Broncos Mailbag: Which Denver undrafted free agent signings are most intriguing? ...Middle East

Denver Post Broncos writer Parker Gabriel posts his Broncos Mailbag weekly during the season and periodically during the offseason. Click here to submit a question.

Which undrafted free agent intrigues you?

— Ed Helinski, Auburn, N.Y.

Hey Ed, thanks for writing in and getting us going this week.

Good question, and always one to consider this time of year. After all, at least one undrafted rookie has made the Broncos in 20 of the past 21 seasons.

It’s too early to say for sure, but you’d figure the 2025 season won’t quite be like 2023 when four undrafted rookies made it or even last year when three — tackle Frank Crum, running back Blake Watson and linebacker Levelle Bailey — cracked the initial roster. The roster has developed and improved under head coach Sean Payton and general manager George Paton. There aren’t likely to be as many spots up for grabs.

All the same, there were some interesting guys out there last weekend at rookie minicamp.

Most of them, as it happens, played positions where it’s not clear how much room there will be by the time training camp ends.

A bunch of the undrafted receivers flashed, including Courtney Jackson and Jerjuan Newton. So did Kyrese White, the tryout player out of Utah State, who the Broncos signed to the roster after minicamp. All three of those guys are on the smaller side — White is listed at 5-foot-10, while Jackson and Newton are 5-11.

On the other end of the size spectrum is North Carolina Central receiver Joaquin Davis, whom I might pick as the most intriguing if you pinned me to one player overall. You can’t teach 6-foot-4 with 4.36-second speed in the 40-yard dash and a 42-inch vertical. He hit those marks this spring between the HBCU Combine and his own pro day. He’s not a finished product, obviously, but that’s the kind of frame and physical tool kit that is going to get a long look.

Another name to throw in the mix: Offensive lineman Xavier Truss out of Georgia. The Broncos brought back every offensive lineman who played an offensive snap in 2024, so cracking the 53-man roster there is going to be a tall task. But Truss is huge — he’s listed at 6-7 and 320 pounds, making him the biggest player on the roster — and has versatility. Over his six years with the Bulldogs, Truss started at every spot except center on the offensive line.

Truss said he was aware Denver didn’t draft an offensive lineman as he, his family and his agent weighed free agent opportunities. But he told The Post, “There were a few teams that were like that, but I was really excited to just get anywhere. I’m just excited for my opportunity. It’s a great program they have here, and I’m just excited to get better every day.”

Now he’s in a room coached by Zach Strief and new assistant offensive line coach Chris Morgan.

“It’s exciting,” Truss said. “(Strief) is teaching us real well. It’s only been two days and we have a lot more to learn under him, so I’m just excited for going forward.”

Wouldn’t it make sense for the Broncos to trade a 2026 pick to try and get Mark Andrews? What do you think they would have to give up to get him? 

— Brandon, Rogers, Minn.

Hey Brandon, thanks for writing in.

There was some noise earlier in the offseason about a couple of veteran tight ends, including Mark Andrews in Baltimore, being available via trade. That certainly could have made sense for Denver, but it doesn’t seem to be on the table anymore. It was Ravens general manager Eric DeCosta who seemed to crack the door open on trade possibilities in mid-April, but then on draft weekend he said, “At this point, I really expect Mark to be on this team. Great player. Love him. Competitive, tough, playmaker. I would expect him to be on the team.”

The Broncos kept tinkering at the position this past weekend, signing tryout veteran Cole Fotheringham and waiving Thomas Yassmin.

So now the room features Evan Engram, Adam Trautman, Nate Adkins, Lucas Krull, Fotheringham and seventh-round rookie Caleb Lohner.

Trautman has Payton’s full trust and had a big role last year, even though his snaps dropped from 70% in 2023 to 52% in 2024. Adkins is a useful player who can do a bit of several different things. But none of the group outside of Engram is expensive on the cap or carry potential dead cap numbers that would be prohibitive. That means Engram probably enters camp this summer as the only stone-cold lock to make the roster. There are snaps to be had.

What game are you looking forward to most this year?

— Tim, Denver

Oh, that’s a good question, Tim, and a timely one considering we know the placements for two games on the Broncos’ 2025 schedule and the rest will be out at 6 p.m. Wednesday.

The easy answer is the London game. The 2022 trip there was my first time in London in more than a decade and it’s an incredible city. It’s also good to spice up that matchup with the New York Jets some. This is the sixth straight year Denver’s played against the Jets and the teams are on the docket to face off again at MetLife Stadium in 2026. So the game itself feels a little stale. Nothing a trip across the Atlantic can’t solve.

