Gregory Paul Dulcich (Croatian: Dulčić, pronounced [dǔltʃitɕ]; born March 26, 2000) is an American professional football tight end for the Denver Broncos of the National Football League (NFL). He played college football for the UCLA Bruins and was twice an all-conference selection in the Pac-12, including first-team honors in 2021. He was selected in the third round of the 2022 NFL draft.
| No. 80 – Denver Broncos | |||||||||
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| Position: | Tight end | ||||||||
| Personal information | |||||||||
| Born: | March 26, 2000 Glendale, California, U.S. | ||||||||
| Height: | 6 ft 4 in (1.93 m) | ||||||||
| Weight: | 245 lb (111 kg) | ||||||||
| Career information | |||||||||
| High school: | St. Francis (La Cañada Flintridge, California) | ||||||||
| College: | UCLA (2018–2021) | ||||||||
| NFL draft: | 2022 / round: 3 / pick: 80 | ||||||||
| Career history | |||||||||
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| Roster status: | Active | ||||||||
| Career highlights and awards | |||||||||
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| Career NFL statistics as of Week 5, 2024 | |||||||||
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Early life
editDulcich was born on March 26, 2000, and grew up in Glendale, California.[1][2][3] He attended Saint Francis High School in La Cañada Flintridge.[4] As a junior, he had 30 receptions for 406 yards and four touchdowns.[2] In his senior year, the Golden Knights reached the 2017 CIF Southern Section Division III championship, losing 44–42 to Rancho Verde High School on a last-second field goal.[1][2] During the season, Dulcich caught 50 passes for 1,168 yards and 12 touchdowns, and ran for another three touchdowns. He also made 21 tackles on defense.[2]
Dulcich was ranked as a three-star recruit by ESPN and listed as the No. 78 recruit in California. He was initially recruited by Derek Sage, who was the receivers coach for Washington State. However, Sage moved to UCLA, as did Dulcich.[2]
College career
editA walk-on at the University of California, Los Angeles,[4] Dulcich played three games as a freshman. He appeared in eleven games in 2019, playing on special teams and as a receiver.[2] His first touchdown with the Bruins was against San Diego State on September 7, 2019, when he had three receptions for 37 yards in a home loss at the Rose Bowl,[1][5] about three miles (4.8 km) from his high school.[4][5]
In 2020, Dulcich was informed by UCLA on his 20th birthday that he was put on scholarship. He had a breakout year that season, which was shortened by the COVID-19 pandemic, finishing with 26 receptions for 517 yards and five touchdowns.[2] He led the team in both receiving yards and touchdowns, while finishing second in catches to Kyle Philips (38).[6] Dulcich's averages of 19.88 yards per catch and 73.9 receiving yards per game both ranked second in the country among tight ends.[4][3] He was targeted 18 times on vertical pass routes, catching nine for 321 yards and four touchdowns.[7] Ranked sixth in the Pac-12 in receiving yards per game,[6] he was named second-team All-Pac-12.[3]
In 2021, Dulcich was named to the preseason watch list for the Mackey Award, awarded to the best tight end in the nation.[4] He had three catches for 117 yards, including a 75-yard touchdown, in a win over No. 16 LSU.[8] He logged a career-high nine catches for 136 yards in a loss to Arizona State,[9] his third career game with 100 yards or more.[10] He earned first-team All-Pac-12 honors and finished fifth in the conference in receiving yards per game with 60.4.[11] Dulcich averaged 17.3 yards per catch, which ranked second among tight ends in the nation,[12] and his 725 receiving yards ranked second on the team to Philips (739). He declared for the NFL Draft after the season.[13]
Statistics
edit| UCLA Bruins | ||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Season | GP | Receiving | ||||
| Rec | Yds | TD | ||||
| 2018 | 8 | 1 | 6 | 0 | ||
| 2019 | 11 | 8 | 105 | 1 | ||
| 2020 | 7 | 26 | 517 | 5 | ||
| 2021 | 11 | 42 | 725 | 5 | ||
| Career | 37 | 77 | 1,353 | 11 | ||
Professional career
edit| Height | Weight | Arm length | Hand span | 40-yard dash | 10-yard split | 20-yard split | 20-yard shuttle | Three-cone drill | Vertical jump | Broad jump | Bench press | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 6 ft 4 in (1.93 m) |
243 lb (110 kg) |
33+3⁄8 in (0.85 m) |
9+7⁄8 in (0.25 m) |
4.69 s | 1.63 s | 2.67 s | 4.37 s | 7.05 s | 34.0 in (0.86 m) |
10 ft 2 in (3.10 m) |
16 reps | |
| All values from NFL Combine[14][15] | ||||||||||||
Dulcich was selected by the Denver Broncos in the third round of the 2022 NFL draft with the 80th overall pick.[16] He was the third tight end chosen in the draft.[12] Bothered by a hamstring injury during most of training camp, he was placed on injured reserve on August 31, 2022.[17][18] Dulcich was activated for a Week 6 matchup against the Los Angeles Chargers on Monday Night Football,[19] and caught a 39-yard touchdown from Russell Wilson in his NFL debut.[20] He finished his rookie season with 33 catches for 411 yards and two touchdowns in ten games, of which he started six.[21]
On September 16, 2023, Dulcich was placed on injured reserve after suffering a hamstring injury in Week 1.[22] He was activated on October 12, but placed back on injured reserve nine days later with a hamstring injury.[23]
Personal life
editDulcich is of Croatian descent through all four of his grandparents.[24]
References
edit- ^ a b c Rich, Charles (April 2, 2020). "St. Francis High's Dulcich lands football scholarship at UCLA". Glendale News-Press. Retrieved September 30, 2021.
