DENVER — To understand why Nate Adkins, and not Albert O, became the Denver Broncos’ No. 4 tight end, go back to their high school years.
Adkins, an undrafted rookie who grew up in Knoxville, Tenn., played offensive line for Bearden High School.
Okwuegbunam, a fourth-year player who grew up in the Land of Lincoln city of Springfield, Ill., was a receiver at Sacred Heart-Griffin High School.
For his fourth tight end, Broncos head coach Sean Payton wanted more down-and-dirty than flashy. The Broncos already have Greg Dulcich as a receiver-type tight end and a good one. Chris Manhertz is a tight end blocker. Adam Trautman can block and catch.
So can Adkins, who also is a special teams asset.
The ability to block was the tiebreaker.
“It’s kind of what I grew up doing,’’ Adkins said Thursday after the Broncos final practice of the week – and first day the 53-man roster was officially set. “My dad’s an offensive line coach, so it’s what I’ve been around my whole life. In high school, I never even played tight end. I played offensive line. Grew up having a blocking base, and that’s kind of how my game grew.
“Starting from blocking and then learning [how to be] an athlete, try to learn all the routes and all the other stuff about playing tight end," he said. "So, yeah, I think having that blocking base has really helped me in this whole process.”
More specifically, Adkins was a two-way player in high school – a 215-pound offensive tackle and defensive edge player who had six sacks, 14 tackles for loss and 76 total tackles as a senior.
“I’m shocked by the way he gets hits,’’ Bearden’s defensive coordinator Brian Blivins told a local paper after one game. “He just blows people up.”
Adkins also hit .354 as a starting third baseman in his sophomore and junior years combined. So he is an athlete. He played four years of tight end at East Tennessee State, a FCS program, demonstrating his receiving skills during his second junior season of 2021 when he had 33 catches for 357 yards. He then transferred as a graduate senior to South Carolina, where his dad Greg was the Gamecocks’ offensive line coach.
This spring, Adkins was brought in for one of the Broncos’ top 30 college-player visits before the draft, whereupon Payton talked as if he already had the team made.
“Coach Payton, when I came on my visit, said he had a clear vision for me,’’ Adkins said. “Liked my film from South Carolina. Then I met with [tight ends] coach Declan Doyle, and he said he liked my film as well, and he can see me making this team somehow, some way.’’
And so Adkins, not Albert O, is on the Broncos’ season-opening roster. Okwuegbunam had a terrific sendoff performance in the final preseason game against the Los Angeles Rams by making seven catches for 109 yards and a touchdown; nevertheless, he was called into Broncos headquarters Tuesday morning and was told he was cut.
A couple hours later – and a few minutes before the Broncos had to submit their cuts to the league office – Okwuegbunam was instead traded to the Philadelphia Eagles in exchange for moving up one round, from seventh to sixth, two years from now (2025 draft).
Adkins was aware Albert O was a bit of a fan favorite in Broncos Country.
“He’s got a great personality, he’s a great teammate,’’ Adkins said. “He’s a great player, I mean you saw what he can do. He does all the right things in the building. Like I said he’s a great teammate and I wish all the best for him.”
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