do, and he’ll do it as hard as he can possibly do it. And so that’s really, in a nutshell, what you’re getting out of Justin Joly.”

Joly took whatever feedback he could and used it to make himself better. He’s viewed as a quick learner and typically doesn’t make the same mistake twice. Not only is he hard on himself, but he’s open to coaching because he wants to be better.

In his first season at NC State, he hauled in 43 catches for 661 yards and four touchdowns in 13 games. He initially mulled over whether or not he was going to declare for the NFL Draft or stay another season. He wanted to become more well-rounded as a potential NFL tight end prospect and went to work.

“When we got him in that 2024 season, we really did use him more as a receiving threat and a passing option for the quarterback,” Locklear said. “And man, he was a huge security blanket for our quarterbacks that year. Ended up with over 600 yards receiving. I am running a few minutes late; my previous meeting is running over. That’s really what we brought him here to do that year. Then he went through his draft process last year and decided he wanted to come back. And one of the things he and I sat down and talked about was ‘How do we make ourselves a better NFL prospect. And that’s where the whole ‘I want to become a better blocker’ showed up. And that was a major focus this year, while still making him a passing threat. He led our team in receptions and targets this past year as well. And so we still used him in the pass game big time.”

Here in Denver, he projects to be a move-around F-type of tight end, similar to Evan Engram’s role, but he can play in-line if need be, and his body of work at NC State showcased that.

“For the Broncos, this kid played all over the place for us,” Locklear said. He’d line up at the boundary No. 1 receiver, boundary No. 2 receiver, field No.3, field No. 2, and field No.1. Tight end off the ball, tight end on the ball. He lined up the fullback for us a few times. He caught a touchdown pass against Wake Forest out of the fullback position. There was a lot of football this kid had to learn this year. And he did a great job, wherever we asked him to play, and whatever we asked him to do, whatever route we asked him to run or block, we asked him to execute, or in pass protection. He did to the best of his ability.”

On the All-22, you can see that. He’s a dominant presence, he’s got strong hands, he’s physical, and doesn’t shy away from contact. He’ll come in and learn in that tight end room behind Evan Engram and Adam Trautman, and it wouldn’t surprise me if he plays an important role early for Denver this year, similar to how Pat Bryant did last year for Sean Payton and Davis Webb.

You can check out the full interview here at Locked On Broncos.