- ^ a b c d e f g Lehman, Mitch (January 16, 2021). "Dulcich Catching On at UCLA". Outlook Newspapers. Retrieved September 30, 2021.
- ^ a b c "Greg Dulcich". UCLABruins.com. Retrieved September 30, 2021.
- ^ a b c d e Nguyen, Thuc Nhi (September 5, 2021). "Greg Dulcich showcasing his star power for resurgent UCLA". Los Angeles Times. Retrieved September 30, 2021.
- ^ a b Nguyen, Thuc Nhi (September 9, 2019). "Walk-on Greg Dulcich is unexpected receiving leader for UCLA tight ends". Los Angeles Daily News. Retrieved September 30, 2021.
- ^ a b Williams, James H. (May 10, 2021). "UCLA tight end Greg Dulcich could garner attention from many in 2021". Long Beach Press-Telegram. Retrieved September 30, 2021.
- ^ Dix, Brianna (June 15, 2021). "Breaking down the top five returning tight ends in CFB entering 2021". USA Today. Retrieved September 30, 2021.
- ^ Bolch, Ben (September 4, 2021). "UCLA gives coach Chip Kelly a signature win with upset of No. 16 LSU". Los Angeles Times. Retrieved September 9, 2021.
- ^ Bolch, Ben (October 2, 2021). "UCLA gambles and loses big to Arizona State, halting Bruins' Pac-12 resurgence". Los Angeles Times. Retrieved October 3, 2021.
- ^ Williams, James H. (October 2, 2021). "UCLA football stumbles against Pac-12 South rival Arizona State". Los Angeles Daily News. Retrieved October 3, 2021.
- ^ Williams, James H. (December 7, 2021). "Kyle Philips leads UCLA's nine All-Pac-12 football selections". Los Angeles Daily News. Retrieved December 21, 2021.
- ^ a b He, Eric (April 29, 2022). "UCLA TE Greg Dulcich (Broncos), OL Sean Rhyan (Packers) drafted in 3rd round". Los Angeles Daily News. Retrieved May 5, 2022.
- ^ Williams, James H. (January 5, 2022). "UCLA TE Greg Dulcich declares for NFL draft". Los Angeles Daily News. Retrieved January 9, 2022.
- ^ "Greg Dulcich Draft and Combine Prospect Profile". NFL.com. Retrieved March 7, 2022.
- ^ "Greg Dulcich, UCLA, TE, 2022 NFL Draft Scout, NCAA College Football". draftscout.com. Retrieved March 7, 2022.
- ^ DiLalla, Aric (April 29, 2022). "Broncos select TE Greg Dulcich with 80th-overall pick". DenverBroncos.com. Retrieved February 18, 2023.
- ^ Heath, Jon (October 15, 2022). "Help on the way? Broncos' offense could use a boost from Greg Dulcich". USA Today. Retrieved October 18, 2022.
- ^ DiLalla, Aric (August 31, 2022). "Broncos sign NT Mike Purcell, TE Eric Tomlinson". DenverBroncos.com. Retrieved February 18, 2023.
- ^ DiLalla, Aric (October 17, 2022). "Broncos activate S Justin Simmons, TE Greg Dulcich, CB Michael Ojemudia from IR". DenverBroncos.com. Retrieved February 18, 2023.
- ^ Nguyen, Joe (October 17, 2022). "WATCH: Broncos rookie tight end Greg Dulcich's first NFL touchdown". Denver Post. Retrieved October 18, 2022.
- ^ "Greg Dulcich 2022 Game Log". Pro-Football-Reference.com. Retrieved February 18, 2023.
- ^ DiLalla, Aric (September 16, 2023). "Broncos place TE Greg Dulcich on IR, elevate RB Dwayne Washington for Week 2". DenverBroncos.com.
- ^ DiLalla, Aric (October 21, 2023). "Broncos activate OLB Baron Browning from Physically Unable to Perform list, place TE Greg Dulcich on IR". DenverBroncos.com.
- ^ "VIDEO: Croatian-American Greg Dulcich scores touchdown on NFL debut". Croatia Week. October 18, 2022. Retrieved February 18, 2023.
External links
edit- Career statistics and player information from Pro Football Reference
- Denver Broncos bio
- UCLA Bruins bio