Broncos Late-Round Pick Emerging as Potential Draft Steal

Oct 25, 2025; Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, USA; North Carolina State Wolfpack tight end Justin Joly (7) catches the ball for a touchdown against the Pittsburgh Panthers during the first quarter at Acrisure Stadium. Charles LeClaire-Imagn Images

Broncos Late-Round Pick Emerging as Potential Draft Steal

Originally posted on Denver Broncos on SI
By Chad Jensen | Last updated May 20, 2026 2:30 PM ET

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The Denver Broncos have a logjam at tight end. It's not a depth chart jammed up by high-level players so much as it is with a lot of bodies.

The Broncos' tight end depth chart runs the gamut from highly paid veterans, like Evan Engram and Adam Trautman, to former undrafted guys, to recent late-round draft picks. One of those is rookie fifth-rounder Justin Joly, and athletic 'move' tight end who has garnered no small amount of post-draft buzz.

NFL Draft On SI's Justin Melo recently included Joly on his list of draft steals who could "embarrass critics."

"Justin Joly is a compact and athletic tight end prospect who used to play wide receiver. His background pops on tape in his ability to consistently separate from single-man coverage. Joly is undersized, but his athletic traits allow him to uncover. He recorded a team-high with 49 receptions this past season with 489 yards and seven touchdowns. He'll be a moveable 'F' for Sean Payton's and Bo Nix's Denver Broncos," Melo wrote.

Melo has consistently been excited about two of Denver's seven 2026 draft picks: Joly and fourth-round running back Jonah Coleman. It's noteworthy that two mid-round picks have garnered this amount of scrutiny around NFL media, and Melo is not alone in this.

What Makes Joly Different

Vasha Hunt-Imagn Images

Joly is an interesting player. I watched him compete up close for a week at the Senior Bowl this past January, and he stood out like a sore thumb, in the best sense.

When compared to all his fellow tight ends in Mobile, AL, Joly made the guys around him look like slow, plodding pedestrians. He was way faster, more twitchy, and far more explosive.

Many draftniks had Joly as a third-round guy, but there was a huge run on tight ends on Day 2, and it ended up pushing him down the board. The Broncos, seeing an opportunity, traded up to land him in the fifth round.

As for how Joly fits, his first order of business is to separate in the Broncos' tight end logjam. Assuming Engram is retained, Joly will have to unseat Lucas Krull for a roster spot, while fending off 2025 seventh-rounder Caleb Lohner, who showed up to Broncos HQ this offseason looking "entirely different," according to head coach Sean Payton.

The Broncos drafted Dallen Bentley in the seventh round, so even though Joly is a different tight end, he'll need to create some distance there, too. The Broncos already know what Joly brings to the table as a pass-catcher, and I'm sure Payton and new offensive coordinator Davis Webb have some creative packages in mind for him, but what the rookie needs to show this summer is plausible competency as a move blocker.

Joly is not a guy the Broncos plan on putting in-line to block defensive ends and outside linebackers in the ground game, but as a move blocker, he'll need to show an aptitude for at least blocking defensive backs and linebackers from the slot and sometimes the backfield.

The Takeaway

If Joly can showcase his receiving ability and check the boxes for the move blocking, he'll have a great path to making the roster. With the draft investments the Broncos have made in tight end the past two years, the writing could finally be on the wall for incumbents like Krull and Nate Adkins.

It's up to Joly, Bentley, and Lohner to make it so.