In terms of actual matchups, though, it’s hard to go against the game at Washington. We’ll see where that lands on the schedule, but that’s got the feel of one that should be in prime time. Both teams had been in the doldrums for quite a while and then both made the postseason last year behind rookie quarterbacks. Jayden Daniels is a superstar in the making and the Commanders have a talented roster around him. The Broncos feel like they’re a team on the rise, too, behind Bo Nix and what should be one of the best defenses in the NFL.

There are other interesting angles, too. The Commanders and Broncos are the two most recent teams to sell and their respective ownership groups — the Walton-Penner Family Ownership Group in Denver and the group led by Josh Harris in Washington — have each made strong early impressions. Harris hired Adam Peters as his general manager and Dan Quinn as his coach and now is in the process of trying to build a new stadium on the old RFK Stadium site in the city of Washington, D.C. Then add Daniels to the mix and, boom, the Daniel Snyder days feel a long time gone.

The Walton-Penner Family Ownership Group, meanwhile, has a good thing going with Payton and general manager George Paton, landed an apparent long-term answer at quarterback in Nix and is exploring what to do about their own stadium future.

It’s a fun matchup on the field, a buzzy one between young QBs and features a pair of franchises that appear to be on the rise.

Do you think Bo Nix and Troy Franklin will be more effective with the deep ball this year? They always seemed a step off. And do you think Franklin will take a step forward and become a more reliable receiver? Or do you think he’ll fall behind with the addition of Pat Bryant in the draft?

— Mark, Arvada

Hey Mark, good questions. Franklin, from the start of training camp looked like a player who was going to need time to adjust to the NFL. And that’s fine, especially from a Day 3 draft selection. To his credit, Franklin did make strides throughout the season. Still, it was odd just how difficult any semblance of timing or rhythm came for Nix and Franklin, given their two years together at Oregon.

They hit the big play for the early touchdown in the Wild Card round against Buffalo. If that’s a sign of what’s to come in the future, Broncos fans will be very happy.

Franklin’s going to have to show continued refinement, added strength and just better overall command of the offense in order to guarantee a much bigger role, though. Courtland Sutton is the No. 1 option and then Marvin Mims Jr.’s late-season surge portends a major role for him this fall. You know Engram will command a ton of targets, too, and Payton would love it if a back — hello, RJ Harvey — proved capable of handling a big workload in the passing game, too.

Who’s next at receiver? Is it Franklin, Devaughn Vele or Pat Bryant, the rookie? That probably depends on how training camp unfolds. Franklin’s got speed that neither Vele nor Bryant possesses, but that’s just one part of the game.

As discussed above, one question at the receiver is if any of the undrafted guys can push toward the 53-man roster. Within the group, Franklin, Vele and Bryant, in particular, though, the fight for roles and snaps should be a good one.

I heard somewhere that Kareem Jackson was at the rookie mini-camp. Do you think he’d get picked up in a coaching capacity?

— Kevin, Castle Rock

You heard right, Kevin. Jackson was out there working with the Broncos’ staff. Former Colorado State safety and minicamp tryout participant Henry Blackburn told a group of reporters in the locker room about how neat it was to see one of his favorite players on the field in a different role.

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“What’s really cool is Kareem Jackson’s been in the locker room and with the coaching staff,” Blackburn said Saturday. “So it’s been really cool to see him around and I really liked how he played and how he represented the team.”

Jackson hasn’t made any kind of announcement regarding his playing future at this point. He appeared in just two games for Buffalo last year but was also elevated from the practice squad for the AFC Championship Game in late January.

Jackson’s longevity in the NFL is incredible, particularly given his position and his play style. He’s appeared in 205 regular-season games and is now through 15 pro seasons.

That kind of experience will lead to post-playing opportunities in the game, too. You’d think he’d have the ability to explore coaching if he wanted to. Or he could go the personnel route and try his hand at scouting.

The Broncos have examples of both in the building currently. On the coaching staff, they’ve got several former players in quarterbacks coach Davis Webb, offensive line coach Zach Strief, receivers coach Keary Colbert and defensive quality control coach Todd Davis. They’ve also got former linebacker Roman Phifer as a senior personnel executive in Paton’s front office.

Players who make the transition, especially to coaching, sometimes take adjusting to the grinding hours. Working in a front office is no breeze, either.

Jackson will be able to do whatever he wants when he retires, but if he decides to stay in the game right away or get back in after a little while, he’ll probably have options.

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