The first wave of free agency is over, and the Broncos made quite an impression.

They first retained defensive tackle D.J. Jones on a three-year, $39 million deal. Then they added major help up the middle of the defense with inside linebacker Dre Greenlaw (three years, up to $34 million) and safety Talanoa Hufanga (three years, up to $45 million) and delivered quarterback Bo Nix a potential “Joker” in tight end Evan Engram (two years, $23 million).

Denver will likely keep adding around the periphery, but that core group will be what the Broncos build from as they move toward April’s draft.

With all that in mind — and the official, full draft order in hand from the NFL as of this week — here’s a stab at a seven-round Broncos mock draft.

For this entry — we’ll do a few between now and the actual draft — we went with no trades.

Round 1, No. 20

Colston Loveland, TE, Michigan

The Broncos added a key piece in free agency with tight end Evan Engram, which means they don’t absolutely have to take a tight end early in the draft. But if Loveland, the 6-foot-6, 248-pounder, is available, he’d be a great add anyway. Loveland is a terrific athlete and can threaten in multiple ways in the passing game. He’s not overpowering as a blocker, but as the Broncos continue to build around Bo Nix, Loveland could turn himself into a key cog and high-volume target for years to come. If Loveland, Penn State tight end Tyler Warren and Boise State running back Ashton Jeanty are all off the board, there’s North Carolina running back Omarion Hampton, too. Or Denver could consider one of several talented defensive linemen here, like Michigan’s Kenneth Grant, Toledo’s Darius Alexander or Oregon’s Derrick Harmon.

Round 2, No. 51

TreVeyon Henderson, RB, Ohio State

In this mock, the Broncos hit on two offensive skill picks with their first two selections and add a dynamic threat in both the run and pass game in Henderson. As a Buckeye, Henderson missed time in 2022 and 2023 before playing 16 games last fall and showing the ability to hit the home run at any moment. Consider this from NFL Network’s Daniel Jeremiah on a conference call before the combine: Henderson “is one of the best pass-protecting backs that I’ve evaluated. He is exceptional in that regard. Then he can run routes. He can pluck it. And he can hit home runs out of the backfield.” Then he went to the combine and ran 4.43 seconds in the 40-yard dash. Denver’s got a loaded running back class to evaluate and could go any number of directions, but Henderson’s got a skill set that fits.

Round 3, No. 85

Jared Wilson, C, Georgia

The run of offensive players continues here with an athletic young offensive lineman. It’s not an immediate need for the Broncos, but Luke Wattenberg’s entering the final year of his rookie contract and the other four starters are all expensive. Denver will have one of the priciest groups in the NFL this year, so having legitimate options beyond Alex Forsyth and Alex Palczewski for the long-term future is a worthy need to address on Day 2. Wilson’s a really good athlete and could provide depth and future versatility up front in Zach Strief’s group.

Round 4, No. 121

Rylie Mills, DL, Notre Dame

The Broncos shored up their 2025 defensive line rotation by retaining D.J. Jones, but Zach Allen is due for a massive extension, John Franklin-Myers is entering the final year of his deal and it’s unclear if Denver can afford to or is willing to pay everybody up front. Mills had a disruptive final year at Notre Dame but tore his ACL in December during a College Football Playoff win against Indiana. He might not be ready to go right away. Denver’s depth would allow the team to bring him along slowly, however, and then eventually benefit from his versatility at 6-foot-6 and 290 pounds.

Round 6, No. 191

Thomas Fidone, TE, Nebraska

The Broncos could take two tight ends or two running backs — or two of each — in this class and it would be hard to blame them. Fidone had an excellent testing run at the combine and is a former premium prospect. He sustained two ACL injuries at Nebraska but could be a worthy Day 3 developmental pick with real upside.

Round 6, No. 197

Dont’e Thornton Jr., WR, Tennessee

In 2024 the Broncos picked an older, unheralded receiver in Devaughn Vele because they believed he could help right away. This pick would be the opposite. Throw a dart at an off-the-charts athlete — Thornton checked in at 6-5 and 205 pounds and ran 4.3 flat in the 40 — and see if his game can be refined enough to become a late-round hit. Oh, and he played with Nix at Oregon in 2022, catching 17 passes for 366 and a touchdown that fall.

