INDIANAPOLIS — Evan Engram’s swag bordered between confidence and arrogance. The Ole Miss tight end sat up in his chair and matter-of-factly opined he could be the offensive weapon to bring the Broncos back to championship contention.

NFL teams make the draft selections, but Engram called his own shot here at the NFL combine.

Engram, 6-foot-3, 234 pounds, believes he could be the second coming of Julius Thomas for the Broncos. And not the oft-injured version of Thomas. Engram means the speedy mismatch, red-zone star who had 24 touchdowns in the 2013 and 2014 seasons. Engram’s 4.42-second 40-yard dash Saturday showed exactly what he meant.

“I’ve been watching him for a long time, and I’ve been talking with them about how they’re trying to get back to having an athletic, down-the-field tight end,” Engram said of Thomas and the Broncos. “I would love to play for that organization. Great coaching staff. They got an offense that needs some vertical threats, and I would love to be a part of that.”

The Broncos have had a formal meeting with nearly every top tight end in a deep draft class that includes Engram, Alabama’s O.J. Howard, Miami’s David Njoku, Virginia Tech’s Bucky Hodges, Clemson’s Jordan Leggett and South Alabama’s Gerald Everett.

Getting a third weapon on the inside — whether at slot receiver, tight end or both — is important for Denver as it looks to take pressure off wideouts Demaryius Thomas and Emmanuel Sanders.

Howard and Njoku are probably first-round picks, but Engram, Hodges, Everett and Leggett could all go in the top three rounds. Each tight end has a different style.

So what makes each one special?

“My ability to be a three-down tight end,” said Howard, who compares himself to Carolina Panthers tight end Greg Olsen. “Being able to stay in the game and run block, also being able to use my athletic ability in the passing game to separate from defenders. Being very versatile, I can go out wide. I can go in the slot.”

Howard, 6-5, 251 pounds, has been considered the top tight end by many draft experts despite being underutilized at Alabama. He ran a 4.51 40 here, second best among tight ends. He may not be available when the Broncos pick at No. 20.

Njoku, 6-4, 246 pounds, is another athletic playmaker whom the Broncos are looking at in the first round. Njoku has more college production as a receiver than Howard, albeit with less blocking ability.

Njoku predicted he would break the standing long jump record for tight ends and surprise people with his vertical jump. He did both, leaping a 11 feet, 1 inch in the standing long jump, a record, before Hodges surpassed him with a 11-2. And Njoku had a 37 1/2-inch vertical jump, tied for third best among tight ends.

Hodges, 6-6, 257 pounds, may have had the best numbers at the combine of all the prospects. Along with his record-setting long jump, and had a 39-inch vertical jump and a 4.57-second 40-yard dash.

Broncos tight end coach Geep Chryst has raved about the talent at the top of this tight end class, but he’s also impressed with the depth. Potential midround options Everett, Leggett, Ashland’s Adam Shaheen and Michigan’s Jake Butt are among the top tight ends.

Broncos general manager John Elway was optimistic about continued growth from young tight ends A.J. Derby and Jeff Heuerman after last season. Veteran Virgil Green is productive as a blocker, but injuries sabotaged his 2016 season, and he’s in the final year of his contract.

“We think that group is going to get better because of the youth that we have,” Elway said.

Five Broncos tight ends, however, combined for just 53 catches, 591 yards and two touchdowns in 2016. That needs to get better in 2017.