The Denver Broncos tight end room has some question marks as the 2023 season approaches. After some offseason questioning, will Greg Dulcich have a big role inside Sean Payton’s offense?
State of the Denver Broncos tight end room
As Sean Payton begins his tenure as the next head coach of the Denver Broncos, the team’s tight end position comes into the spotlight ahead of the 2023 NFL Draft.
Prior to the NFL Annual Meeting, the widespread belief was that Greg Dulcich was going to be the Broncos’ top tight end option this upcoming season. However, Payton didn’t give off the vibe that he was strongly endorsing the soon-to-be second-year tight end.
“We’ll see,” Payton said of Dulcich in March. “We haven’t gone through every player relative to the evaluation process. Some of it was hard—the evaluation. Some of it was hard.”
It’s hard to estimate whether his analysis was on how poorly constructed the Broncos’ offense was last year, or if that was an indication of how he felt toward Dulcich.
If it is in fact the latter, the Broncos’ tight end room will have a lot of questions heading into the season.
Dulcich’s talent and athletic ability are evident when he’s on the field, his presence creates an impact on the offense. He has room to improve as a blocker, but his size and speed make him a legitimate receiving threat from the slot or on the outside.
It’s understandable that Nathaniel Hackett was a huge force behind the team selecting Dulcich in the 2022 NFL Draft, but Payton should be able to utilize him inside of his offensive scheme.
What about the rest of the Broncos’ tight end room?
It currently features Albert Okwuegbunam who enters the final year of his contract in Denver and free agent signing Chris Manhertz. There is a possibility that Lil’Jordan Humphrey gets some looks at tight end as well under Payton.
Okwuegbunam has a lot to prove to naysayers in training camp after Hackett and the Broncos failed to utilize him hardly at all last year. The fourth-year tight end has so much potential and can be an effective yard after the catch threat.
He’ll have to compete at camp to secure a spot on the team’s 53-man roster this upcoming season.
Manhertz was brought in based on Payton’s prior familiarity with him. He is a very polished blocking tight-end option who will help the Broncos establish a solid run game to the outside.
Not only will Manhertz help Denver run the ball effectively, but he can also help in pass-protection situations that will hopefully allow Russell Wilson to have more time to throw.
As it currently stands, the Broncos’ depth and outlook at tight end are questionable — leaving plenty of room for Denver to look at adding a player during the NFL Draft this week.
Will Sean Payton carry more than three tight ends going into the season? Time will tell as the draft approaches and the Broncos continue through Phase 1 of their offseason program.
