Nate Adkins was certain he was going to catch his second touchdown of the afternoon.
Deep in Carolina territory in the second quarter, the second-year Broncos tight end found himself all alone near the right sideline. But Bo Nix had other plans.
The rookie quarterback fired the ball down the seam to fellow tight end Adam Trautman, who made a stunning one-handed catch in the end zone to give Denver a 14-7 lead with 6:51 left in the first half.
“I was wide open going down the sideline and was like ‘Oh my god. I might get another one,’” Adkins said after Denver’s 28-14 win over the Panthers at Empower Field on Sunday.
“…Then he threw it to Trautman and it was a one-handed catch. It was awesome.”
It was that kind of day for the Broncos on National Tight Ends Day.
Denver’s tight ends broke out of a seven-week funk to produce their biggest game catching the ball so far this season, hauling in seven passes for 106 yards and two touchdowns.
Before Trautman’s touchdown grab, he caught a 17-yard reception to Carolina’s 24-yard line. Two plays later, he delivered his highlight reel grab — one that could easily qualify as the Broncos’ best of the season.
Trautman finished with four catches for a career-best 85 yards to help the Broncos secure their fifth victory of the year and their best start since 2016. Trautman’s previous high was five receptions for 58 yards as a member of the Saints in 2021.
Broncos coach Sean Payton said the team didn’t go into Sunday with a plan to get the tight ends the ball more often. Instead, the flow of the game dictated that it played out that way. Trautman got going when he caught a pass from Nix on a play-action bootleg for a 37-yard gain to end the first quarter, but he wasn’t the initial target.
“That could go to a few people,” Payton said. “It’s hard to predict who gets (the ball). Sometimes it’s the first read, which would be (wide receiver Lil’Jordan Humphrey). Adam did a good job finding that deep window.”
On Trautman’s touchdown catch in the second quarter, Payton said: “If you would have given me our roster and (I mark) who I think scores on that play, he would have been near the bottom.”
Before Sunday, Denver’s tight ends collected a combined 17 catches for 136 yards and no touchdowns. Trautman only had two catches for 32 yards while Greg Dulcich — meant to be Denver’s receiving threat in the middle of the field — has underperformed (five catches for 28 yards) and been inactive the last four weeks.
The Broncos won’t face many defenses as bad as the Panthers were in the final game of October. But Trautman’s outing showed the benefits of having pass-catching production from the tight ends room.
“It does a lot, especially when (me and Adkins) are blockers,” Trautman said. “I think if you can (throw the ball) with the (blocking tight ends) on the field, it opens up a lot of things. It was huge.”
Trautman, of course, wasn’t the only one to get in on the action.
Adkins’ first-career touchdown catch tied the game at seven early in the second quarter. Lucas Krull also had a 15-yard reception during the 5:31 mark of the fourth.
“(My brother) said he had a dream that I would catch a touchdown today,” Adkins said. “I can’t wait to talk to him.”
The only sour moment from the Broncos tight ends? They forgot to wear the t-shirts given to them by the league to honor their position.
“It was good to have this type of performance on this day,” Trautman said.
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