After no first-round pick, the Broncos got their 2022 NFL Draft going on Friday night. They selected Nik Bonitto, a supremely athletic edge rusher out of Oklahoma.
The Broncos were scheduled to pick at No. 75 next, but traded with the Houston Texans, moving down to No. 80 and picked up No. 162 in the 5th round, too.
A few picks later, Denver took tight end Greg Dulcich out of UCLA. Dulcich is 6’4″ and 243 pounds and is a dynamic pass catcher. He caught 26 passes for 517 yards and 5 touchdowns in 2020, then 42 catches for 726 yards and 5 scores last year. He was a second-team and then first-team Pac-12 player with the Bruins.
After taking Bonitto, a 9.50 RAS score, Dulcich brings along an 8.24 relative athletic score. Where he struggled was on the bench press, with only 16 reps. However, he does bring along a solid 4.69 40-yard dash with a strong 34-inch vertical.
#10 TE #RAS 2022
Greg Dulcich is a TE prospect in the 2022 draft class. He scored a 8.24 RAS out of a possible 10.00. This ranked 179 out of 1010 TE from 1987 to 2022. https://t.co/SdTVqjxzNG #RAS pic.twitter.com/SIcDrYzwkh
— Kent Lee Platte (@MathBomb) April 13, 2022
He’s not the best blocker. But Dulcich is a hard-working tight end who has a solid catch radius and fights for extra yards after the reception. He’s very good at creating yards after the catch, and is a tight end that knows how to get open by dragging across the field.
“He’s a guy that can vertically stretch the field,” head coach Nathaniel Hackett said via the team twitter. “Unbelievably soft hands. He’s one of those guys you love to throw the ball to. It’s always friendly for the quarterback.”
He had superbly consistent week at the Senior Bowl, seeing his stock rise there. He had one catch for 10 yards, but practiced very well.
Of course, the Broncos traded away Noah Fant, the starting tight end, as part of the Russell Wilson trade. So, they needed another tight end, but he’s also got a lot of overlap in terms of skills with Albert Okwugbunam.
Still, it’s possible Dulcich starts this year, and training camp will be a battle between and Albert O.
Part of the reason the Broncos took Dulcich was due to the trade. That gave general manager George Paton his magic number of 10 picks in the draft, adding a fifth-rounder to his arsenal (No. 162 overall). So, now Denver has seven picks on Saturday, Day 3 of the NFL Draft. They now have Nos. 96, 115, 116, 152, 162, 206, 232 and 234.
Update: Denver traded away No. 96 for No. 179 this year (5th) from Indianapolis, along with a 3rd-round pick in 2023.
