In addition to cornerback Kendall Fuller, Pro Football Focus views the Denver Broncos as a "potential landing spot" for Las Vegas Raiders tight end Austin Hooper, a pending free agent.
"Denver will hope to get a healthier version of Greg Dulcich in 2024, and veteran Chris Manhertz is still under contract as the inline blocker. Here, Denver adds another veteran away from a division rival who can do a little of both and will still be only 29 years old in Week 1 of his ninth NFL season," PFF analyst Brad Spielberger wrote Monday. "Hooper had a quiet year in a Raiders passing attack that understandably sent most of its targets to Davante Adams and Jakobi Meyers, with a major emphasis on the ground game once Antonio Pierce took over as head coach."
Hooper appears poised to go one-and-done in Vegas, for whom he caught 25 passes for 234 scoreless yards last season, grading out as PFF's No. 41 TE among 72 qualifiers. He logged five receptions in two appearances against Denver — both victories.
Hooper entered the NFL as a 2016 third-round pick of the Atlanta Falcons, spending four years there, the following two in Cleveland, and the 2022 campaign in Tennessee, before arriving in Sin City.
Altogether, he's totaled 3,702 receiving yards and 25 TDs across 122 career games, including 68 starts.
The Broncos have only four TEs (Greg Dulcich, Chris Manhertz, Lucas Krull, Nate Adkins) under contract and no defined starter for next season, so adding Hooper — projected to net a one-year, $2 million deal — would make sense amid the second wave of free agency.
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