A story in The Athletic speculates the Broncos could be interested in free agent to be Juwan Johnson. You think? Sean Payton hasn't met a former Saint (player, coach) he can't find room for on his current roster. And the Broncos have had a void at tight end his two years there.
There was the Greg Dulcich experience, but it's not surprising that didn't go well. Dulcich was drafted by the previous regime, so Payton might never have been particularly interested in him as a player, and Dulcich couldn't stay healthy anyway.
One of the first moves Payton made in Denver was bringing in former Saints tight end Adam Trautman, but Trautman is primarily a blocker in Payton's offense. As the two-year numbers make clear.
Over the past two seasons, no team has gotten less out of its tight ends than Denver. Their top player at the position, Trautman, has averaged just 11.5 yards per game. That's last among the leading tight ends for all of the league's other franchises (minimum 10 games with the respective team). About half as many yards per game as all everyone but the Colts. Table sorted by yards per game; some of the tight ends listed played for multiple teams the past two years (or just one year, like Bowers).
| NFL TEAMS LEADING TES, 2023-2024 | ||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Player | G | Tgt | No | Rec | TD | Y/G |
| Brock Bowers, L.V. | 17 | 153 | 112 | 1194 | 5 | 70.2 |
| George Kittle, S.F. | 31 | 184 | 143 | 2126 | 14 | 68.6 |
| Trey McBride, Ari. | 33 | 253 | 192 | 1971 | 5 | 59.7 |
| Travis Kelce, K.C. | 31 | 254 | 190 | 1807 | 8 | 58.3 |
| T.J. Hockenson, Min. | 25 | 189 | 136 | 1415 | 5 | 56.6 |
| David Njoku, Cle. | 27 | 220 | 145 | 1387 | 11 | 51.4 |
| Evan Engram, Jac. | 26 | 207 | 161 | 1328 | 5 | 51.1 |
| Sam LaPorta, Det. | 33 | 203 | 146 | 1615 | 17 | 48.9 |
| Darren Waller, NYG | 12 | 74 | 52 | 552 | 1 | 46.0 |
| Dallas Goedert, Phil. | 24 | 135 | 101 | 1088 | 5 | 45.3 |
| Mark Andrews, Bal. | 27 | 130 | 100 | 1217 | 17 | 45.1 |
| Jonnu Smith, Mia. | 34 | 181 | 138 | 1466 | 11 | 42.9 |
| Jake Ferguson, Dal. | 31 | 188 | 130 | 1255 | 5 | 40.5 |
| Dalton Kincaid, Buf. | 29 | 166 | 117 | 1121 | 4 | 38.7 |
| Kyle Pitts, Atl. | 34 | 164 | 100 | 1269 | 7 | 37.3 |
| Dalton Schultz, Hou. | 32 | 173 | 112 | 1167 | 7 | 36.5 |
| Hunter Henry, N.E. | 30 | 158 | 108 | 1093 | 8 | 36.4 |
| Cole Kmet, Chi. | 34 | 145 | 120 | 1193 | 10 | 35.1 |
| Cade Otton, T.B. | 31 | 154 | 106 | 1055 | 8 | 34.0 |
| Pat Freiermuth, Pit. | 29 | 125 | 97 | 961 | 9 | 33.1 |
| Tyler Conklin, NYJ | 33 | 159 | 112 | 1070 | 4 | 32.4 |
| Zach Ertz, Was. | 24 | 134 | 93 | 841 | 8 | 31.9 |
| Tucker Kraft, G.B. | 34 | 110 | 81 | 1062 | 9 | 31.2 |
| Tyler Higbee, LAR | 18 | 82 | 55 | 561 | 4 | 31.2 |
| Juwan Johnson, N.O. | 30 | 125 | 87 | 916 | 7 | 30.5 |
| Chigoziem Okonkwo, Ten. | 34 | 147 | 106 | 1007 | 3 | 29.6 |
| Noah Fant, Sea. | 31 | 107 | 80 | 914 | 1 | 29.5 |
| Mike Gesicki, Cin. | 34 | 128 | 94 | 909 | 4 | 26.7 |
| Ja'Tavion Sanders, Car. | 16 | 43 | 33 | 342 | 1 | 21.4 |
| Will Dissly, LAC | 31 | 86 | 67 | 653 | 3 | 21.1 |
| Kylen Granson, Ind. | 32 | 81 | 44 | 550 | 1 | 17.2 |
| Adam Trautman, Den. | 34 | 57 | 35 | 392 | 5 | 11.5 |
Johnson, notably, generated 2-3 times as much production as Trautman the past two seasons, in New Orleans. His best season, 2022, came after Payton had left, but he showed then he could handle a featured role, catching 42 passes for 508 yards and 7 touchdowns that season. If the Broncos were to sign him, reasonable to think he'd get the team in the discussion of having a relevant player at the position again.
The article also floats another "tight end" as a possible target for the Broncos, fantasy-favorite gadget Taysom Hill. But I think that's one we can dismiss for the moment. Not only does Hill turn 35 in August, but he tore his ACL in December. We know Payton has a weird fondness for the guy, but seems really unlikely anyone need to worry about him stealing snaps from other Broncos players anytime soon.
--Andy Richardson