When asked about Greg Dulcich at the NFL league meetings March 27 in Phoenix, Broncos head coach Sean Payton said everything about the team’s lukewarm feeling about its tight end room… without saying much at all.
“We’ll see (on Dulcich), Payton said. “Some of it was hard — the evaluation (on Dulcich). Some of it was hard.”
The Broncos are pick-strapped in this year’s draft, with only five selections starting with No. 67 overall in the third round. But tight end is clearly a focus.
Dulcich, the Broncos’ third-round pick last year out of UCLA, took over the starting job from Albert Okwuegbunam and flashed big-play potential. An impressive Week 6 debut featured a 39-yard TD catch, but hamstring injuries both early in the season and late cost him seven games while he struggled with a steep learning curve as a run blocker.
At the end of the season, Dulcich said fully rehabbing his hamstring would be a priority heading into 2023. Meanwhile, the Broncos have already made moves to fortify the tight end room around him, signing veteran Chris Manhertz in free agency on March 15. Manhertz is a blocking tight end who projects to take on the role Eric Saubert (signed with Miami) held down the past couple of seasons.
“The biggest thing is sorting out what is going on with this hamstring,” Dulcich said in January. “I have never had any problems with it before, so that’s going to be an emphasis this offseason.”
Should the Broncos decide they need to select a tight end for the fourth time in the last five drafts, they’ll have options. This year’s tight end class is above average.
Notre Dame’s Michael Mayer, who led the Irish in receptions each of the past two seasons, is widely viewed as one of top tight ends in the class along with Utah’s Dalton Kincaid. Both have a chance of going in the first round, and both are probably out of reach for Payton and general manager George Paton.
Behind Mayer and Kincaid, Luke Musgrave (Oregon State), Darnell Washington (Georgia), Luke Schoonmaker (Michigan), Sam LaPorta (Iowa) and Tucker Kraft (South Dakota State) are atop most draft boards at the position.
Musgrave and Schoonmaker both had or have pre-draft visits with the Broncos, who might have to trade up to get one of the second-tier tight ends. Denver’s also met with Jack Colletto, a tight end/fullback/wildcat QB/special teamer from Oregon State who profiles as a Taysom Hill-type for Payton. In terms of current draft positioning, a value middle-round deal such as LaPorta or Kraft, though not flashy or overtly athletic, could be the most realistic option for Denver.
The wealth of tight end options in the draft could also mean that Okwuegbunam’s time with the Broncos is short, unless he has a breakout season in Payton’s reimagined offensive scheme. He’s on the final year of his rookie deal after an underwhelming 2022 in which he had 10 catches for 95 yards and one touchdown in eight games. Dulcich, meanwhile, had 33 catches for 411 yards and two TDs in 10 games and clearly had the trust of quarterback Russell Wilson.
The combination of Dulcich, Manhertz and a newcomer from the draft could push Okwuegbunam out the door, although the Missouri product — the subject of trade rumors last fall — believes he could still make an impact in Denver despite his rough first three seasons.
“Unfortunately, some things happened this season that were out of my control,” Okwuegbunam said in January. “I didn’t really get to contribute the way I wanted to. Moving into this next season, I want to do everything I can to prove myself as a player, showcase my abilities and be able to contribute.”
