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Last week on KOA Sports, Bennie Fowler sat in as a guest host and offered some remarkable insight into what Broncos Country can expect from some of its latest free-agent additions.
Fowler, who spent the 2014, 2015, 2016, and 2017 seasons as a member of the Denver Broncos roster, has been teammates with almost all of the Broncos' veteran signings and was able to offer some unique insight into what these new Broncos will bring to the field and the locker room.
In 2018 and 2019, Fowler crossed paths with Denver's newest tight end, during his stint with the New York Giants.
"It's super exciting to have Evan Engram in the building, signed," the Super Bowl 50 champion, Fowler, said. "I'm very excited to have him in this offense. I played with him for two years in New York, and he's a very dynamic playmaker. If you look at his body, it's very similar to somebody who wore No. 88 here, in Demaryius (Thomas). You have a 6-foot-4, 6-foot-5 guy, around 240 pounds, even the way they actually run with the ball -- with just one hand on the ball -- they have those huge hands. Evan can do a lot. He caught 114 passes a couple of years ago and can run all the routes in the route tree. Now, that's very rare for a tight end, but he can run the slants, he can run the under, he can run the 10 to 12-yard basics, which are those dig routes in the middle, he can run those shallow crossers, and take it 70 yards, he can do the tight end screens. So, this is very exciting for the Broncos offense. I'm very excited for Bo Nix and what they're going to be able to accomplish and achieve, and what Sean [Payton] is going to be able to draw up now."
The Broncos haven't boasted a remotely threatening receiver at the position since Noah Fant, and they haven't had a true weapon at the position since Julius Thomas. Engram would instantly end that drought if he's able to live up to Fowler's billing.
Plus, that ready-made pass-catching dynamism and polish make it so that Sean Payton and George Paton shouldn't have to chase tight ends early in the draft, as it's no longer a hyper-urgent positional need.
Fowler also thinks linebacker Dre Greenlaw, who he met during his 49ers tenure, will bring an attitude to the Broncos defense that it hasn't had in nearly a decade.
"When you think about -- and I played with these guys for four years -- a T.J. Ward, an Aqib Talib, where you're practicing against these guys, and you're wondering if you're on the same team, because of how hard they compete," the former Denver Broncos receiver described. "You're like, 'Are we friends? Are we teammates?' That's how Dre Greenlaw practices and that's the type of edge that he's going to bring to this defense. When you think about accountability and the way that he is going to play, the way he is going to practice -- that is the next step in this team's evolution, in terms of getting better and winning a playoff game. . . He is always going to be around the ball, so he's not going to accept any laziness."
Denver's defense was already special in 2024, so supercharging it with Greenlaw's brand of ferocity could produce some remarkable results this next season. Adding Talanoa Hufanga at safety should only amplify that injection of violence.
September can't come soon enough.