Broncos Praised for Taking 6-foot-7 Former Basketball Star in NFL Draft

In a case of the stats don’t tell us everything, Utah tight end Caleb Lohner’s stat line in his one season of college football doesn’t look like much — 4 catches for 54 yards.

In this case, theres’ a little more to it. In Lohner’s case all 4 catches were for touchdowns. That was enough for the Denver Broncos to make the 6-foot-7, 256-pound former basketball star a seventh round pick (No. 241 overall) in the 2025 NFL draft.

The Broncos were a hotly-rumored team to take a tight end early in the draft, although most of those projections surrounded taking either Michigan’s Colston Loveland or Penn State’s Tyler Warren first round — both of whom were off the board by the time Denver picked at No. 20 overall.

One thing people didn’t take into account was a project like Lohner, who The Athletic’s Nick Kosmider singled out as his favorite pick by the Broncos in the 2025 draft class.

“The seventh-round selection for the Broncos may not be in line for a big role in 2025,” Kosmider wrote. “He’ll be in for a tough fight to make the initial 53-man roster in September. But it’s hard not to be intrigued by a 6-foot-7, 256-pound target who played one season of college football after five years as a major-conference basketball player. Perhaps the Broncos fell in love with Lohner’s stat line at Utah: four catches, all four touchdowns — and one complete box out that no doubt made his hoops coaches proud.”

Lohner’s Transition From Hoops Star to Draft Pick

While Lohner only played one season of college football, he played 5 seasons of college basketball for 3 different teams. The Mount Pleasant, Utah, native averaged 7.0 points over his first 2 seasons at BYU and was an All-West Coast Conference selection in 2021, then played 2 seasons at Baylor before finishing his college career playing both football and basketball for the Utes.

“I couldn’t have been happier,” Lohner told DenverBroncos.com’s Aric DiLalla after he was drafted. “I just wanted an opportunity, and I genuinely believe that wherever I am — and now being part of the Broncos organization — I’m going to do everything I can to help win. I know I don’t have a ton of football under my belt, but that’s exactly why I’m playing the game, because I’ve developed a passion and love. I was so excited. I think it’s something you dream about in sports. So here we are now.”

Broncos Made Moves to Solidify TE in Offseason

Tight end was one of the most glaring weaknesses for the Broncos in 2024 — a weakness the Broncos figured out how to overcome as they went 10-7 and made the postseason for the first time since the 2015 season.

While the Broncos were a trendy pick to take a tight end early in the draft, head coach Sean Payton and general manager George Paton showed the value they put in the position by not waiting for the draft.

In 2025, the Broncos should have a reliable tight end option after signed 2-time Pro Bowl tight end Evan Engram to a 2-year, $23 million free agent contract on March 12 which included $16.5 million in guaranteed money.