Broncos pick pass-catching tight end Greg Dulcich in 2022 NFL Draft
Apr 29, 2022, 8:22 PM | Updated: 8:58 pm
The Denver Broncos selected Greg Dulcich from UCLA with the 80th pick of the 2022 NFL Draft.
A productive tight end, Dulcich was a third-round pick and the second pick the Broncos made in this week’s draft after dumping first and second-round picks in the Russell Wilson trade. The Broncos actually had the No. 75 pick but traded it to the Houston Texans, moving down five picks and receiving No. 162 in the fifth round.
The trade down let General Manager George Paton hit his goal of having 10 picks in the draft and filled an area of need as Noah Fant was dealt in the Wilson trade.
What Patton picked with his first of two third-rounder in Dulcich is a 6-foot-4, 243-pound pass-catcher from California. Patton’s college roommate at UCLA, Jim Bonds, was Dulcich’s high school coach.
“I knew I was going to be an NFL player since middle school,” he said. “That was always the goal, always the dream. Every situation in my life I had that in the back of my head. That was my driving force. There was never a doubt I would be getting this phone call today.”
The 22-year-old ran a 4.69 40-yard dash at the NFL Combine and was graded as an eventual average starter by NFL.com’s prospect ratings.
“We’re going to win the Super Bowl. I’m just excited about that,” Dulcich said. “We’re going to be a successful team and I can’t wait to go over there and get to work with him.”
In his final three seasons as a Bruin, Dulcich picked up 1,347 receiving yards on 76 catches with 11 touchdowns. A former walk-on, Dulcich earned All-Pac-12 honors.
“I’m great at blocking. That’s what I was mainly asked to do at UCLA,” Dulcich said. “I’m nasty in the trenches”
The somewhat surprising deep-ball threat was the second tight end selected in this year’s draft, behind Colorado State’s Trey McBride.
“He’s a guy that can vertically stretch the field, he has soft hands,” Nathaniel Hackett told DenverBroncos.com. “You have to have that work effort if you’re a walk-on and turn into a very good tight end. It shows what type of guy he is.”
“He’s everything you want in a tight end.”
GM George Paton on @Greg_Dulcich: pic.twitter.com/9PGGnsDeqL
— Denver Broncos (@Broncos) April 30, 2022
The Broncos’ first pick was a second-rounder, where they picked pash rusher Nik Bonitto from Oklahoma. Denver’s second third-rounder comes at No. 96.
***
