ENGLEWOOD, Colo — For two years the Broncos waited patiently for Greg Dulcich to become their answer to Travis Kelce.
But while Kelce proved yet again he has no equal while helping the Kansas City Chiefs to back-to-back Super Bowl championships, Dulcich turned out to have a Greek God bod with a blown-out wheel.
It would be a surprise if the Broncos count on Dulcich to be No. 1 tight end receiving target for a third consecutive year.
The Broncos need to upgrade the receiving component of their tight end position this offseason. Free agents will include Hunter Henry, Colby Parkinson – Noah Fant, anyone? – Brock Wright and former Vikings’ second-round draft pick Irv Smith, among others.
In the draft, the Broncos likely have too many other priorities to select Georgia’s Brock Bowers with their No. 12 overall pick. Besides at 230 pounds Bowers is a bit small for Sean Payton’s type of tight end. But the likes of Ja’Tavion Sanders, Tanner McLachlan, Cade Stover, Jared Wiley, Ben Sinnott and Colorado State’s Dallin Holker are tight ends with receiving ability who could be had on Day 2 or 3.
It’s wrong to say the Broncos got little out of their tight end position in 2024. Broncos’ tight ends were effective as blockers, particularly Adam Trautman and Chris Manhertz.
It’s more accurate to say the Broncos didn’t get much receiving production from their tight end position. In all, Broncos’ tight ends – Trautman, Lucas Krull, Dulcich, Nate Adkins and Manhertz – combined for 39 catches, 362 receiving yards and four touchdowns.
Kelce had 32 catches for 355 yards and 3 touchdowns in four postseason games.
Dulcich, a third-round draft pick out of UCLA, has been bothered by a strained hamstring for two years. He was finally healthy enough to return for the final month of the 2023 regular season – only to have his foot balloon up a few minutes into his first practice back.
If Dulcich can stay healthy in 2024, it would be an offensive bonus. But to count on him as the team’s primary tight end weapon is to greatly risk not having a tight end weapon. Lucas Krull flashed receiving talent late in his second NFL season in 2023. But more development is needed and the Broncos need to win with whoever they have at quarterback in 2024.
A look at the Broncos’ tight end receiving production in 2023:
Tight end ……..….… R ….… Y … TD
Adam Trautman … 22 … 204 ..… 3
Lucas Krull ………… 8 …… 95 …. 1
Nate Adkins ………. 4 …… 22 …. 0
Greg Dulcich ……... 3 ….. 25 …. 0
Chris Manhertz .…. 2 ……16 …. 0
The best of this group, Trautman, is a free agent. He’s a Payton favorite going back to their Saints’ days so Trautman may return. However, his market value figures to be in the $3 million to $5 million range after he accepted a pay cut to $1.5 million last year.
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