Will Nate Adkins carve out a role with the Denver Broncos?

The Denver Broncos enter into the season with a pretty stacked room at Tight end. Greg Dulcich, Chris Manhertz, and Adam Trautman are likely all making the team with Albert Okwuegbunam having a leg up in NFL experience.

That being said, Sean Payton has already shown that he’s not scared of shaking things up on this team one bit. Each tight end will have to fit within the vision of what Denver’s new head honcho wants to do. Payton won’t hesitate to start a younger player if he doesn’t see the fit for an established vet in the system he is going to run.

So enter Nate Adkins who signed with the Broncos as an unrestricted free agent out of South Carolina.

Player Profile

Position: Tight End

Height: 6’ 3”

Weight: 252

Age: 23

Experience: Rookie

College: South Carolina

How does tight end Nate Adkins fit with the Broncos?

The frame on Adkins makes a ton of sense for him to transition into the NFL. Like most rookies, he’ll benefit from a year of NFL work in the strength and conditioning arena. He’ll also need to clean up some blocking techniques as far as how he fights with and uses his hands.

What I like about Adkins is that he brings to the table the capability to be used in multiple scenarios. He’s a guy that can grow as a special teamer and carve out a roll as a multi-faceted tool in the Sean Payton offense. He has great hands, which goes a long way if the team wants to develop his ability as a tight end or a fullback.

Final Word

Adkins is going to need to show up in a big way through training camp to make this team. He’ll need to know all the assignments, show great effort, and look better than the back end of the tight end room in order to carve out a space on this team.

If he is able to make the team, he will be a sound special teams player who can bide his time and develop. As an undrafted college free agent, that’s step one in the dream. I don’t give him high chance of making the roster, but if he can catch Payton’s eye, he may be able to carve out a spot in the practice squad. I’m excited to see what he does with this opportunity in the orange and blue.