When the Denver Broncos selected Utah tight end Caleb Lohner halfway through the seventh round of the draft, it was initially perceived as a flyer. But there are a couple of factors that belie this dismissive attitude toward the Lohner pick.
First off, the Broncos took a similar "flyer" on Utah wide out Devaughn Vele in Round 7 last year, and few expected the 26-year-old rookie to even make the roster, let alone contribute. But Vele was good enough in OTAs and camp to make veteran Tim Patrick expendable, and would go on to start seven games as a rookie, catching 41 passes for 475 yards and three touchdowns.
Secondly, Lohner has a unique resume and traits that make him singular and intriguing. At 6-foot-7 and 250 pounds, he has a relative athletic score of 8.83, which is very good for a tight end, putting him in the top 20 percentile of the position group.
Add to that Lohner's five-year career as a college basketball player at BYU, Baylor, and Utah, and visions of Antonio Gates and Jimmy Graham begin dancing in one's head. Lohner and Graham are both 6-foot-7, and Sean Payton drafted them both.
Now, that's a lot to put on a rookie seventh-rounder's plate when it comes to the expectation meter, especially a guy like Lohner who turned to football late and only caught four college passes. But all four of them were touchdowns. If that's not an encouraging harbinger, I don't know what is...
Even Payton can't help but make the Graham and Gates comparisons with Lohner, perhaps revealing that his expectations for the former Ute are much higher than a typical seventh-rounder. As two legendary tight ends who played college basketball, Payton talked about Gates and Graham relative to Lohner following Day 3 of the NFL draft.
“It’s hard, going back with Jimmy Graham, I think he had 14, 15 catches [as a college football player]. Both of them had a season. Both of them were very good basketball players," Payton said of Lohner and Graham. "Now, in Jimmy’s case, there was a lot more. He was a Combine invite."
Gates went undrafted out of Kent State in 2003 and did not get an invitation to the NFL Combine. He signed with the then-San Diego Chargers as a college free agent, and 22 years later, he'll be inducted into the Pro Football Hall of Fame.
Gates and Graham's basketball background served them well in football, as it did for former Broncos Pro Bowl tight end Julius Thomas. All three were uber-athletic and knew how to use their bodies to complete passes, boxing out defenders just like they were going for the rebound.
When it came to Lohner, Payton could see the upside, even knowing that it might take a lot of work to realize it.
"We’re late in this draft, and you’re rooting for some guys and you see upsides in 6’7”, 245 pounds. You can see the basketball skill set—that’s easy—at a high level," Payton said of Lohner. "Then you’re looking at a small amount of playing time and yet enough to where you’re watching them."
Lohner's college tape was so limited that he might not have garnered much NFL interest, let alone have been drafted, were it not for his performance at the Big 12 Pro Day.
"I think the other thing that helped was watching him at the Big 12 Pro Day. There were just a few plays that you see movement skills and it’s a lot to work with," Payton said. "If it turns out like the last one did, then we’d be really excited. You go all the way back in our league, historically, Gates was signed, I believe, undrafted and so it’s kind of one of those things where the body types for the tight end, it’s not like they’re making less of them."
Not every 6-foot-7 basketballer has ambitions of playing football. Basketball can be physical and demanding, but that pales in comparison to football. Lohner's dream, despite his accomplishments as a basketball player, was to play football.
"I just wanted an opportunity, and I genuinely believe that wherever I am—and now being part of the Broncos organization—I’m going to do everything I can to help win," Lohner said after the draft. "I know I don’t have a ton of football under my belt, but that’s exactly why I’m playing the game because I’ve developed a passion and love. I was so excited. I think it’s something you dream about in sports."
Lohner believes that his jumping ability (the kid's got some hops) and high-pointing the ball are two basketball traits that translate to playing tight end, especially in the red zone. But he's got a unique blend of tools that, combined with the basketball experience, make for an intriguing amalgamation the Broncos couldn't resist in the draft's final round.
"When you get a chance to see him play football, he goes through a season of putting pads on, but his movement skills and his height, weight, and his eye/hand coordination—there’s a lot of developmental upside and we’re excited about that," Payton said.
The Broncos signed veteran Evan Engram to be their No. 1 tight end this year, and he'll be backed by Adam Trautman and at least Nate Adkins. But Lohner will immediately push the depth chart, and could render young vets like Lucas Krull expendable.
And when it comes to Utah tight ends, let's not forget to mention Lohner's fellow Ute Thomas Yassmin, who will also factor into the competition. Two Utes pushing the tight end depth chart from the bottom will be interesting to watch unfold in Broncos camp.
It's pretty clear, though, that Payton saw visions of Graham when he pulled the trigger on Lohner in the draft. And that means something relative to Lohner's outlook, regardless of his draft pedigree.
