The Broncos Still Have One Big Move Left

Engram is still a very good receiving tight end. And if you ask him to block on the move, he'll at least try, but blocking is not his strong suit.

The Broncos re-signed Trautman as if he's some massive blocking maven, but he's not. He's okay, but extremely inconsistent as a blocker when working in-line.

If the Broncos really wanted to level up the tight end room, signing Njoku would give them a force to be reckoned with at the Y position. He can block in-line and he's uber-athletic still at age 29, which would also give the Broncos some serious weaponry in two-tight-end sets.

This would help maximize the ground game, whether it's J.K. Dobbins or RJ Harvey pounding the rock.

In tandem with Engram, Njoku would be dangerous. He's still out there and the Broncos still have some breathing room on the salary cap.

Cap Priorities

Now, the Broncos have to budget a portion of their remaining cap space on their coming draft class. But the cost of signing that class was almost cut in half by giving up their first and third-round picks to Miami in the Waddle trade.

Not having picks 30 and 94 reduces the draft-class budget by $4.1 million in 2026 alone. Denver's second-rounder comes with a cap hit of $1.4 million, which is now the team's biggest monetary allocation of its 2026 class.

The Broncos have some extra flexibility now, but they'll also need to budget some remaining cap space for unforeseen circumstances, like injuries that require outside signings, but these are considerations for July and beyond.

The Takeaway

Depending on what kind of money Njoku is looking for, the Broncos could still pursue him with the resources they have. There are additional opportunities for restructuring, if it came to that.

Offensive tackle Mike McGlinchey remains Denver's single biggest cap hit on the 2026 books ($23.7M), and he could be approached about a restructure. The same could be said for cornerback Patrick Surtain II and safety Talanoa Hufanga, if the Broncos really needed the cap freedom.

The Broncos are in a win-now window with Nix playing on a cost-controlled contract. He won't be this cheap for much longer, but the Broncos also have to anticipate that future ballooning cost, and budget accordingly.

Nix currently has the 20th-highest cap hit on the team, at $5M in 2026. It a couple of short years, it could be 10 times that number.

For the most part, the Broncos likely plan to cross that bridge when they get to it, but they have to start thinking that way. The flip side is that 2026 and 2027 could be the team's prime window to push for a Super Bowl.

The Waddle trade signaled a commitment to that window. But Njoku could kick it open even wider.

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