Analysis: Utah tight end Dallen Bentley will feel right at home with the Denver Broncos

On Saturday, Utah tight end Dallen Bentley became the latest Ute to join the Broncos after being selected with the second-to-last pick in the 2026 NFL Draft. In Colorado, Bentley will feel right at home. Not only will he join four former Utes — offensive tackle Garett Bolles, outside linebacker Jonah Elliss, linebacker Karene Reid and fellow tight end Caleb Lohner — but he’ll also be returning to the state where he served a mission for The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints.

A late bloomer, Bentley played only five snaps of varsity football at Taylorsville High during his senior season before suffering an injury that ended his high school career. Post-high school, he served his mission and when he returned, he decided he wanted to give football another shot, walking onto Snow College’s team. “Served an LDS mission, I come back, my cousin said, ‘Hey, you want to go try out?

’ And so I said, ‘Might as well, might as well try,’ so we both went over there. Walked on over there, coaches loved us,” Bentley said in 2025. Bentley quickly earned a scholarship at Snow, where he snagged eight receptions for 114 yards and two touchdowns in his lone season in Ephraim.

A look at the film revealed his potential at the tight end position, and Utah, the school he grew up a fan of, was interested. So were Colorado, Washington and Louisville. Bentley chose to stay home and be developed by tight ends coach Freddie Whittingham, but before he had his breakout season at the Power Four level, there were a few more bumps along the way.