2025 7th-round pick Caleb Lohner who spent his entire rookie season on the practice squad, and then impressed in early offseason workouts, will miss significant time with a “lower body procedure” opening a clear path for Justin Joly to earn playing time in Week 1. Mile High Report’s Scotty Payne wrote, “These two weeks will give (Joly and Dallen Bentley) a chance to possibly separate themselves from Lohner before he eventually returns for the start of training camp.”

It gets better. Denver would save $6.47 million if Evan Engram is released with a post-June 1 designation, and long-time NFL hot take artist Jason La Canfora predicts that “Joly will have a role right away” regardless of Engram’s roster status.

For a more grounded view, ESPN’s Field Yates believes Joly will have an instant impact in Sean Payton’s “Joker” role, and The Athletic’s Nick Baumgardner listed Joly as one of his “biggest sleepers” coming out of the NFL draft and wrote, “He’s a bit of a mutant athletically with great vertical speed and enough wiggle to separate at the top of routes. He could be a potential matchup problem in the NFL.”

Bottom line: Joly is a smash at the end of dynasty rookie drafts, especially tight end premium formats.