For a guy who hasn't seen the field in a month — not due to injury but ineffectiveness — Denver Broncos tight end Greg Dulcich seems to be taking it in stride.
“He’s working. His attitude is fantastic. He’s working his tail off. He’s doing all the things we’re asking of him," Broncos head coach Sean Payton said Monday. "We’re just getting a little bit more right now from the others. I think somebody asked me yesterday—it’s hard to predict sometimes who might get touches within a route sequences. Sometimes it’s easier to predict. I thought obviously we got good production out of the group. I had never heard of this holiday ‘National Tight End Day,’ but there was some irony there. Those guys played well yesterday.”
Once considered the future of the position in Denver — a theorized "Joker" in Payton's complex offense — Dulcich lost his stranglehold on the starting job following a miserable start to the season marred by costly drops and, when applicable, blown blocks. He caught just five of 12 targets for 28 scoreless yards before hitting the pine as a healthy scratch.
Since Week 5, Dulcich has been replaced by the troika of Adam Trautman, Lucas Krull, and Nate Adkins. Trautman broke out in Sunday's victory over the Panthers, tallying four receptions for a career-high 85 yards and a touchdown.
"He does a lot of things well," Payton said after the game. "He’s versatile, he’s smart. It was a heck of a read. We got a blitz. They kind of played a little cloud behind the blitz. [It was a] real good throw and catch. You know what you’re going to get, so there’s a value in that as a coach if you know what you’re going to get in a player each week.”
Such as he does with his backfield, Payton will ride the hot (read: reliable) hand in a nondescript tight end room. For now, and perhaps moving forward, that's longtime favorite Trautman.
And unfortunately for Dulcich, the status quo won't get his number called any time soon.
