A couple of years ago the Broncos selected UCLA tight end Greg Dulcich in the third round of the NFL draft. As soon as he got on the field in his rookie season -- granted, it was Week 6 -- he was making athletic plays. But there's been very little good news since then.
Maybe, finally, we have some more to get excited about. Yesterday's camp report from an Instagram news site (@broncosavenue) said Dulcich looked fast and explosive, with his work including a downfield catch from Bo Nix during 7-on-7 drills. Such athleticism showed up in Dulcich's rookie season -- he caught a 39-yard touchdown from then quarterback Russell Wilson in his first game -- but those plays have been few and far between since.
Dulcich caught 2 passes in the first half of last year's opener, but battled hamstring and foot injuries the rest of the season, appearing in only two games. Sean Payton came in and acquired former Saint Adam Trautman, primarily a blocker, and he'll probably be on the field a lot more. And late last season undrafted Lucas Krull -- also a former Saint -- stepped in and caught 8 passes for 95 yards and a touchdown. Krull drew some early ink at OTAs, enough so I picked him up in a dynasty league (I also have Dulcich), on the hope that one of the two becomes the main pass catcher at the position.
The reality, though, is it's a longshot that either pass catcher becomes a big part of the offense. Payton is connected to one of the more dynamic receiving tight ends of the last 15 years in Jimmy Graham, but that was a long time ago. He traded Graham away back in 2015, and though there were a couple of good years from other players (Ben Watson, even Coby Fleener) more commonly since then his tight ends did not put up big numbers.
That was especially true in his first year as Denver's coach. Maybe things would have gone differently if Dulcich had stayed healthy, but that's just speculation. In terms of what actually happened, only Miami tight ends accounted for a lower percentage of their team's receptions and yards last year than Denver's did. No team got fewer yards per game from those players. Just not a big part of the offense.
Denver's tight ends last year finished with the fewest catches and fewest yards in the league.
| TIGHT END PRODUCTION | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Team | No | Yards | Avg | TD |
| Atlanta | 114 | 1,380 | 12.1 | 7 |
| Minnesota | 135 | 1,367 | 10.1 | 8 |
| Kansas City | 126 | 1,315 | 10.4 | 8 |
| Arizona | 132 | 1,269 | 9.6 | 5 |
| Jacksonville | 132 | 1,153 | 8.7 | 5 |
| Cleveland | 109 | 1,095 | 10.0 | 9 |
| San Francisco | 69 | 1,064 | 15.4 | 6 |
| Baltimore | 82 | 1,042 | 12.7 | 12 |
| Detroit | 101 | 1,008 | 10.0 | 11 |
| Houston | 81 | 899 | 11.1 | 7 |
| Buffalo | 97 | 885 | 9.1 | 5 |
| Indianapolis | 70 | 883 | 12.6 | 6 |
| New England | 84 | 871 | 10.4 | 9 |
| Dallas | 83 | 864 | 10.4 | 7 |
| Chicago | 88 | 860 | 9.8 | 7 |
| NY Jets | 87 | 858 | 9.9 | 1 |
| LA Chargers | 90 | 854 | 9.5 | 8 |
| NY Giants | 81 | 843 | 10.4 | 2 |
| Seattle | 74 | 833 | 11.3 | 3 |
| Green Bay | 77 | 793 | 10.3 | 4 |
| Washington | 85 | 767 | 9.0 | 4 |
| Cincinnati | 88 | 686 | 7.8 | 4 |
| Philadelphia | 68 | 669 | 9.8 | 3 |
| LA Rams | 62 | 668 | 10.8 | 3 |
| Tennessee | 65 | 649 | 10.0 | 2 |
| New Orleans | 64 | 600 | 9.4 | 9 |
| Carolina | 59 | 561 | 9.5 | 4 |
| Las Vegas | 54 | 548 | 10.1 | 2 |
| Pittsburgh | 62 | 536 | 8.6 | 2 |
| Tampa Bay | 55 | 505 | 9.2 | 5 |
| Miami | 41 | 414 | 10.1 | 0 |
So in general, there's not much to cling to when holding onto Dulcich (or Krull) in a deep or dynasty league. Not enough production from those players, or a great recent history for Payton offenses. The smart thing to do (and I've tried) is to ship off Dulcich to someone who has fond memories of his college production, which included averaging 621 yards and catching 5 TDs his final two seasons at UCLA, averaging over 18 yards per reception.
But positive camp reports from observers are worth something. Maybe not a lot, but better than hearing about guys limping off the field, which Dulcich's career thus far suggests will be around the corner. Expectations should be low, and I won't be drafting him anywhere. But it's too soon to totally write him off. Maybe there will be more promising news to come over the next month. Even if I'm not counting on it.
--Andy Richardson