Nathaniel Hackett Shares Initial Impression of Broncos' Rookie TE Greg Dulcich
It’s hard to ignore Denver Broncos' third-round pick Greg Dulcich. On account of the big tight end’s long curly locks, thick mustache, and athlete's physique, he stands out in a crowd.
Broncos head coach Nathaniel Hackett kept a keen eye on the 22-year-old at rookie minicamp last week because the tight end displayed his impressive speed and a willingness to put his hand in the dirt and block.
“Have you seen his hair? I mean wow! Just watching him out here, it’s flowing in the wind,” Hackett at first joked with reporters. “No—it was great to see him out here and run routes. He can really run. He’s in great shape, you can see that. Even being over here with some of the blocking drills, you can see that he’s definitely a willing blocker. So I think it’s kind of that all-purpose guy. I think that’s something that’s going to be very valuable to us.”
Dulcich also appears to have touched down in the Mile High City in both a comfortable and relaxed mood as he goes about the business of learning the playbook. Making all the requisite changes and improvements that are going to be asked of him will take football intelligence and dedication in equal measure, but the young Californian seems to possess both.
“I think there is a lot to work on—pass game, showing some more wiggle and learning how coverages are going to be played in the NFL,” Dulcich said last week. “It’s going to be a lot different than college. [It’s] the run game, too, and being more explosive and coming off the ball. You probably saw in the drills today that it was a big emphasis for us tight ends. I think we handled it really well.”
With Hackett’s optimism that Dulcich can become an all-purpose tight end still ringing in his ears, the rookie has every reason to be confident moving forward. Having earned a spot at UCLA as a walk-on to start his college career, it’s a given that doing the necessary hard grind is something that Dulcich is well versed in.
“Being a walk-on, you have to show that you can be trusted, that you know everything and that you’re going to go out and play hard,” Dulcich said. “I tried to do that today, and that’s how I’m going to carry myself. I want to do whatever the team asks me to do and [for them to] know they can trust me to do whatever.”
Having the added injection of youthful pizzazz and exuberance that Dulcich is bringing only helps raise the already high energy levels that are pulsing through Dove Valley right now. It also provides some real excitement for what lies ahead when training camp begins in earnest, and when Broncos Country gets to see Dulcich’s interesting array of training outfits, long, flowing hair, and hopefully some highlight-reel grabs.
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