Broncos' Rookie TE Greg Dulcich Punches Back at Perceived Lack of Speed: 'It's Definitely Elite'

Those of us old enough to remember mock pop star Weird Al Yankovic can’t fail but to see the physical resemblance between him and new Denver Broncos tight end Greg Dulcich. With a celebrity doppelganger to draw attention to himself, it’s inevitable that Dulcich will turn heads where ever he goes, particularly on account of his long, flowing locks and 1970s-style mustache.

The rookie tight end now lands with the Broncos and questions have been raised over a somewhat pedestrian 4.69-second 40-time he posted at the NFL Combine, especially because the team has him pegged as a deep-ball threat. Dulcich isn’t buying into any negative talk, however, and feels he is plenty fast enough to get separation from defenders when push comes to shove.

“I think my speed is definitely elite," Dulcich said during his introductory press conference on Saturday. "You watch the film [and] I'm getting great separation, so I'll disagree with you there. It's really just my background as a receiver helps that a lot and the fundamentals I learned from my tight end coach to get away from guys and create that separation was huge, and I'm excited to continue to do that at the next level.”

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After shipping ascending starter Noah Fant to the Seattle Seahawks as part of the Russell Wilson trade, the Broncos' need to add another tight end was real. Many draft experts had perhaps not predicted it would be Dulcich in the third round heading to Denver. That nagging 40-time has proved tough to shake off.

Clearly, the Broncos' new 6-foot-4 tight end requires some intensive NFL coaching if he is going to successfully round out his blocking skills to the required standards. But his eye-popping 19.9 yards-per-catch average in 2020 at UCLA points to a potential upside as a genuine downfield pass-catcher.

Part of new Broncos head coach Nathaniel Hackett’s job is to polish such diamonds in the rough into veritable gems, so it comes as no surprise to hear him talking up the potential in Dulcich.

“I think everybody, once you get to this league and you’re blocking some dynamic football players, they always can get a lot better,” Hackett said over the weekend. “I think the good thing about him [Dulcich] is the type of person he is. He was a walk-on when he got there, and he fought his way into the tight end room and was very effective. I don’t think he’s afraid of any bit of hard work.”

Having the desire and motivation to succeed served him well in college but at the pro level, having a future Hall-of-Fame quarterback close at hand will be massive. Dulcich has already received a boost from Wilson, who checked in with him as he made his first steps into the incredibly challenging world of the NFL.

“It was awesome getting a FaceTime from Russ,” Dulcich said. “I was like, this is a Hall of Fame dude, this is the man, and he’s just FaceTiming me. So that was just an honor.”

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