Round 6, No. 208

Hunter Wohler, S, Wisconsin

A familiarity pick at a position of need depth-wise for the Broncos. Wohler played part of his career for now-Denver secondary coach Jim Leonhard at UW. The Broncos upgraded by signing Hufanga but behind he, Brandon Jones and P.J. Locke there is no proven depth. JL Skinner, Devon Key and Delarrin Turner-Yell all have much to prove on defense, though they’re all quality special teamers.

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Forget Big Mac. Definitely no on BMac. And miss me with the cheese and mac.

But is it time for the Broncos to bring home CMac?

Everything about acquiring Christian McCaffrey moves the needle. The Broncos landed their Joker in Evan Engram, and McCaffrey could make him look like The Penguin with his magical feet in space.

The Broncos are back. But they are not drunk. They are not waiving their credit card around at 2 a.m. at the five-star hotel bar.

You can hit the throttle without becoming Thelma & Louise. The Broncos need a running back. And two years ago McCaffrey was the league’s best offensive player. He also wins the argument as Colorado’s best high school player in my lifetime, eclipsing Darnell McDonald, LenDale White, Calais Campbell and Justin Armour.

Bringing home the former Valor Christian star would make a great Disney script. But it lacks context. The Broncos have reframed expectations by signing 49ers safety Talanoa Hufanga, linebacker Dre Greenlaw and Engram.

All three players represent different degrees of injury risk, missing 35 of 51 games last season. McCaffrey played in four games in 2024, sabotaged by Achilles, calf and knee problems. The Achilles — and any accompanying tendonitis — is the most annoying and concerning issue for a skill player who turns 29 in June. And this draft is bursting with dynamic running backs available in the first two rounds, including Ashton Jeanty, Omarion Hampton, TreVeyon Henderson, Kaleb Johnson and Quinshon Judkins.

Given their downsizing, the Niners should trade McCaffrey. But they are recalibrating, not rebuilding. Plus, keeping him for one more year gives Brock Purdy a chance to live up to his next contract (the 49ers are 23-8 when McCaffrey plays, 7-8 when he does not).

McCaffrey to the Broncos? It makes total sense — as a niche player in 2026.

Rock the boat: Rockies owner Dick Monfort is in the news again, citing the need for a salary floor and cap for major league baseball. He lamented its absence before last season, telling The Denver Post, “In the NFL, every team feels like they have a chance.” Given that both big- and small-market owners are grousing about the Dodgers ruining baseball, MLB, perhaps spearheaded by Monfort, is headed for a work stoppage after the 2026 season. Does MLB need a cap? Yes. But save your Kleenex for more worthy causes than owners who don’t like the current business model and refuse to spend in the margins with scouting and analytics.

Rollback prices: Jarrett Stidham’s new two-year contract features interesting numbers. The Broncos backup quarterback gets $6.99 million in guaranteed money with $1.99 million and $5.99 million in salaries. Sean Payton once teased former backup Ben DiNucci about becoming a Walmart greeter. Is this deal Stidham’s version of Walmart’s rollback prices?

Dallas drama: The Cowboys are a reality show disguised as a football team. The drama between DeMarcus Lawrence and Micah Parsons symbolized it. Lawrence said part of the reason he signed with Seattle was because he knew he would never win a title in Dallas. Parsons called him a jealous clown, in so many words. Lawrence then punked him with the “If you spent less time tweeting and more time winning, I wouldn’t have left.” This is what happens when an owner is more concerned with attention, valuing controversy over culture.

Final thought: Could the Broncos have used  a receiver like Cooper Kupp? Yep. Is he worth $ 15 million-plus? Nope.

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The Broncos have made a series of splashes so far in free agency.

With wide receiver Cooper Kupp, however, they mostly stayed out of the pool.

