By Jordan Long
The Denver Broncos opened up training camp today. There are many battles that will take place for players to make an impact hoping they will be on the opening day roster. One to watch for is the tight ends. The Broncos are going to be looking for a tight end who can catch the football and block. They haven’t had a tight end pass the 100-yard mark in a game for receiving since 2016.
The Broncos enter camp with 6 tight ends on the roster, Jeff Heuerman, Troy Fumagalli, Jake Butt, Bug Howard, Austin Fort, and Noah Fant. Denver may carry 3 or 4 of them into the regular season.
The tight ends that are safe to make the roster right now are Jeff Heuerman and Noah Fant. Heuerman agreed to a 2-year $4 million contract on March 19th. He is the veteran of the group with 3-years of NFL experience. Heuerman has a total of 564 receiving yards and 4 touchdowns in his career. He can also block to create holes for the running backs or to protect quarterback Joe Flacco from being sacked.
The Broncos drafted Fant with the 20th pick in this years’ NFL draft. That is high for a tight end but Denver hopes he is going to be a playmaker like he was with the University of Iowa. With the Hawkeyes, Fant totaled 1,083 receiving yards and 19 touchdowns. His yards per catch were an impressive 13.8. He is a lock to be the 2nd tight end at this point behind Heuerman.
The Broncos are searching for backups to Heuerman and Fant. This leaves Butt, Fumagalli, Howard, and Fort fighting for 1 or 2 spots on the active roster. Some of them could be placed on the practice squad which will be set by September 1st. Butt has the most experience of the 4. He appeared in 3 games last season. Butt totaled 85 receiving yards. His biggest problem has been injuries, dealing with ACL tears. He hopes those are behind him. If they are, he could be the playmaker at tight end for the Broncos.
Fumagalli was selected in the 2018 NFL Draft by the Broncos. He has yet to see the field. Fumagalli didn’t play last year dealing with a sports hernia. Fumagalli is expected to compete with Butt for the #3 tight end position. He must stay healthy in order to do so.
Howard has been in the NFL since 2017. He has bounced around the league because he was a practice squad player. Howard would like to show he can play in the NFL. If he plays well in preseason games, Denver may have a hard time letting him go. If Howard is let go, the film might attract another team.
Fort is an undrafted rookie tight end. He played his college football at Wyoming. When he was with the Cowboys, Fort wasn’t productive with 221 receiving yards and 4 touchdowns. Fort’s best chance with the Broncos is if he shows enough to be placed on the practice squad.
This is one of the positions to keep an eye on through camp and preseason games. Denver knows how valuable tight ends can be. Hopefully a few of them step up for them to make the team
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