Broncos' HC Nathaniel Hackett Praises Rookie TE Greg Dulcich
Panic can set in when a key locker room leader goes down injured and is ruled out for the entire season. The Denver Broncos have taken a major blow to the chin when they lost a key component in wide receiver Tim Patrick.
That being said, the Broncos haven't stood on ceremony when looking for replacements and attempting to find ways to bridge the gap created by Patrick's injury.
That's led to head coach Nathaniel Hackett to dial up guys he knew from his time spent in Green Bay, like Darrius Shepherd, who was signed on Thursday. Instead of searching for a starting-caliber Patrick replacement on the free-agent market, Denver will rely on the talent it already has. Shepherd is depth guy.
Based on what we're seeing on the practice field, Hackett seems inclined to lean on the tight ends even more since Patrick's injury. In the case of Broncos rookie tight end Greg Dulcich, the coaching staff opened up training camp with caution because he has been nursing a hamstring injury.
But now that Dulcich is going full speed, the 22-year-old former UCLA Bruin has impressed Hackett with his all-around game and those fantastic flowing locks.
“Besides the hair? I’ll tell you," Hackett said of how Dulcich has impressed him. "He only got a couple reps again. We’re trying to slowly work him in. We don’t want to throw him in there and have him running down the field all over the place and blocking but it was great. He kind of had a couple of plays—I think he caught a touchdown on the right there which was great because the play [QB] Russell [Wilson] made was awesome.”
For a first-year head coach, Hackett is showing a very natural and instinctive feel for managing the action during training camp. In equal measure, he has shown commendable levels of patience with players who are nursing injuries and intensity on the path to team improvement.
Furthermore, Hackett has been given the players rein to operate naturally. For Dulcich, that’s proving to be crucial because it looks like the extra time he spent on the sidelines recovering was well spent learning his assignments.
That's no mean feat for a tight end in the pro game. Hackett has rewarded the impressive rookie by allowing him to utilize his athletic prowess and play with freedom.
“That’s the thing with Dulcich right now," Hackett said. "He’s understanding the playbook because he’s been using so much mental time to understand it. But then to watch him go out there and make a natural play when he’s covered and kind of ran to get open and found the sweet spot. That was not—I didn’t know that was going to happen. That was just them playing ball.”
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