The Lead
General Manager George Paton and the Broncos liked UCLA tight end Greg Dulcich, to say the least.
As The Gazette’s George Stoia reported, Paton was intrigued enough to ask for intel from an old friend, Thomas Bonds, whose late brother coached Dulcich in high school. Bonds told him about the weapon Dulcich could be and the character he had shown as a team captain, and when the third round of the draft unfolded, Paton snagged him with the 80th-overall pick.
But it's not just Paton and the Broncos who think highly of Dulcich. ESPN’s Jeremy Fowler spoke to an AFC scout and The Athletic’s Mike Sando heard from an executive about Denver's newest tight end.
"Big and can run," the scout told Fowler. "Developmental as a blocker, but in the pass game, there's some really good stuff. He's a route runner."
Sando's anonymous executive seemed to share a similar overall view of Dulcich's talent, which is expected to help bolster Denver's depth at tight end after the team traded Noah Fant as part of the trade to acquire Russell Wilson.
"Dulcich is a good pick, that kid is talented," the executive told Sando. "I don't know if they are gaining with Dulcich in relation to Fant, but that kid is a good football player. They got good value for him at that point."
Below the Fold
The full 2022 schedule won't be unveiled until Thursday, but NBC Sports' Peter King writes in his newest “Football Morning in America” column that he thinks the Broncos are one of the frontrunners for the season kickoff game vs. the defending champions.
"I still think the two front-runners for the first game of the season—which the NFL has a very tight lid on right now—are Buffalo at the Rams or Denver at the Rams, on Thursday night, Sept. 8," King writes.