The former All-Pro and 2021 receiving triple crown winner on Friday agreed to a three-year contract with Seattle, multiple outlets reported. Kupp himself also acknowledged the move on social media.

That, however, after multiple days of Denver — among several other teams — being linked as a possible suitor for the 31-year-old.

ESPN’s Adam Schefter went as far as to tell Altitude radio that, if Kupp had his way, he might well like to play for Sean Payton and the Broncos. Sources told The Post that there was indeed a sense Kupp was interested in Denver.

In the end, though, those sources maintained that the interest didn’t flow both ways. At least not enough to get into a bidding war.

The Broncos never positioned themselves like a team planning to take on a contract in the realm of the reported three years and $45 million Seattle committed to. And Kupp, given his long history of production, never figured to be available at the bargain basement price that might have looked attractive to the Broncos.

Denver, of course, had already hit on four other substantial deals in free agency — for their own defensive tackle D.J. Jones and additions in safety Talanoa Hufanga, inside linebacker Dre Greenlaw and tight end Evan Engram.

Though the details of three of those deals remain unknown at this point, Denver likely has worked its $40 million-plus in cap space down somewhere in the mid-to-upper single digits.

They could have made room for Kupp by restructuring contracts, releasing a player or two or using several void years in Kupp’s deal to minimize the 2025 cap hit. The club, however, has followed what general manager George Paton said after the season in terms of being conscious of maintaining long-term flexibility.

“We could be really aggressive, but I think we’ll have a more measured approach and still upgrade our team,” Paton forecasted for this stretch back in January.

A year ago, Denver was more reserved in free agency but aggressive in kicking a substantial amount of cap accounting down the road to swallow the first $52 million of Russell Wilson’s record $85 million in dead money. Then over the past year they’ve agreed to major extensions with RG Quinn Meinerz, LT Garett Bolles, CB Pat Surtain II and OLB Jonathon Cooper. They have more extensions to work out with Allen, WR Courtland Sutton and OLB Nik Bonitto.

They are just getting to a point where there’s light at the end of the Wilson dead cap albatross and they appear to have a limited appetite for kicking cap charges down the road when they don’t have to.

What will be interesting, however, is what Denver does or doesn’t do next at receiver. Payton has been publicly bullish about his group of Sutton and a young trio featuring Marvin Mims Jr., Devaughn Vele and Troy Franklin. It wouldn’t be a surprise if they brought Lil’Jordan Humphrey back, but they could also explore veteran options less expensive than Kupp.

Or, they could add another young player to the mix during next month’s draft and bank on Sutton and Engram to be the productive veterans leading a fleet of otherwise young players.

Either way, a bidding war for Kupp’s services never fit the bill for the team’s offseason approach.

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Ex-Broncos coach Michael Wilhoite, who was fired for allegedly punching a police officer in the face outside of Denver International Airport last month, will not be able to avoid a criminal conviction through a diversion program.

Denver District Attorney’s Office spokesperson Matt Jablow said Tuesday that Wilhoite was being considered for the program, but announced Thursday morning that the officer Wilhoite is accused of punching would not agree to diversion and that the case would proceed in district court.

The diversion program is an “alternative to the traditional court process” for adults and juveniles with no criminal history, according to the Denver DA’s Office. People are assigned to different programs based on their case, but they focus on rehabilitation through treatment, therapy and other interventions.

If diversion is complete and all restitution is paid, the case is sealed. Otherwise, people are prosecuted on their original charges.

Wilhoite, a 38-year-old who spent the last two football seasons as outside linebackers coach for the Broncos, faces a felony second-degree assault charge, a misdemeanor charge of obstructing a police officer and a petty offense charge of criminal mischief, according to court records.

In late February, Wilhoite allegedly punched a uniformed officer in the face in DIA’s drop-off line after the officer told Wilhoite he could not leave his vehicle unattended.

The former Broncos coach told the officer to “Shut the (expletive) up” twice and “bumped his chest,” according to his arrest affidavit. The officer shoved Wilhoite back, which is when Wilhoite punched the man, police said.

