The second year tight end could have a breakout year this year under Sean Payton.
The Denver Broncos selected UCLA tight end Greg Dulcich with their 80th overall selection in the third round of the 2023 draft. The highly athletic tight end was viewed as the top receiving tight end in that draft and entered his rookie year with some lofty expectations.
At this point and time, expectations were high for the Broncos and Dulcich was joining a loaded and dangerous looking offense. Unfortunately, we all know how the 2022 season transpired, but Dulcich despite missing part of the season and being a rookie, put together a solid rookie season. Rookie tight ends are not often known for doing much right away, but in the 10 games that Dulcich played in, he showed plenty of upside as a receiving threat for the Broncos moving forward.
Broncos TE Greg Dulcich should play a big role in Sean Payton’s offense as a deep threat off of play action. Crafty route runner, regularly beats man coverage (see below), impressive ball tracking ability.
From weeks 7-18, led all TEs in AY/target. pic.twitter.com/UTFeUW9J2z
— Mina Kimes (@minakimes) May 19, 2023
Now, Dulcich is having his first full NFL offseason of his career and is doing so with newly hired head coach Sean Payton running the show. I would expect Payton to find ways to get his highly athletic tight end open and take advantage of his skill set. We could see some big things for Dulcich this upcoming season.
Player Profile
Height: 6’4” | Weight: 245 pounds
40-Yard Dash: 4.69 seconds
Arm Length: 33 1/2” | Hands: 10 inches
Age: 23 years old | Experience: 2nd year
Greg Dulcich’s 2022 stats
He played in 10 total games and totaled 33 receptions on 55 targets for 411 yards and 2 touchdowns.
Greg Dulcich’s 2023 Outlook
You have to be excited for Dulcich’s upside in Sean Payton’s offense. He is a large receiving threat that creates matchup problems for defenses and profiles as a red zone nightmare. You would have to assume that Payton will find ways to get him open or in favorable matchups in his offense and do it often. Add in how well he played last year despite all the dysfunction on offense and with that team, and you can see why I am expecting big things from Dulcich.
Payton seems to agree and praised the Broncos’ tight end recently after an OTA practice. He told reporters that Dulcich can run, has good ball skills, and used the term ‘joker’ when talking about him
“He’s got unique skill set, and he’s got traits in the passing game. We use the term ‘Joker’ where we can get matchups. The trick sometimes is trying to predict what you’re going to get defensively, if you’re either going to get a nickel package or a base package. But man, he can run, he’s got good ball skills and he had one of his better practices today.”
He continued by explaining what the ‘Joker’ is in his offense and mentioned players like Reggie Bush, Darren Sproles, and Alvin Kamara filling that role for him in the past.
The ‘Joker’ player for us is not a receiver. It’s either a running back or a tight end with exceptional ball skills and then you can work matchups. We’ve had that at the running back position. Reggie Bush was the ‘Joker,’ Darren Sproles and Alvin Kamara. Those were all unique players, not just in the running game, but they had passing game skill sets that allowed you to do multiple things, and I think Greg does to.”
That is some high praise for the Broncos’ tight end and an indicator that he will be featured in the passing game this upcoming season. Now, OTA quotes should always be taken with a grain of salt, but it is still promising to hear this from the Broncos’ new head coach.
What still could hinder Dulcich and limit how much he plays is his blocking skills. He is an excellent pass catcher with good speed, but he is not known for his blocking skills. This is why the Broncos went out and signed blocking specialist Chris Manhertz and traded for former Saints tight end Adam Trautman. With the likely emphasis being on the Broncos’ run game, we should see these two on the field a good bit, so it will be interesting to see how Payton works Dulcich in here.
Final Thoughts
I am really intrigued to see how Payton uses Dulcich in his offense. These ‘Joker’ comments have me excited and I think we could see some big things from the explosive tight end.
With that said, the Broncos have a lot of weapons in the passing game and are expected to be a run-heavy team on offense. So, Dulcich’s upside could be limited just a bit. You currently have Jerry Jeudy, Courtland Sutton, Tim Patrick, and rookie Marvin Mims Jr. getting targets at receiver. Then you will have Trautman and Manhertz likely coming in for Dulcich on running downs. So, it will be interesting to see how Payton uses him, but it does sound like he has a plan for the talented Broncos tight end.