Broncos Player Profile: Eric Saubert #82 | TE

The Denver Broncos have revamped the tight end room with a couple of big moves and one less-so. One of the smaller, quieter moves was the re-signing of Eric Saubert, who spent the 2021 season with the Broncos. 

It was a nice, inexpensive signing to help solve Denver's depth concerns at the position. While Saubert isn't guaranteed a spot on the 53-man roster, he has a good chance of making it. Digging into his career provides some insight. 

Biography

Saubert, who just turned 28 years old, was born and raised in Chicago, Illinois. He went to Hoffman Estates High School, where he played basketball and football. 

However, there wasn't a lot of interest in him coming out of high school, and he ended up going to Drake University. 

College Career

Saubert redshirted his first year in college but got to see their field in a prominent role each year after that. His second season saw him be second on the team with 47 catches for 549 yards and two touchdowns. He showed up in crucial moments and made some big plays for the offense. 

Year 3 saw Saubert miss some time with an injury, but he still caught 32 passes for 348 yards and two touchdowns. He was poised to have a great year, breaking his second-year totals before getting hurt. 

Saubert led the Drake offense in Year 4 with 48 catches for 508 yards and six touchdowns. He consistently showed good athleticism and solid blocking each year. 

For his final year, he was among the top tight ends in the nation with 56 catches for 776 yards and 10 touchdowns. It was a tremendous season on the doorstep of heading off to the next level. 

Draft

Saubert was invited to the Shrine Bowl, and he impressed with his athleticism and blocking. Many praised him in the media and even coaches and scouts at the event. 

Saubert showed enough during that week to be a late invite to the Senior Bowl, but he only had one day of practice and was stuck behind three highly talented tight ends, with two going in the first round and the third in the middle of the second round. 

There wasn't much Saubert did in either game, but practices are more important than the actual game in those formats. It helped Saubert be one of the 19 tight ends invited to the NFL Scouting Combine, where he got to show off his athleticism. 

He only did the bench press, broad jump, and vertical jump at the Combine, and he did well enough to be a top-10 performer in each category among tight ends. Saubert followed that up by attending the Iowa State pro dray, where he continued to put on a show. 

By the end of the draft process, Saubert had a 7.99 relative athletic score and heard his name called in the fifth round of the 2017 NFL draft by the Atlanta Falcons. 

Professional Career

The first two years of Saubert's career were spent with the Falcons, where he played 209 snaps on offense and caught five passes (on nine targets) for 48 yards, all of which came in Year 2. He graded out alright as a run blocker and reasonably well as a pass blocker, but it wasn't enough. 

Just before the 2019 season, Saubert was traded to the New England Patriots for a conditional seventh-round pick in 2020. That is the least you can trade a player for. The trade happened on August 12, 2019, and the Patriots waived him on August 31. 

The following day, Saubert signed with the then-Oakland Raiders practice squad. He stayed there until November when the Chicago Bears signed him off the Raiders' practice squad. 

Over the remainder of the 2019 season, Saubert saw 47 snaps on offense in Chicago, catching two of three targets for 21 yards. He stayed with the Bears during the following offseason but was waived on September 16, 2020. 

Saubert signed with the Jacksonville Jaguars a few days later and bounced between the practice squad and active roster. Overall, he played 94 snaps on offense for the Jaguars and caught three of four targets for 16 yards. After that year, he was a free agent and was a late signing by the Broncos in 2021. 

Saubert got the biggest chance of his career with the Broncos and played 290 of his 640 career snaps on offense. He caught his first career touchdown and was a reliable third tight end for a unit that dealt with some injuries. 

While Saubert has never developed into an athletic receiving threat, he was solid in 2021 as a receiver and a blocker. He is a good No. 3 option at the tight end position, and that seems to be what he has a chance for with Denver in 2022. 

2022 Outlook

With Albert Okwuegbunam and Greg Dulcich battling for first and second position, and Eric Tomlinson battling with Andrew Beck for the hybrid tight end/fullback position, the third spot is wide open. Saubert is a natural fit in the room for that role and has some chemistry with some of the other weapons on offense. 

The job isn't his, as Denver could keep Okwuegbunam, Dulcich, Tomlinson, and Beck as its four tight ends. So it seems safe to say Okwuegbunam, Dulcich, and Tomlinson make the roster. The final spot is mainly between Beck and Saubert. 

Saubert is more of a natural tight end, while Beck fills a versatile role. Saubert was better on special teams than Beck in 2021, so the edge could go to him. 

There is also the possibility of Rodney Williams or Dylan Parham, the two undrafted rookie tight ends, coming in and taking the final roster spot. 

Saubert seems the favorite to fill the spot, with Tomlinson being the hybrid. However, there is so much that can change over the coming weeks.