The officer also fired his Taser at Wilhoite, shocking him for a few seconds before he got into his car and drove away, police said in the affidavit.

Wilhoite is next scheduled to appear in Denver County Court for a second advisement hearing on May 6. It’s not clear when his case will move to Denver District Court.

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The man captains Wal-Mart, after all, and can afford to throw around a few extra bucks.

Still, the degree to which Greg Penner and the Walton-Penner ownership group have flexed their financial muscles in Denver is stunning, ever since taking hold of the Broncos in 2022. There was an immediate $100 million dedicated to upgrades at Empower Field. And a league-high $200 million committed to free agents in 2023. And a hard-swallow $85 million to cut bait early with Russell Wilson.

This offseason has been no different, as the Broncos jostle in the free-agency arms race to establish themselves as serious contenders in 2025.

“We have a great nucleus and a great, great quarterback to build around,” Penner said at an end-of-season presser in January. “And we haven’t set yet what our approach to free agency will be, but if it’s appropriate, we’ll be aggressive. But I’m not sure we’ll need to do that.”

Dear reader: They did it anyway. Without even counting their re-signings, the Broncos are planning to commit around $106 million in non-guaranteed, total contract value between key signings Evan Engram, Dre Greenlaw and Talanoa Hufanga.

But did the Broncos shell out too aggressively this week, committing big money to three players coming off injury-riddled seasons? Or, alternatively, did they unearth major value, nabbing high-upside upgrades on multi-year deals? Let’s examine the free-agent market at each position Denver targeted, with salary data collected from available reports and OverTheCap.com.

Tight end

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Analysis: There’s no better way to put it — the Broncos got a coup with Engram. In a fairly thin free-agent tight-end class, the former two-time Pro Bowler was clearly both the best name on the market and the best fit for head coach Sean Payton’s attack.

Yes, Engram was the most expensive signing of the crop, and there’s some injury concern after his 2024 season ended prematurely with a torn labrum. But the Broncos are paying just $1.25 million more a year for Engram than the Saints are for Johnson, who just totaled a career-high 50 grabs in 2024 in 17 games. Engram had 47 catches in nine games. Steal.

Inside linebacker

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Analysis: Hard to grade this one properly. If Greenlaw can return to the form he showed in 2022 and 2023 as a linchpin with the San Francisco 49ers, this is solid value. If he’s not the same guy after tearing his ACL in Super Bowl 58, this is an overpay.

One likely reason why Denver sprung on Greenlaw: his coverage skills. According to Next Gen Stats, he recorded the fewest receptions-over-expected of any linebacker in the NFL in 2023.

Safety

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Analysis: The safety market was all over the place this offseason. Chinn was the best value here, a good grab by Denver’s division-rival Raiders. $45 million over three years might seem steep for Hufanga considering he’s taken a slight step back the past couple of injury-riddled years, but if he regains his All-Pro form of 2022, he’d easily become the best player from the market.

That’s worth a swing for the Broncos, his floor similar to the rest of this free-agent crop and his ceiling a class above.

Since Super Bowl 50, the Broncos have been staring up at the Kansas City Chiefs in the AFC West, stamped as a team that would settle for used cars, eat leftovers, fly coach and serve as a warmup band.

Second-hand. Second-place (Or worse). They were a password. Easily forgotten.

On second thought, those days are over.

The Broncos are going for it. There are different degrees of being all in. The Avs are doing it with a cruise ship-grade horn. The Broncos have signaled their ambition in capital letters.

Wednesday, they agreed to terms on a two-year deal with tight end Evan Engram. Sean Payton landed his Joker. The search for the Loch Ness Monster is over.

Earlier in the week, they added safety Talanoa Hufanga and inside linebacker Dre Greenlaw. “Those two fit our style of play,” defensive coordinator Vance Joseph told The Post. “That’s so important in free agency, to find the right fit.”

They did what Broncos Country has wanted since the free agent haul of DeMarcus Ware, Aqib Talib, T.J. Ward and Emmanuel Sanders. The Broncos landed three players talented enough – if they don’t max the out-of-pocket limit on health insurance – to make them a Super Bowl contender this season, not in 2026 when we all figured the window would open.

