Evan Engram points to Justin Joly and Dallen Bentley as Denver tight end group turns a corner

The Denver Broncos are entering the closing days of the preseason, with roster cutdowns coming roughly ten days from now, and veteran tight end Evan Engram says the team has already seen encouraging signs at a position that often lives or dies in training camp details. Engram, a long-tenured NFL tight end, told reporters that he has been impressed by Denver’s two rookie options at the position, Justin Joly and Dallen Bentley.

For Denver, the tight end room is more than one matchup and more than one game-plan wrinkle. It is a reflection of how the Broncos want their offense to function across multiple looks, whether the emphasis is on route-running reliability, quick separation in intermediate coverage, or being available early in the passing game. Engram’s comments place Joly and Bentley in that conversation, suggesting the rookies have shown something tangible beyond learning protections and terminology.

The timing matters because Denver has only two preseason games remaining on its docket. This Friday, the Broncos are scheduled to play the Green Bay Packers, and the preseason finale is a week later against the Minnesota Vikings. Those final two appearances become the last practical window for bubble players and rookies alike to separate themselves, especially with cutdowns looming soon after the preseason grind ends.

Engram’s veteran perspective is notable because tight ends are often evaluated on consistency, not flashes. While rookie years can produce highlight plays, the sustained work is typically what decides whether a player sticks in the league. The report framing Engram’s impression of Joly and Bentley indicates that Denver’s staff is watching these two for dependable growth that can translate to the regular-season roster picture, not just preseason momentum.

Joly and Bentley, as rookies, also represent a developmental path for a position that tends to require timing with quarterbacks and coordination with blocking assignments. Engram’s endorsement indicates that, at minimum, the duo is handling the early stages of that adaptation better than you would expect from a completely raw group. That can carry weight for coaches trying to decide who gives them the best combination of pass-catching and run support as the team moves toward the regular-season lineup.

In the immediate term, Denver’s two remaining games against Green Bay and Minnesota may determine which of these impressions become the kind of repeatable performance that coaches can build around. Preseason reps will be plentiful, but opportunities for late risers tend to thin out quickly once cutdown decisions near. The Broncos will also have to balance evaluation with execution, since each game is both a live audition and a limited sample of how players will respond when plans change.

What to watch next is straightforward. Pay attention to how often the Broncos involve Joly and Bentley in passing-game work, whether they appear in multiple personnel groupings, and how they handle the routine details that coaches monitor closely, such as route timing and tight-window placement. Engram’s public assessment tees up the expectation that Denver’s staff is already seeing reasons to believe, and the final two preseason weeks will determine whether that belief becomes part of the team’s tight end rotation for the season.