After trading away Noah Fant as part of the package to land franchise quarterback Russell Wilson from the Seattle Seahawks, the Denver Broncos entered the offseason with a large hole at the tight end position.
Certainly there is an argument that given Wilson’s historical usage of the short-middle of the field, perhaps the tight end position is not of as such importance in Denver as it would be for other teams operating more of a quick passing scheme utilizing the middle of the field. Even if the tight end position is of lesser value in Denver, though, it doesn’t mean the offense couldn’t further utilize another weapon at the position.
With the 80th pick in the draft, the Broncos selected UCLA tight end Greg Dulcich. He is not a hulking tight end for the position at 6-foot-4 and 243 pounds (39th and 11th percentile for the position), Dulcich has very long arms for his body type with 33-⅜-inch arm length (66th percentile) and an 80-¾-inch wingspan (77th percentile).
While not a truly dynamic athlete in any one specific area, Dulcich was an overall performer at the tight end position measuring in the 50th percentile across the board in all metrics (besides bench press) and really showing out in the broad jump at 122 inches (88th percentile) and the 3-cone drill at 7.05 seconds (75th percentile).
Dulcich does not possess the massive frame or straight-line athleticism of Broncos’ projected starting tight end Albert Okwuegbunam, but he shows far more nuance as a receiver and more wiggle in his route-running ability. Dulcich showed a knack for the big play averaging nearly 18 yards a reception and 10 touchdowns over the last two seasons for the Bruins.
What makes Dulcich interesting is his versatility and many projectable roles entering the league. While he played a lot of Y tight end in college attached to the line of scrimmage, he is more of an effort blocker than an actual solid player when tasked to match up against defensive players in the run game.
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At the next level, the less blocking Dulcich is tasked with inline as a de facto sixth offensive lineman, the better. Given his broad shoulders he could certainly improve in this area by adding more mass, but for now, don’t expect him to open any holes in the run game.
Dulcich does his best work as an F tight end lined up in space or as an H-back in the backfield. Likely eating into the roles of both Andrew Beck (who might be expendable after this selection) and Okuwegbunam, Dulcich’s passing game versatility should be fun for the Broncos’ offensive staff led by former Packers’ tight ends coach and now offensive coordinator Justin Outten.
In today’s NFL where defenses are essentially treating most tight ends like wide receivers and taking linebackers off the field for coverage players, for a tight end to provide schematic advantage, they either need to be dominant as a blocker to the point that defenses must consider pretending its 2002 and fielding their base package defense, or such a smooth receiver and dynamic athlete that even if teams are lining up in dime or nickel, he can still create enough separation to give the quarterback a shot, win at the catch point, and take advantage of his size compared to a defensive back.
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While a “classic” tight end option that is more in the mold of the “find the open space between the zones in the short middle of the field, catch the ball, fall down” tight end may have lesser value in Denver than nearly every other team in the NFL (given Wilson’s extremely low rate of using this area of the field), Dulcich has shown to be enough of an athlete that he can win well beyond this small-boxed in area with ample seam routes, deep crossers, posts. It fits much better with Wilson and his deep ball-centric passing offense.
Dulcich has a lot of work to do to become a better blocker and add more mass and strength to his frame, but overall his big-play ability from the slot and tight end position with the ability to play H-back should give Wilson and the Broncos’ offense another fun weapon to play with on Sundays.
It does seem like the Broncos might have stayed at pick 75 and taken Jelani Woods had he been there, but Paton did a very good job pivoting from there by trading back, landing an additional pick from the Houston Texans in selection 162 when Woods was no longer available, and selecting a lesser athlete but a more refined player in Dulcich. Denver does get bonus points here for trading down and accumulating an extra 5th-round pick.
Grade: B
Grading the Trade
The Broncos also owned selection 96 entering the draft, the second of two picks netted from the in-season trade that sent Von Miller to the Los Angeles Rams. In a draft that so far has had very little movement of 2023 draft picks, the Broncos really needed to make moves on Day 2 that helped them start to add capital for next season. Entering Friday, the Broncos only had their own third, fourth, fifth, and the Minnesota Vikings’ seventh-round picks.
While there were still talented options for the Broncos to select at pick 96, Paton did the prudent thing and traded the selection to the Indianapolis Colts for pick 179 in this year’s draft and the Colts’ 2023 third-round pick. The Broncos still could stand to add capital for 2023, but adding a future top-100 pick certainly helps Denver’s long-term flexibility in building the team.
Grade: A
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George is Digismak’s reported cum editor with 13 years of experience in Journalism