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If Monday’s primetime loss to the Chargers is any indication, the Broncos have a new No. 1 tight end.
Greg Dulcich, who began the season on injured reserve with a hamstring injury, made his first NFL start at SoFi Stadium. The rookie had two catches for 44 yards and a touchdown while Albert Okwuegbunam — the presumed successor to Noah Fant, who was traded to Seattle in March in the deal for Russell Wilson — was inactive.
While Dulcich seized the moment, Okwuegbunam stood on the sideline in sweats, which could be a bad sign for the latter player with the NFL trade deadline approaching on Nov. 1.
“As far as tight end debuts, that was really good, because you can see on tape he’s explosive, fast and decisive,” tight end Eric Saubert pointed out. “He’s sort of playing beyond his years already.”
Dulcich’s performance was one of the few highlights for the Denver offense in a Week 6 game defined by the unit’s second-half (and overtime) fizzle. Dulcich, Denver’s third-round pick out of UCLA this year, had a five-yard catch on the second drive of the game and then punctuated that possession with a 39-yard touchdown catch to put the Broncos up 10-0.
On the score Dulcich ran a go route down the numbers on the right side of the field, and the Chargers lost track of him. He caught the ball at the 15 and ran it in untouched for the score.
“KJ (Hamler) got me open,” Dulcich said. “He pulls the corner out of the way, and Russ put it on me, so all I’ve got to do is catch the ball there. If I drop that one, I might as well not be here.”
Dulcich called his NFL debut “special,” in part because his family was in the stands and also because of the wait he had to get back on the field. Dulcich hurt his hamstring early in training camp, sat out a few weeks, and then hurt it again trying to come back. That led to him spending the first five games of the season on injured reserve before being activated.
While he was hurt, Dulcich took up fishing and spent his work time pouring over the playbook, taking “mental reps” in practice. From there, Dulcich’s mindset was to “just sort of let it rip” against Los Angeles.
“It had been a long time since I played football, so I wasn’t feeling pressure or anything — I was just focused on going out there and having fun and contributing,” Dulcich said. “The TD was cool, and I got a lot of love from my teammates when I got to the sideline, but we’ve got to finish (the game) and get the job done. That’s the most important thing, so that’s what we’re going to do this week.”
While a healthy Dulcich appears primed for an upward trajectory and with quarterback Russell Wilson proclaiming that he “can’t wait to have a lot of great moments together (with Dulcich),” where does that leave Okwuegbunam?
Saubert (seven catches for 83 yards and a touchdown) has been Denver’s most productive tight end this season, so he’ll be active each week, especially given his core special teams role. And fellow veteran Eric Tomlinson, toward the bottom of the tight end depth chart, provides a blocking presence in multiple tight end sets that Okwuegbunam doesn’t have.
Okwuegbunam, who has seven catches for 50 yards this year, is balancing his disappointment from last week with his efforts to be a good teammate. He said he’s not giving up trying to prove he can be the dynamic tight end the Broncos need and envisioned from his flashes of receiving ability (44 catches, three touchdowns) over his first couple of seasons in Denver.
“Obviously, it’s a very frustrating situation, to not be suited up,” Okwuegbunam said. “But I’m very proud of Greg, going out there and making some plays. I’m always going to be trying to help him grow and get better any way I can, and be a good teammate, even though it’s frustrating… Opportunities are pretty limited for me (in practice the last couple weeks), but any ones I do get, I’m trying to dominate.”
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