Payton Explains Why Injured Broncos TE Will Make Final Roster

With primary fullback Michael Burton also nursing injury, the Broncos signed former Saints FB Adam Prentice to "fill the void" at the position. Payton, too, left open the possibility of scouring the free-agent market for additional depth.

“I’m not as familiar with him as some of the other guys have been. Guys that were there even after," he said Tuesday of Prentice. "We’ll continue to pay real close attention to the tight end wire and also the fullback. We had a few of those guys in to work out. We’ve always kind of had an ‘F’. I think quietly Nate was one of those players that I don’t know got a lot of attention, and yet there was a lot of respect around the league and in the locker room for the way he did a number of things. So it’ll be good to get him back when we do. In the meantime, we have to fill that void somehow."

“We’re looking. We think that’s important, but I think we will have that in place by the opener. I’m hopeful he [TE Nate Adkins] is here, and yet we’re paying attention each week and then certainly the 53 [-man roster] cut.”

The back end of Denver's tight end corps remains largely tenuous, a presumed competition between Lucas Krull, Caleb Lohner, and Caden Prieskorn. The front of the room is much less murky, with Evan Engram and Adam Trautman cemented into first- and second-string roles, respectively.

“He’s very important, and we’ll incorporate some jumbo tight end packages too to help him," Payton said of Trautman on Tuesday. "You have to be able to block the ‘D’ gap. There are some tight ends that are a little bit better in-line. He’s one of them. We’re developing [TE] Lucas [Krull] and we’re developing some of these other guys, a couple younger players. That’s when we get back to [TE] Nate [Adkins] and we look at some of the things he could do, there’s a little bit of a loss there. So that will force us possibly to be in some more jumbo sets.”