ENGLEWOOD, Colo. — The hair was flowing, the thighs were showing and the hamstrings were going.
Greg Dulcich‘s long-awaited return to the practice field did not disappoint on Wednesday as the Denver Broncos kicked off training camp.
“Really good,” Sean Payton said after the first practice of training camp, when asked about Dulcich returning to the field. “It was good to see—and credit the training staff, you know, when you leave for the summer, no news is good news and the players that weren’t able to practice were the players that we expected that weren’t going to be able to practice. There were no surprises.”
After dealing with injury after injury since George Paton drafted the talented UCLA tight end in the third round in 2022, Dulcich’s presence on the field on Wednesday would have been enough to be counted as a win.
But Dulcich was looking to make his return more memorable. And he delivered.
In fact, Bo Nix‘s first completion in training camp was to a wide-open No. 80 on the right sideline for roughly a 15-yard gain. Dulcich found a hole in the zone defense and the rookie quarterback found the receiving tight end for the first down in a 7-on-7 period.
Later in practice, Jarrett Stidham got on the Dulcich train during a team period. Rolling to the right off play action Stidham found No. 80 tearing across the field. After hitting him in stride seven yards past the line of scrimmage, Dulcich turned up field and turned on the burners.
Who knows how far Dulcich would have gone with the explosion and burst he displayed after turning the jets on.
Dulcich’s first practice back was so impressive, in fact, when Payton was asked who impressed him during Wednesday’s practice, the head coach pointed to Javonte Williams and the fast tight end.
“It was good to see Dulcich back out there and him moving around,” Payton added.
There was one slight issue with Dulcich that the head coach noticed.
“The black socks, they looked a little awkward,” Payton joked.
When healthy, Dulcich has proven to be a weapon in the Broncos’ offense. But health has been hard to come by for Dulcich over the past two years as he’s played in only 12 of a possible 34 games.
Additionally, Dulcich was held out for the majority of OTAs and mandatory minicamp this year as he was still recovering from his foot injury which popped up right as his hamstring healed in the middle of last season.
That’s why his presence on Wednesday was a great first sign for an offense that desperately needs playmakers.
With his impressive outing, Dulcich once again showed that if he can stay healthy, he can be a difference maker in Sean Payton‘s offense.
