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LONDON — The Broncos’ offense hasn’t performed the best way most hoped or anticipated, punctuated by Denver being the lowest-scoring group within the league at 14.3 factors per recreation.
Past the problems with quarterback Russell Wilson or coach Nathaniel Hackett, some of the sudden issues has been the shortage of involvement from their 5 tight ends. Because the Broncos have gravitated towards Wilson taking part in within the shotgun formation with a three-wide receiver grouping, the tight ends have seen their contributions dip.
“Versatility in that place is essential for this technique and simply constructing off of that, their athletic means and their means to study all the things,” mentioned offensive coordinator Justin Outten.
However the Broncos are a great distance from that versatility.
Rookie tight finish Greg Dulcich missed most of coaching camp in addition to the Broncos’ first 5 video games of the season with a hamstring damage, and but he leads the group’s tight ends in catches (eight) and has one of many two landing receptions the tight ends have made to this point this season.
And whereas that’s good for Dulcich’s progress, it’s a reasonably robust indicator that in an offense with few vibrant spots, the tight ends are usually not what the Broncos want them to be.
Wilson fretted on some shut calls he had on scoring performs to tight ends within the season-opening loss to the Seattle Seahawks: “[Eric Saubert] virtually made an ideal catch on one after which [Eric Tomlinson] on the one the place I form of rolled out proper. His foot was supposedly out of bounds. That will’ve been a landing. I had slightly flip to [Andrew] Beck [negated by penalty] — that’s one other landing.”
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Beck had 52 yards receiving within the opener and now has had simply three targets to go along with one catch over the past six video games. Tomlinson has simply 4 targets within the final six video games and Saubert has solely been focused twice within the final two video games. That’s nonetheless higher than Albert Okwuegbunam, a fourth-round decide within the 2020 draft, who has gone from 5 receptions within the opener to 3 targets within the final six video games mixed in addition to the very fact he was a game-day inactive within the final two.
Dulcich, a third-round decide on this yr’s draft, has actually moved the needle some nevertheless over the past two weeks. He had his first profession landing in his first profession recreation — a 39-yard catch-and-run towards the Chargers — to go along with a six-catch, 51-yard effort towards the Jets this previous Sunday.
“It doesn’t actually shock me due to the best way he was trending when he was first with us,’’ Hackett mentioned. “I believe I’m slightly bit blown away at how he hasn’t skipped a beat. Simply exhibits, a testomony to him, even with the damage and the time he was how arduous he labored to select up this technique.’’
Okwuegbunam, whose function as one of the best athletic matchup among the many tight ends for the Broncos within the passing recreation has been primarily crammed by Dulcich’s return, has been one of many names floated across the league as a possible commerce goal. The league’s commerce deadline is Tuesday and common supervisor George Paton has repeatedly mentioned he’s on the hunt for added draft picks for 2023 if he can purchase them “in one thing that is smart.’’
Hackett, with an offense that has scored simply eight touchdowns general in seven video games, is aware of there are many issues that want consideration. However when requested if Dulcich and the others can carve out a much bigger slice of manufacturing, he has merely mentioned “we’re going to want all people on this group … we’ve to dig ourselves out of this.’’
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