When the Denver Broncos acquired Russell Wilson from the Seattle Seahawks earlier this offseason, they had to trade three players and multiple draft picks in exchange for the star quarterback.
One of the players Denver sent to Seattle was tight end Noah Fant, who had been the team’s No. 1 tight end since 2019. With Fant now out of the picture, third-year tight end Albert Okwuegbunam will get an opportunity to emerge as the team’s top receiving TE this summer.
First, “Albert O” will have to learn the offense of the team’s new coaching staff. So far, so good.
“Albert has really stepped up mentally,” offensive coordinator Justin Outten said on June 14. “This playbook is not easy and then with the position that he plays, you know he took a gigantic step during that second week of OTAs. I thought that he did a really good job of owning his job and not trying to do too much. I thought he did a really good job in the run game protection and the pass game, opening up and rolling.
“He’s a very talented player and a very explosive player and just honing in on the details that allow him to come through with all of his talent instead of just limiting himself to one aspect or the other.”
Okwuegbunam caught 33 passes for 330 yards and two touchdowns in 14 games (six starts) last season. He will face competition for the TE1 job — including third-round draft pick Greg Dulcich — but Okwuegbunam seems to be the early favorite to start in Week 1.
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