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Denver Broncos tight end Justin Joly (No. 15).

The Denver Broncos may have found incredible value — and an incredible weapon for their offense — by drafting North Carolina State tight end Justin Joly in the 5th round (No. 152 overall) of the 2026 NFL draft.

“Broncos use No. 152 for TE Justin Joly,” Broncos reporter Mike Klis wrote on his official X account on Saturday. “Offensive weapons continue to stack up for Bo Nix.”

Joly spoke with DNVR’s Zac Stevens about playing for the Broncos, saying head coach Sean Payton and offensive coordinator Davis Webb envisioned him as a “Swiss Army Knife” in the offense and to “just go out there and ball … I can do it all, catching and blocking.”

Joly also spoke about playing with Nix, who has become 1 of the NFL’s elite quarterbacks over his 1st 2 NFL seasons. The Broncos missed the playoffs in 8 consecutive seasons before Nix was drafted in the 1st round (No. 12 overall) of the 2024 NFL draft.

In 2 seasons with the Broncos, Nix has led the team to consecutive playoff berths, including a 14-3 regular season and spot in the AFC Championship Game following the 2025 season.

“Leadership and knowing what to do at all times,” Joly said when asked what he expected of playing with Nix. “He’s such a smart quarterback. Be reliable and be there when he needs you.”

NFL Insider Correctly Predicted Joly to Broncos

ESPN’s Matt Miller correctly predicted the Broncos would select Joly — just guessing 1 round too soon in the 4th round (No. 111 overall). The Broncos selected Kage Casey with the No. 111 overall pick.

“Undersized pass-catcher with the ability to expand the route tree and challenge man coverage around the field,” NFL draft analyst Lance Zierlein wrote in his pre-draft evaluation. “Joly still needs to polish his route-running but he has the footwork and athletic traits to uncover. He doesn’t catch with much hand extension and fights throws on occasion but he makes up for it with impressive body control/catch toughness. His effort and strain as a blocker need to improve. Joly has the ability to contribute as a moveable ‘F’ tight end.”

Joly Transferred From UConn to Power 4

Joly, 6-foot-3 and 241 pounds, played his first 2 seasons at UConn before transferring to North Carolina State for the last 2 seasons. He put up big numbers at both places, including a career-high 7 touchdowns as a senior in 2025 on the way to earning All-ACC honors.

In 49 games over 4 seasons, Joly finished with 116 receptions for 1,978 yards and 15 touchdowns in 49 career games. At the NFL scouting combine, he opted out of almost all of the physical testing but went through position drills and did interviews — for a projected 4th round pick that usually means the 40-yard dash time isn’t probably what you want to see out of a tight end.

Joly doubled down and didn’t run the 40-yard dash at North Carolina State’s Pro Day — a double red flag. And probably why he dropped to the 5th round.

“Joly participated in most of the physical testing (at Pro Day), but not all of it,” Sports Illustrated’s Tucker Sennett wrote. “The tight end jumped 30.5 inches during his vertical jump testing and followed that up with a broad jump of 9-foot-6. The major surprise was the fact that Joly chose not to run a 40-yard dash once again, after declining to do it at the Scouting Combine as well. He explained the reasoning for the decision.”