The Denver Broncos enter the 2016 NFL draft coming off of a disappointing season for the tight end position. The only player to have a decent year, Owen Daniels, is no longer on the team, and even he wasn’t more that a bit player on a championship team.
As of right now, the Broncos have two tight ends on the depth chart — Virgil Green and Jeff Heuerman. Coming off of a very promising 2014 season, Green looked like he could be a valuable asset for the Broncos in the years to come. Last year, though, he took a step back.
Green regressed as a run blocker, which was his biggest asset, and showed very little in the passing game, only hauling in 12 passes during the regular season. Green has a chance to take over as the Broncos’ starting tight end but will need to significantly improve in the passing game, as well as revert back to his run blocking skills of 2014.
Heuerman’s season was over last year before it even started, as he tore his ACL in rookie minicamps. Drafted in the third round of last year’s draft, Heuerman has the potential to be very good, but he’s shrouded in question marks.
The Broncos still have high hopes for Heuerman and think he can develop into a quality tight end, but there’s too much uncertainty to say that he’s the answer moving forward.
The Broncos have not addressed the tight end position in free agency, and they very well could be waiting for the draft to do so. With that being said, here are five tight ends that the Broncos could be looking at during the draft at the end of the month:
5. Tyler Higbee
Experience: Senior School: Western Kentucky
Height/Weight: 6-6/249 pounds Projected Round: 4th
Career Stats: 68 receptions; 1,054 yards; 14 touchdowns
Tyler Higbee has many similarities with a former Broncos tight end, Julius Thomas. Higbee has similar size (Thomas is 6-5/247) and athleticism as Thomas, as well as injury concerns. Likewise, both went to smaller football schools and are viewed as a big threat in the passing game.
Higbee went to college as a wide receiver, and left as a tight end. His biggest strength is in the passing game, where he is very dynamic. Higbee can be a threat at all levels of the field in the pass game and is not afraid to go over the middle to catch a ball.
The difference between Thomas and Higbee comes in the run game. While Higbee is not fantastic as a blocker, he doesn’t shy away from it, either. Higbee is much more developed in the passing game than in the running game but has shown that he is willing to learn and grow as a blocker — something Julius never did.
In 2015 Higbee suffered a knee sprain, which kept him out of five games and could be viewed as a negative for his NFL career. Even though he missed five games due to injury, he still complied 563 receiving yards and eight touchdowns.
Higbee has the chance to be a big player in the NFL if he continues to develop at the tight end position like he has so far. He will need to adjust to a much higher level of competition, but he has a chance to develop into an impact player with a team in a few years.