So what’s next? Remain bold. Swing in the draft like you are sitting on a heater in a 3-1 count.

A dynamic running back is needed. No excuses. You want to trade up for Boise State’s Ashton Jeanty if he’s available in the top 10? Go for it. His ceiling could be LaDanian Tomlinson or Dalvin Cook. Or wait and use the 20th pick on North Carolina’s Omarion Hampton, who has been compared favorably to Deuce McAllister, one of only two running backs to eclipse 1,000 yards in a season under Payton in his 17-year head coaching career.

Don’t look for a back to motivate Jaleel McLaughlin, Audric Estime and Tyler Badie. Find one to replace them. Want quarterback Bo Nix to shine in his sophomore season? Payton must end his 35-game streak without a 100-yard rusher in the opener. Or soon thereafter.

Next up is tight end. The Broncos signing Engram allows for patience. Terrance Ferguson or Gunnar Helm, both local kids, should be available in the third round. Or at least one will be. Engram, remember, is coming off a shoulder injury that limited him to 47 catches last season. The Broncos cannot assume he will be fine. Denver targeted their tight ends at the third-lowest rate in the NFL last season. Want to flip that stat on its head? Follow the Noah’s Ark strategy – two of everything. Working in a rookie with Engram is ideal, and easily accomplished since Engram is a slot receiver in disguise.

If there is no run on tight ends, then the Broncos can nab a defensive tackle in the second round, someone like Florida State’s Joshua Farmer or Toldeo’s Darius Alexander, both with 300 pound-plus bodies that look like were built in a lab. The Broncos view their best positional groups as their lines. There is never a bad time to supplement up front, especially if they are unable to secure long-term deals with Zach Allen and John Franklin-Myers.

It is hard to believe given this team’s recent history, but the Broncos got more physical at safety with Hufanga, convinced Greenlaw, their first sideline-to-sideline linebacker since Danny Trevathan in 2015, to leave San Francisco and outmuscled the Chargers for Engram.

Great week. And it’s not even Friday.

It was absolutely time to pay Engram. Payton has finally given up the notion that three spare parts — Adam Trautman, Lucas Krull and Nate Adkins — equal one pass-catching V-8.

There are clear mile markers in a team’s ascension. When former starters become reserves (P.J. Locke) or are no longer good enough to be on the team (Javonte Williams), that screams progress. Williams, who signed with the Cowboys, is a great guy, but was a bad fit other than as a third-down option.

Moving forward requires moving on from players who helped along the way, to players who are better. Payton gets it. He has the patience of a ferret on an espresso. Everything he did this week makes sense, save for the injury risk.

Payton has a standard. And it’s not going 10-8. That was a necessary step to make the Broncos relevant, showing that new ownership and a winning-obsessed coach are not yanking on the udders of the franchise’s last championship like their predecessors.

Denver has been intentional this week and sent a loud message. The Broncos are acting like the Broncos again. Chiefs, you’ve been warned.

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The Los Angeles Rams cut Super Bowl 56 MVP Cooper Kupp after being unable to find a trade partner for their former No. 1 wide receiver.

The Rams officially moved on from the 2021 AP NFL Offensive Player of the Year at the start of the league year on Wednesday.

Kupp announced last month that the Rams were trying to trade him despite his desire to remain with the team. But with him being owed $20 million this season, no other team was willing to make a trade.

Kupp thanked Rams fans in a social media post and said he will savor the memories of his eight seasons with the team, but added that the “best is yet to come.”

“We talked often about the Rams being back in LA and how we would grow to be something special here,” he wrote. “And there was frustration early on around getting the buy-in from the people of LA. But we knew at the end of the day, it’s about providing moments. Shared experiences. The things that parents and their children will talk about and remember forever. That is what makes the ending of these last eight years so difficult. It’s the ending of something we have enjoyed building with you.”

