Which of the Broncos’ young tight ends will turn promise into performance?

As the 2023 season dawns, the Denver Broncos tight ends might be the most fascinating position group on the roster. And for all of them, one of Sean Payton’s core principles comes into play: figuring out the vision for each player.

That starts with 2022 third-round choice Greg Dulcich. His rookie season was defined by two things: his ability to stretch the field and hamstring injuries. Fortunately for the Broncos, only the former was on display during OTAs and minicamp. And that seems like a nice place to start.

The 2023 draft pick

During the June 1 OTA session, Dulcich’s performance jumped out, with multiple downfield receptions.

“He had a good day,” Payton said of Dulcich’s work then. “He’s got unique skill set, and he’s got traits in the passing game.”

Each of the catches served as a reminder of what George Paton liked so much about the UCLA product when he selected him the previous year — and what allowed him to finish with 411 yards and 2 touchdowns on 33 receptions, putting him on pace for what would have been the most productive season by a rookie tight end in Broncos history if he could have played at least 14 games.

Instead, he played in just 10. He started and ended the season on injured reserve due to the hamstring problems. So, what strength-and-conditioning coach Dan Dalrymple and player-health guru Beau Lowery install for the Broncos is likely to be at least as important to Dulcich’s outlook as anything imparted to him by the coaching staff.

That being said, Payton has some things up his sleeve for Dulcich. Starting with finding out whether he can be the “joker” in the room.

Could the Broncos’ solution at tight end be a committee-based, matchup-oriented approach?@CecilLammey and I break it down on Orange and Blue Today: pic.twitter.com/xMHPCcaQ9Q

— Andrew Mason (@MaseDenver) July 11, 2023

“We use the term ‘Joker’ where we can get matchups. The trick sometimes is trying to predict what you’re going to get defensively, if you’re either going to get a nickel package or a base package,” Payton said June 1.

In New Orleans, Payton gave that role to running backs and tight ends, including Darren Sproles, Alvin Kamara and Jimmy Graham.

“Those were all unique players, not just in the running game, but they had passing game skill sets that allowed you to do multiple things,” Payton said, “and I think Greg does, too.”

But he’s not the only one.

The 2020 draft picks

Albert Okwuegbunam and Adam Trainman have a few things in common. Both were mid-round choices three years ago — Trautman in Round 3, Okwuegbunam one round later. Both had brilliant flashes that burst them on NFL radars — Okwuegbunam catching passes from Drew Lock at Missouri, Trautman during a breakout Senior Bowl week after starring at FCS Dayton.

And both are at fork-in-the-road moments. Trautman’s fork took him to a new team with a familiar coach — the one who drafted him in New Orleans. Okwuegbunam is in the same spot he’s been, but with a third offensive scheme and coaching staff.

Trautman is more of an all-around tight end. Okwuegbunam has struggled to develop as a blocker, although his 4.5 speed makes him a dynamic threat, which he showed late last season for a touchdown catch in Kansas City — and during minicamp, when he made the kind of plays Dulcich did in the afore-mentioned June 1 session.

But as last year showed, building Okwuegbunam’s confidence is essential. As the season devolved and he was a healthy scratch, his morale sagged. Interim coach Jerry Rosburg made a point of working with him, and the result was his first touchdown catch in 11 games.

So, when Payton answered a question about Okwuegbunam’s progress, he immediately went into teacher mode.

“I think that as a teacher, our job is to hit the ceiling with these guys,” Payton said during minicamp. “He’s been very attentive. … He’s certainly athletic. I’ve said this a million times. Confidence is born out of demonstrated ability. We can wish for confidence, and you can say, ‘I’m confident.’ We’ve all seen moments where players do something in a game and all of a sudden — so it has to be born out of demonstrated abilities.

“There’s a catch he makes [during minicamp] that gives that young man confidence that he can do it again. That’s the growth spurt. It just can’t be wished for. Ultimately, you hit a clutch shot, or you make a pass and there’s incremental growths. We’ve all seen — all of you who have covered sports have seen people develop right in front of our eyes.”

And that’s when Payton talked about Nuggets guard Christian Braun when discussing Okwuegbunam. Which might rankle Okwuegbunam, a former Missouri Tiger, just a bit.

“Shoot, the rookie from Kansas a few games back. I don’t know if that was his normal performance, but he gained confidence that night. We’ll never forget that night,” Payton said. “That is how it’s born. That’s confidence. It’s born out of demonstrated ability. As a coach, it’s exciting to see.”

Trautman arrived on Day 3 of the draft in a late-round pick swap. Reuniting with Payton gives him a fresh start with a new face. But like Okwuegbunam, he faces a fight for his future. The upside remains; he has mismatch-creating potential.

“When we drafted Adam, we felt like was one of those guys that was solid in both areas,” Paytons aid. “We utilized him depending on who was up and who was down and who was healthy—both inline and at the ‘F’ position. We compared him to a handful of the tight ends that we were discussing in this draft.

“… All of a sudden, we’re getting a player that we have a clear vision for,” Payton added.

Obviously, we have a little head start on the history because we drafted him. That was something that was just as exciting as any part of yesterday or today because that was something we were looking for. He’s coming in with his versatility as a blocker, but then as a receiver.”

What both tight ends do when pads go on could determine which one has the larger role — or sticks on the 53-player roster altogether.

The fight for specific roles beyond

This starts with free-agent pickup Chris Manhertz. A special-teams and blocking-intensive role is most likely for the 31-year-old Manhertz, who started 21 regular-season games over the last two seasons for the Jaguars. Deep in his CV is a brief tenure with Payton and the Saints — three games in 2016, to be precise.

“Unfortunately, just as we developed him, he played in Carolina and Jacksonville, and we followed his career,” Payton said in April. “We never really got a chance to use him.”

As with blocking specialist Eric Tomlinson last year, Manhertz’s work as a pass catcher is sparse — 24 career receptions in seven seasons, with never more than 6 catches in a year. But his physicality suits the in-line tight end role best.

Tommy Hudson arrived during offseason work after three seasons with Tennessee that saw injuries derail his progress. Special teams and blocking will likely determine whether he sticks beyond the preseason; he had 3 catches in limited regular-season repetitions for the Titans.

Rounding out the room is the Broncos’ only rookie at the position, Nate Adkins. But the South Carolina product sits on a different trajectory, as the Broncos will cross-train him for a backfield role.

“The first question we asked ourselves is, ‘Does he go with the tight end room, or does he go the running back room?’ He can go to either,” Payton said during minicamp. “He goes to the tight end room, but he would be an ‘F’ tight end that would be used at times in some roles like [Michael] Burton would be used in. He would be an ‘F’ candidate.”

Burton is the Broncos’ only fullback, and a special-teams role also appears likely for him. Adkins could be in line for a developmental practice-squad role behind Burton, giving him the chance to grow into a larger role beyond that.

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