There’s been some indications in Denver that it might be Greg Dulcich, rather than Albert Okwuegbunam, who’s the team’s leading tight end. The Broncos picked Dulcich in the third round, and he’s definitely more of a pass catcher than a blocker.
Dulcich isn’t very big. He’s 6-foot-4 and weighed 243 pounds at the combine. That’s less than ideal for playing as an in-line tight end. But the Broncos drafted him more with an eye on what he can do as a receiver.
Dulcich was a receiving weapon at UCLA. Not so much in volume (just 42 catches last year), but in creating impact plays. He averaged 18.3 yards per catch in his final two seasons, with 10 TDs.
Dulcich and Okwuegbunam were splitting the first-team reps at the team’s offseason minicamp. The rookie opened camp on the PUP list, but he’s been activated now. Once the real games start, they may both have roles.
For fantasy purposes, I’m not excited about either right now. Russell Wilson doesn’t have a strong history with tight ends, and the Broncos are well stocked with capable wide receivers.
And history tells us that it’s rare for a tight end drafted in the third round to make much of an impact in his first year. In the 32-team era, 49 tight ends have been selected with third-round picks, and only 12 of those guys went on to be the most productive tight end on their team.
Of those 49, only finished with top-20 numbers (PPR scoring) in their first year, and none of those guys ranked higher than 12th. So if you’re throwing a late-round pick at Dulcich, it should be with the hope he might be the odds and serve as a decent second tight end. Unless something of note happens in the preseason, I will be leaving him undrafted. (Decision making would be slightly different in a dynasty format, where you might talk yourself into selecting Dulcich as a project who might develop into something viable in 2023.)
In the chart below, players tagged with black dots are the ones who were at least the best tight end on their own team.
| THIRD-ROUND TIGHT ENDS (first yr numbers) | |||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Year | Player | G | Rec | Yds | TD | PPR | Rk |
| 2002 | • Matt Schobel, Cin. | 16 | 27 | 212 | 2 | 60.2 | 30 |
| 2002 | Chris Baker, NYJ | 12 | 2 | 14 | 0 | 3.4 | 82 |
| 2003 | • Jason Witten, Dall. | 15 | 35 | 347 | 1 | 75.7 | 20 |
| 2003 | Visanthe Shiancoe, NYG | 16 | 10 | 56 | 2 | 27.6 | 50 |
| 2003 | Mike Seidman, Car. | 12 | 5 | 35 | 0 | 8.5 | 77 |
| 2004 | • Chris Cooley, Was. | 16 | 37 | 314 | 6 | 104.4 | 12 |
| 2004 | Ben Hartsock, Ind. | 16 | 4 | 33 | 0 | 7.3 | 87 |
| 2005 | • Alex Smith, T.B. | 16 | 41 | 367 | 2 | 89.7 | 19 |
| 2005 | Kevin Everett, Buff. | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | .0 | --- |
| 2006 | Leonard Pope, Ariz. | 16 | 16 | 161 | 0 | 32.1 | 49 |
| 2006 | Dominique Byrd, St.L. | 5 | 2 | 39 | 1 | 11.9 | 70 |
| 2006 | Dave Thomas, N.E. | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | .0 | --- |
| 2007 | Matt Spaeth, Pitt. | 14 | 5 | 34 | 3 | 26.4 | 55 |
| 2008 | Jermichael Finley, G.B. | 14 | 6 | 74 | 1 | 19.4 | 61 |
| 2008 | Brad Cottam, K.C. | 16 | 7 | 63 | 0 | 13.3 | 72 |
| 2008 | Craig Stevens, Ten. | 16 | 1 | 9 | 0 | 1.9 | 98 |
| 2009 | Jared Cook, Ten. | 14 | 9 | 74 | 0 | 16.4 | 70 |
| 2009 | Travis Beckum, NYG | 15 | 8 | 55 | 0 | 13.5 | 72 |
| 2009 | Chase Coffman, Cin. | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | .0 | --- |
| 2010 | • Tony Moeaki, K.C. | 15 | 47 | 556 | 3 | 120.6 | 17 |
| 2010 | Jimmy Graham, N.O. | 15 | 31 | 356 | 5 | 96.9 | 27 |
| 2010 | Ed Dickson, Balt. | 15 | 11 | 152 | 1 | 32.2 | 53 |
| 2011 | Rob Housler, Ariz. | 12 | 12 | 133 | 0 | 25.3 | 55 |
| 2012 | • Dwayne Allen, Ind. | 16 | 45 | 521 | 3 | 115.6 | 25 |
| 2012 | Michael Egnew, Mia. | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | .0 | --- |
| 2013 | • Jordan Reed, Was. | 9 | 45 | 499 | 3 | 114.7 | 22 |
| 2013 | Travis Kelce, K.C. | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | .0 | --- |
| 2014 | Richard Rodgers, G.B. | 16 | 20 | 225 | 2 | 54.5 | 43 |
| 2014 | Crockett Gillmore, Balt. | 15 | 10 | 121 | 1 | 28.1 | 58 |
| 2014 | C.J. Fiedorowicz, Hou. | 15 | 4 | 28 | 1 | 12.8 | 80 |
| 2015 | • Clive Walford, Oak. | 16 | 28 | 329 | 3 | 78.9 | 31 |
| 2015 | Tyler Kroft, Cin. | 16 | 11 | 129 | 1 | 29.9 | 59 |
| 2015 | Jeff Heuerman, Den. | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | .0 | --- |
| 2016 | • Austin Hooper, Atl. | 14 | 19 | 271 | 3 | 64.1 | 38 |
| 2016 | Nick Vannett, Sea. | 9 | 3 | 32 | 0 | 6.2 | 94 |
| 2017 | Jonnu Smith, Ten. | 16 | 18 | 157 | 2 | 45.7 | 47 |
| 2018 | • Mark Andrews, Balt. | 16 | 34 | 552 | 3 | 107.2 | 17 |
| 2018 | Jordan Akins, Hou. | 16 | 17 | 225 | 0 | 39.5 | 53 |
| 2019 | • Dawson Knox, Buff. | 15 | 28 | 388 | 2 | 79.7 | 32 |
| 2019 | Josh Oliver, Jac. | 4 | 3 | 15 | 0 | 4.5 | 99 |
| 2019 | Jace Sternberger, G.B. | 6 | 0 | 0 | 0 | .0 | --- |
| 2019 | Kahale Warring, Hou. | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | .0 | --- |
| 2020 | Adam Trautman, N.O. | 15 | 15 | 171 | 1 | 38.1 | 57 |
| 2020 | Devin Asiasi, N.E. | 9 | 2 | 39 | 1 | 11.9 | 81 |
| 2020 | Dalton Keene, N.E. | 6 | 3 | 16 | 0 | 4.6 | 99 |
| 2020 | Josiah Deguara, G.B. | 2 | 1 | 12 | 0 | 2.2 | 107 |
| 2021 | • Tommy Tremble, Car. | 16 | 20 | 180 | 2 | 53.1 | 45 |
| 2021 | Hunter Long, Mia. | 7 | 1 | 8 | 0 | 1.8 | 113 |
| 2021 | Tre McKitty, LAC | 11 | 6 | 45 | 0 | 10.5 | --- |
| 2022 | Greg Dulcich, Den. | ? | ? | ? | ? | ? | ? |
| 2022 | Jelani Woods, Ind. | ? | ? | ? | ? | ? | ? |
| 2022 | Jeremy Ruckert, NYJ | ? | ? | ? | ? | ? | ? |
—Ian Allan