The Rams will take on $22.3 million in dead cap money with $14.8 million coming this year and the rest in 2026 based on the three-year, $80.1 million extension he signed following his transcendent 2021 season.

Kupp. won the receiving triple crown and Super Bowl MVP in the 2021 season when he caught 145 passes for 1,947 yards and 16 touchdowns. Kupp added 33 catches for 478 yards and six TDs in the postseason, including the game-winning touchdown in a Super Bowl win over Cincinnati on the Rams homefield.

But Kupp’s production tailed off in the past three seasons when he hadn’t played more than 12 games in any season because of injuries and hasn’t had 900 yards receiving in any season.

He had a rough finish this season after he missed four early games with an ankle injury. He struggled to get the ball down the stretch for the Rams, making just 12 catches for 162 yards in the final five games of the regular season during the least productive stretch of his career.

Kupp’s role has been diminished as Puka Nacua has emerged as an elite NFL receiver in the past two seasons. The 2023 fifth-round pick is averaging a whopping 88.4 yards per game, one of the highest averages in league history, and has credited Kupp’s tutelage and leadership for his success.

Los Angeles has also added Davante Adams so far this offseason, signing the three-time All-Pro to a two-year deal that could be worth up to $46 million.

Kupp was drafted in the third round in 2017 out of Eastern Washington in coach Sean McVay’s first draft class. He has been a centerpiece of McVay’s offensive game plans throughout his career, catching 634 passes for 7,776 yards and 57 touchdowns.

The Rams have shown a willingness to move on from star players. General manager Les Snead traded or released Jared Goff, Todd Gurley and Robert Woods in recent years before their own massive contract extensions had even kicked in.

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Sean Payton and the Broncos have an option as an offensive “Joker.”

That’s tight end Evan Engram, who on Wednesday agreed to a two-year deal with Denver. Engram’s agency, Vayner Sports, confirmed the deal.

The agreement is worth $23 million and comes with $16.5 million guaranteed, a source with knowledge of the agreement told The Post. That will slot Engram in as the 10th-highest paid tight end in football based on average annual value.

Engram, 30, dealt with injuries and missed eight games for Jacksonville in 2024. He finished the season with 47 catches, 365 yards and a touchdown.

Before that, though, he had a string of seasons where he showed he could be a dangerous threat in the passing game. Engram put together a career year in 2023, catching 114 passes (143 targets) for 963 yards and four touchdowns.

A 2017 first-round draft pick of the New York Giants, Engram has gone over 700 yards three times in his career and has put together 17-game averages of 78 grabs and 775 yards for his career.

Engram spent all of Monday visiting with the Broncos but left without a contract. Then NFL Network reported that he spent Tuesday visiting with the Los Angeles Chargers. In the end, though, the Broncos won the bidding war between AFC West foes.

Denver’s pursuit is for a clear reason: For all the progress the Broncos made offensively in 2024, head coach Sean Payton never found options in his tight end or running back room that could put opposing defenses in a matchup bind.

Payton calls the position a “Joker” and means somebody who can threaten the “inner triangle” of a defense between the inside linebackers and the safety.

“I use that term for when you have one of those guys who are matchup challenges inside, it really helps you on third down and in the red zone,” Payton said last month at the NFL Scouting Combine. “There are ways defensively you can handle the outside receivers and force the ball inside. That is something we will look closely at.”

The veteran coach calls it “the inner triangle” and after the season said that being able to attack that area, “is really important.”

Over the course of Payton’s tenure in New Orleans, he had all sizes and shapes of players who fit the bill. Running backs like Alvin Kamara, Reggie Bush and Darren Sproles. Tight ends like Jeremy Shockey and Jimmy Graham.

“I know how much it can help,” Payton said in January. “It’s not until you don’t have them (that you appreciate it). … I didn’t really appreciate it at the time, but in that stretch, we went through a stretch of 15 or 16 seasons with real, real high-end offenses that maybe didn’t have a receiver get to a Pro Bowl, but those other spots did.”

