Insider Reveals the Position Broncos Hoped to Upgrade in 2024 but Failed

You can't fill every roster hole in one offseason, so the Denver Broncos had to prioritize.

Nov 13, 2023; Orchard Park, New York, USA; Denver Broncos head coach Sean Payton looks to the / Mark Konezny-USA TODAY Sports

The Denver Broncos had a list of roster priorities entering this offseason, but with a uniquely strapped salary-cap situation due to the fallout of the Russell Wilson divorce, and no second-round draft pick, the team wasn't able to check off every item. It's rare that an NFL team does fill its every roster move in one fell swoop of an offseason.

However, the Broncos achieved their No. 1 priority — landing a future franchise quarterback to serve as the lynchpin to Sean Payton's rebuild. Bo Nix arrives in Denver via the No. 12 overall pick in the draft, and one key to helping the young quarterback succeed will be building the nest around him, as it were, with weapons to help carry the water.

The Broncos added two wide receivers and a running back in the draft — including Nix's No. 1 target at Oregon, Troy Franklin — but the team was unable to find the pass-catching tight end it sought. We learned via 9NEWS' Mike Klis on Friday that the Broncos were very much in the hunt for a receiving tight end this offseason, but with the stars failing to align, the hopes turn to the injury prone Greg Dulcich entering Year 3.

"As for the oft-injured, but still-hopeful Dulcich, the Broncos were looking to find another receiving tight end like him this offseason. You know, a tight end who can beat the linebacker down the seam. But the contracts got too rich for the veterans in free agency and they weren’t going to get Brock Bowers in the draft, not when Nix was their priority," Klis wrote.

What happens next for the Broncos? Don't miss out on any news and analysis! Take a second, sign up for our free newsletter, and get breaking Broncos news delivered to your inbox daily!

Indeed, the current Broncos brain trust did not fall prey to the flawed thinking of previous regimes in the Mile High City, who too often put the cart before the horse on the quarterback subject. Payton and GM counterpart George Paton saw the forest for the trees, and didn't blink when the opportunity came to draft Nix in the first round, even though a bonafide tight end talent like Bowers was there for the taking.

The Broncos can more than make due with Dulcich. A 2022 third-round pick out of UCLA, he arrived with his Weird Al mustache and flowing locks, and immediately begin turning heads with his receiving prowess.

The future looked bright for Dulcich but then the injury bug struck and it hasn't allowed the Broncos to pry its' hooks out of the talented tight end. In back-to-back years, Dulcich was laid low with severe hamstring injuries, only appearing in 12 total games with seven starts. Six of those starts came as a rookie before Payton landed in Denver.

As Klis writes, Dulcich will have to earn Payton's trust that he can stay on the field before he can begin to scratch the surface of what he's capable of in this offense.

"Dulcich will get another chance. He is too talented not to. He’ll have to gradually earn Payton’s trust by showing up every day, showing up every week into the regular season, on through the season," Klis wrote.

With really only the likes of Adam Trautman to contend with for starter's rep, if Dulcich can conclusively vanquish the injury bug, it shouldn't take long for the talented young tight end to earn some belief and support from Payton. Duclich did produce 411 yards and two touchdowns on just 33 receptions as a rookie, so there's plenty of reason for Payton to be licking his chops with visions of Jimmy Graham, Jeremy Shockey, and Jared Cook still dancing in his memory.

The Broncos weren't able to landing another bonafide receiving tight end this offseason, but that could end up being a blessing in disguise if Dulcich can stay healthy. There's no doubting his talent, but his can't-catch-a-break luck on the injury front has been an immense impediment to the tight end's early NFL development.

Follow Mile High Huddle on X and Facebook and subscribe on YouTube for daily Broncos live-stream podcasts!