George Paton, Denver Broncos Lose Justin Joly, Can't Hit on Tight End
George Paton has drafted well for the Denver Broncos since 2021. But cutting Justin Joly and losing him to the Dolphins is another miss at tight end.
George Paton has done a great job overall in the NFL Draft for the Denver Broncos.
But he just keeps whiffing on tight ends.
The Broncos traded up to get Justin Joly, cut him, and now he's with the Miami Dolphins. That hurts.
George Paton Can't Hit on a Tight End for the Broncos
Justin Joly, we hardly knew ye.
The rookie tight end out of N.C. State was thought of by at least one writer as possibly the best tight end of the 2026 NFL Draft.
As a senior last year, he caught 49 balls for 489 yards and 7 touchdowns. But he barely got on the field for the Broncos in preseason.
He caught one pass early in Week 3, where he fell down but stayed with the ball and still caught it. It was sloppy, but it was a good fight from the rook.
The play everyone will remember was Joly's 88-yard touchdown catch and run. Sam Ehlinger, who balled out after his first-pass touchdown, found Joly more wide open than the ski slopes on a Broncos Sunday.
Joly caught it, turned and ran—albeit somewhat awkwardly, with short strides—to the end zone. He honestly looked slow, and that same running style was in one of his highlight videos from that "best tight end" piece.
So, that may have been one reason why he was cut. Dude was slow.
He also had a tough time breaking through this preseason.
"He was coming on towards the end of training camp," Sean Payton said of Joly. "Tight end position is a tough position for a rookie. He missed a lot of the offseason, just a little bit behind. We wish we had another game or two. We still like the player. We think he's going to have a nice career. You just have to make tough decisions to build the best 53 you can make."
George Paton said similar things the day before, “Justin is a talented player. We knew it when we drafted him. We knew he was raw. We still like the player.“
Of note, Joly also had an altercation with defenders during training camp. Per Mike Klis of 9News, Joly took on four defenders, then a few plays later was "de-cleated" by Taurean York.
Ironically, neither York nor Joly made the roster. Nor did Red Murdock, but "Mr. Irrelevant" did sign to the practice squad. York was invited to sign to the practice squad too, but he chose not to.
However, Payton said they would’ve brought Joly back to the practice squad but he was claimed.
And now the Broncos are still without the tight of the future.
“I think it depends on the college program,” Sean Payton said of evaluating tight ends. “Good question. In some programs you get to see a lot of what they’re going to do here, and then sometimes in other programs you’re projecting what they’re going to do here. So I think it really depends on the college team.”
Paton has been struggling for a few years now with evaluating tight ends.
Greg Dulcich
The tight end of the future was supposed to be Greg Dulcich when Paton took him in the 2nd round of the 2022 draft.
Instead, he started only 10 games and played in 16 in 2-plus years with the Broncos.
His rookie year under Nathaniel Hackett was by far Dulcich's best. He had career highs in receptions (33), yards (411) and touchdowns (2).
But he fell out of favor with Sean Payton, and was waived in late 2024.
He went to New York and then to Miami where he bounced back last year for the Dolphins. The dude had 335 yards and a touchdown in 10 games for the 'Phins.
Caleb Lohner
In 2025, Paton and Payton drafted Caleb Lohner, a 6'7" tight end who has yet to play a snap for the Broncos.
Payton did elevate him from the practice squad to the active roster the day of the Divisional Round game against Buffalo, but that seemed to be a bit of smoke and mirrors.
He's currently on the injured/reserve list for the Broncos.
"This would have been a really important preseason and training camp for him," Payton said. "He just needs reps. We're still excited about him. He's here every day working, but we won't see him until late October or so."
Dallen Bentley
Bentley was taken by Paton in the 7th round, two rounds after Joly, and Bentley made the roster.
He had 48 catches for 620 yards and 6 touchdowns for Utah; let's see what the kid has at the NFL level. Payton admitted he's a different type of player than Joly, which means they expect Bentley to be a blocking tight end rather than a pass catcher.
Evan Engram
The Broncos obviously didn't draft Engram, but they did bring him in last year as a veteran.
And Engram disappointed a bit in his first year in Denver.
Sure, he had 50 catches for 461 yards and 1 touchdown. That's decent production. But Broncos fans were hoping for more than a possession receiver.
His one great game came against Washington; 6 receptions for 79 yards. But that included the 41-yard reception in overtime on a broken play.
Most games he was a non-factor. In fact he had 21 or fewer yards in 9-of-16 games last season.
Engram simply hasn't been the high-impact tight end everyone hoped for. He has a chance to turn that around this season, but it's the final year of his 2-year deal. He's also about to be 32 years old.
We should probably adjust our expectations to around 500 yards and maybe two touchdowns this year.
And having a strong veteran—along with blocking tight ends Adam Trautman and Nate Adkins—would've given Joly time to grow and adjust to the league.
But Paton and Payton realized they swung and missed on Justin Joly.
What's the Plan at Tight End?
While Paton has drafted well at almost every position, he hasn't done so at tight end.
And with Justin Joly now gone, what's the plan for the future of the tight end position?
Is is Caleb Lohner and/or Dallen Bentley?
We just don't know.
Neither have ever played a regular season snap. I'm really looking forward to waht Bentley can bring, but tight end takes a while for guys to get good at in the NFL. Payton said it himself.
So there's little reason to think we'll know if Bentley or Lohner is the guy by the end of this season.
Will Paton and Payton just bring in another veteran next year? Or possibly extend Engram?
One thing's for sure, the future of the position won't be Jusin Joly.
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Rich Kurtzman was born and raised in Denver Colorado and attended Colorado State University in Fort Collins in the aughts. He's been a professional writer since 2011, covering Colorado State football and men's basketball, as well as the Denver Broncos, for many outlets. Current Denver Broncos work can be found on Mile High Sports. Previous credits include CBS Denver and The USA TODAY Sports Media Group.
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