The Broncos tight end group has been anemic in the passing game for years. In two seasons under Payton, the group has managed these numbers:

2024: 51 catches, 455 yards, 5 TDs

2023: 39 catches, 362 yards, 4 TDs.

That’s a total of 817 yards and nine scores from the entire position group over two seasons. Engram in the same span tallied 161 catches for 1,328 yards and five scores while missing eight out of 34 games.

This story will be updated. 

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On Monday, the Denver Broncos helped Bo Nix get better, if you ask Sean Payton.

The picture for Denver’s offseason was “certainly clearer” this spring than it had been in 2024, as Payton said at last month’s NFL combine, when any vision of the Broncos’ roster was beset by a mess of fuzzy pixels at quarterback. But they have their spiky-haired man, now. The objective, simply, is to build around Nix. And there was more than one way to do that, Payton emphasized in Indianapolis.

“The running back and the tight end could obviously help in his development,” Payton said, on surrounding Nix with positional weapons. “And then, I would also say, like, a really good, elite pass-rusher, can help in his development. A really good cover corner.”

“I’m only saying that because the best player helps the team get better.”

And Payton and general manager George Paton moved aggressively on the first day of free agency to ensnare roster upgrades on the defensive side of the ball, nabbing San Francisco free-agent linebacker Dre Greenlaw and playmaking safety Talanoa Hufanga on multi-year deals. But the Broncos’ most public offseason target — a playmaking running back and-or tight end to create matchup issues over the middle of the field, or a “Joker” — remains a wild card.

Juwan Johnson, a 6-foot-4 open-space threat who Payton plucked undrafted out of Penn State in 2020, is re-upping for three years with the New Orleans Saints after constant buzz over a potential Payton reunion in Denver. Fellow top free-agent tight ends Austin Hooper, Mike Gesicki, and Zach Ertz are signing elsewhere. An already thin free-agent running back class has been combed through, as jewel Aaron Jones re-signed with the Minnesota Vikings. There are only so many pieces that can fit the Joker puzzle, and many have been snatched off the table.

One potential 240-pound cornerstone dangles on the edge, as Jacksonville Jaguars tight Evan Engram visited Denver Monday but left without putting pen to paper. NFL Network’s Tom Pelissero reported Engram was visiting the Los Angeles Chargers Tuesday, setting up a potential tug-of-war between AFC West foes for the dynamic two-time Pro Bowler.

With or without Engram, the Broncos’ patience in pursuing weapons for Nix in free agency signals a likely commitment to finding offensive talent in April’s NFL Draft. If Engram doesn’t wind up in Denver, or even if he does, the Broncos could look to Penn State tight end Tyler Warren, who finished seventh in Heisman voting after a 1,233-yard senior season in 2024.

A source told the Denver Post that Warren had a formal visit with Denver at the combine, and that if he chose to forgo physical drills at Penn State’s pro day, he’d be open to setting up a private workout with the Broncos. Warren, however, is favored by teams in the top half of the draft, meaning — as with Boise State running back Ashton Jeanty — that Denver would likely have to trade up from pick no. 20 to draft him.

“When you pick 20, it’s not as easy to say, ‘Hey, we’re going to find that,'” Payton said at the combine, of finding his Joker in the draft. “Because that player can be a running back, it can be a tight end.”

There’s an overwhelming amount of depth, though, that’d still sit for Denver if they stayed pat at no. 20 or dipped into later rounds. Look at Michigan tight end Colston Loveland or Oregon tight end Terrance Ferguson. Look at Kansas running back Devin Neal, a potential third-round target who the Broncos are planning to send multiple scouts to see at Kansas’s pro day in late March, according to a source.

“I think we could get over 30 (running backs) drafted this year,” Jordan Reid, an NFL Draft analyst for ESPN, said on a conference call with media last week. “So, that just goes to show how deep this running back class is.”

If Denver stands pat at 20 and doesn’t wind up with Jeanty or North Carolina back Omarion Hampton, they could easily look for a tight end in the first round and running back in middle rounds.

And Engram or no Engram, Payton could walk away with a couple shiny new toys for Nix.

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