While fantasy football pundits immediately thought Albert Okwuegbunam would be the one-for-one replacement of the departing Noah Fant as part of the Russell Wilson trade, Denver Broncos general manager George Paton and HC Nathaniel Hackett went on to select third-round draft pick Greg Dulcich, a strong candidate to replace Fant.
Savvy fantasy managers know that, in the words of Adam Levitan, you don’t make your fantasy decisions based on what teams should do, you make your decisions based on what they will do. The preseason usage of Okwuegbunam and Dulcich is the fantasy cognoscenti’s best bet at finding out who’ll emerge as the Broncos TE to target in fantasy drafts.
But from an IRL football perspective, Paton drafted Dulcich on Day 2 of his second draft, a day typically considered starter picks (for non-QBs). Okwuegbunam, meanwhile, is previous general manager John Elway’s draft pick from 2020 on Day 3. Yes, he’s entering Year 3, a leg up on Dulcich, but a lot of professional football is the same as your professional cubicle farm’s water cooler gossip: everything’s based on relationships, not necessarily talent.
A good fantasy manager knows when to change their mind, but also when new information doesn’t affect their prior. We still have the preseason for actionable takeaways. Hackett, though, loves Dulcich.
The newly-hired coach said, “From a tight end standpoint, those guys are always the most unique, dynamic guys out on the field because they can do so many different things.
“When you have a guy [like Dulcich] that can stretch the field like he can, it’s really exciting. From all of the stuff — it’s not just the intermediate stuff — but the [impact he makes] truly down the field. At the same time, the ability to strain and block in the run game. I think he showed a lot of stuff [in the pre-draft process].”
What kind of role the Broncos have planned for Dulcich in 2022 remains to be seen, but it seems clear that he could become a key part of Hackett’s long-term plans for the offense.