Caleb Lohner

Current Contract

Contract Value Index (CVI)

The Broncos locked up a solid depth piece at a bargain price, with Caleb Lohner's 2-year, $1.9M deal earning a strong B CVI that reflects excellent value for Denver's tight end room. At just $1M per year, this contract represents the type of low-risk, high-upside move that smart front offices make to build roster depth without breaking the bank. Lohner's 24-year-old profile suggests he's entering his athletic prime with room for continued development, making this timeline ideal for both player and franchise. The modest guarantee structure gives Denver flexibility while providing Lohner with a legitimate opportunity to carve out a meaningful role in an offense that could use reliable pass-catching depth behind the starters. This is the kind of under-the-radar signing that often pays dividends — Denver gets a young, developing tight end at replacement-level money with legitimate upside if he takes the expected developmental leap.

Contracts in the Same Value Band

Other same-position deals the Contract Value Index also places in the B band — a quick read on where Caleb's contract sits relative to comparable money.

Performance Analysis

Caleb Lohner's tape and counting stats together earn a C+ performance grade. The seventh-round rookie operated in a depth-chart holding pattern during the 2025 season, accumulating 23 receiving yards across 2 games—production that reflects limited opportunity rather than extended evaluation. His best moment came on a 23-yard reception where he found a seam in zone coverage against playoff-level competition, demonstrating genuine NFL-level route recognition and ball skills in a high-leverage situation. The glaring weakness is opportunity scarcity: two games simply isn't enough volume to establish whether that one catch was genuine traction or an outlier in a practice squad existence. As a rookie navigating Denver's aggressive offseason shuffling, Lohner remains a fringe roster piece—the Broncos' May signing of veteran tight end Dallen Bentley and subsequent cuts across the roster (five moves in four days) signal the front office views him as replaceable depth rather than a cornerstone rebuild candidate. His narrative sits in limbo: enough tape to hint at developmental potential, but not enough snaps or organizational priority to suggest a clear path to consistent playing time, leaving him squarely in the "show me more" category as the regular season approaches.

How Caleb Compares at the Position

Caleb Lohner ranks 54th of 164 graded tight ends by performance. That slots Caleb between Michael Mayer (C+) just ahead and Hayden Rucci (C+) just behind.

Fan Sentiment

Caleb Lohner's public profile sits exactly where you'd expect for a seventh-round tight end navigating the practice squad carousel — barely registering on the broader fan radar, earning a steady C on the sentiment scale. The media narrative has been almost entirely transactional: a handful of headlines tracking his practice squad elevation, a brief appearance in a high-stakes divisional game against the Bills, and then a quick waiver cut that closed the story before most fans had time to notice it opened. That one-catch, 23-yard reception in the 2025 season showed genuine NFL-level execution — finding a seam in zone coverage against playoff competition is no small thing — but a D- performance grade tells the honest story of how little opportunity he had to build on it. Denver's front office has barely paused to acknowledge Lohner as they continue aggressively reshaping the roster around him, with moves like signing Dallen Bentley at tight end in early May signaling that the Broncos are still actively hunting for reliable depth at the position rather than betting on what Lohner showed in limited snaps. The narrative sits in a holding pattern: not enough visibility to generate meaningful fan investment either way, and a front office that has made clear through both the waiver cut and subsequent signings that Lohner remains on the outer edge of their evaluation.